We arrived at the beautiful Das Stue hotel in Berlin on a chilly afternoon and were immediately greeted with the sight of a giant alligator's skull. Alright, I thought, nodding to myself. This place has character. And it does. It's with good reason Das Stue, housed in the former Royal Danish Embassy, centres around an animal theme - half the rooms look out over enclosures at the Berlin Zoo. Our first room, in fact, had a wonderful view of an ostrich and antelope enclosure. It felt surreal, staring down at the ostriches who, in turn, were gazing quizzically up at us.
I say 'first room' because we requested an upgrade (which we were owed anyway but they'd forgotten to give us) to a larger room, mainly because the windows were not reflective and passersby could see directly into the room. The second one had no such issue and came equipped with a large terrace; although it was far too cold to use it.
I ordered a tortilla de patatas for lunch, we reclined and watched TV for a while, then set off to explore the rest of the hotel.
The only part of the hotel not quite up to standard is the gym - tiny, unmanned (as the spa itself often was during our stay) and quite warm. You do get to watch the ostriches though whilst you work out, which is amusing.
We opted to stay indoors that night, hoping for dinner at Casual by Paco Perez, one of the two restaurants at Das Stue (the main one was closed during our stay). However, we were told there were unfortunately no free tables and wouldn't be any for a while, for hotel guests or not. To make up for this, we were given complimentary cocktails and seated in the lounge for an hour.
By the time we went to speak to the maître d' again, there were still empty tables available and we were finally seated. Not very organised!
The food, on the other hand, was impressive.
We sat back in our chairs, full and satisfied, and headed up for a restful night of sleep. The next morning, I awoke to find a decent amount of snow had fallen overnight and the world had turned into a white wonderland. After finally succeeding in dragging poor, tired Jarv out of bed, we ventured downstairs back to Casual for breakfast.
Their buffet spread was pretty decent - they even had kombucha! There's also a breakfast menu to choose from, with delectable options such as bircher muesli, fresh crepes, eggs Florentine, eggs with guac, eggs with jamón ibérico...lots of eggs.
After a good hour or so of gobbling up all the food we were able to cram into our bellies, we made our way back to the room. I must say, this was the first time in my life I spent the entire weekend trip at a hotel and not out and about in the city. Obviously easier done given we'd seen Berlin in the summertime already and it's less than a 2 hour flight away.
So, we snuggled up in bed to watch more TV, ordered lunch to the room and ended the weekend with a walk in the snow around the Tiergarten outside the hotel before calling a taxi to the airport.
If you're looking for an intimate stay with generously sized rooms (for a boutique city hotel), great food and eclectic decor, look no further. Das Stue is a stylish, high end hotel nestled in the heart of Berlin, bursting with character and charm.
Looks like a lovely boutique hotel - will add it to our list! Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear it, Kelly! Thanks for stopping by :)
DeleteStunning pictures! What a wonderful city to be able to visit. One day I hope to get there!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alison! It's a vibrant, beautiful city worth visiting.
DeleteIt's too bad it was to cold to use the balcony - it looks awesome! How cool that they had kombucha! Definitely a place I would to stay at!
ReplyDeleteI know, what a shame! We gave it a go but gave up within minutes, haha.
DeleteYour pictures are absolutely magical! I'm putting this on my list! xx
ReplyDeleteMeggan
www.cardiganjezebel.com
Thanks, Meggan! You totally should!
DeleteBeautiful place again even but this time with snow :)
ReplyDeletehttp://violettedaily.com
It really is :)
DeleteA few overlooking the zoo how wonderful. The hotel looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt was amazing, I half-wished we could stay watching the ostriches at the time.
DeleteThis is such a lovely hotel and the food looks incredible, such beautiful photos, as always! Thanks so much for sharing and I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead, girlie!
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jalisa
www.thestylecontour.com
Thanks, dear! It is a stunning hotel.
DeleteSuch a beautiful hotel! It looks like you guys had so much fun!
ReplyDeletexo, Jane
http://www.fitfabfunmom.com
Thanks, Jane! We did!
DeleteThis hotel sounds stunning! I love Berlin, and it is on my list for a re-visit soon. =) Thanks for sharing all features of the hotel. That food does look absolutely scrumptious. Enjoy your travels!
ReplyDeleteIt's perfect for a weekend escape, ideal for cosying up in! Hope you enjoy your trip back to Berlin ;)
DeleteAbsolutely stunning! What a beautiful place to spend some time.
ReplyDeleteShannon
Clothes & Quotes
Definitely!
Deletehahaha, I love your trip to Berlin!!:)) Shame it was so cold - the weather looks exactly like Riga:)
ReplyDeleteKira
xxx
Haha I know, we were so lazy. But it was the perfect place to stay indoors all weekend! xx
DeleteThis sounds like a very colourful visit! I really like the hotel's modern yet borderline-quirky interior design and the breakfast menu sounds delicious. It's a pity about the room-swapping to being with, though you certainly ended u with a gem of a room!
ReplyDeleteGabrielle | A Glass Of Ice
x
It's certainly quirky, but in a grown up sort of way! I recommend if it you're ever in Berlin ;) x
DeleteHey Kama! What was the name of the second room you stayed in? (Suite, Stue Suite, Penthouse etc)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Simon
Hi, Simon! We stayed in an Embassy Room actually - some of them come equipped with terraces, like ours :) Are you visiting soon? Exciting! It's a very cool hotel, you'll have a good time.
DeleteAh Great! Thanks! Indeed we are. We're staying in the penthouse. Very much looking forward to it. Looks like a brilliant boutique hotel.
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