"You don’t expect to find a peaceful boutique hotel inside a former women’s prison, but the Wilmina exemplifies Berlin at its finest: a successful fusion of difficult history paired with the new-and-now. The hotel sits on a bustling, highly urban, and very local stretch of Kantstrasse in West Berlin—technically Charlottenburg, but a part so far west that few East Berliners, myself included, and tourists have ever visited—dotted with a handful of dusty antique shops. It’s probably not a place you’d hang out often, but that makes Wilmina even more of a find: You get an authentic taste of Berlin just by coming here. The 44 guest rooms have a similar minimalist look, with calming white walls and pale wood furnishings. Most were created by combining a number of former prison cells; they’re decorated sparingly with framed pressed flowers, and on the small desk you’ll find a nature-related reading selection." - Jennifer Ceaser, Liz Humphreys
