Ika I.
Yelp
Excellent location and spacious room!
On our first trip to Berlin, we picked The Mandala Suites as our hotel. Overall, we had a pleasant experience despite some recommendations for improvement.
The pros and cons of the hotel are as follows.
Pros:
1) Excellent location
Located in the Mitt area of Berlin, The Mandala Suites is in an excellent location with the train station Stadmitt within 1-2 minutes walk. In addition, the hotel is close to some upscale shopping and wonderful restaurants. The restaurant The Maximillans is near the ground floor of the hotel, and it offers delicious German food with a generous portion. The chocolates Raush, Neuhaus, and Landeros are also close by.
2) Spacious room with balcony and kitchenette
One outstanding feature of the hotel is its spacious room. Our hotel room is more like a suite (500 square feet), with a bedroom, living room, kitchenette, balcony, toilet room, shower room, and wonderful closet space. It is also quiet despite unless an ambulance drives by.
3) Amenities
The amenities offered are good, with gym, saunas, and a laundry room. The laundry room is free to use and comes in handy during a long vacation.
Cons:
1) Awkward hours (needs to improve)
The reception office is open 8 am to 8 pm during weekends and reduced hours during the weekend. If the reception office is closed, there are extra hoops to jump through if you need to check in during off hours. In addition, all amenities (gym/saunas/laundry) are unavailable if the reception office is closed.
2) Limited selection at breakfast buffet
The breakfast buffet is mostly cold food, such as cereals, yogurt, fruits, cheese, ham, and bread. Guests can have hard-boiled eggs and beverages made to order, but the kitchen will not offer scrambled eggs or warm toast.
3) Small gym and saunas
The gym is quite small with three to four machines for cardios and 2 weight benches with free weight. The saunas are also small, and you will need to notify the reception office to turn it on 30 minutes in advance before use.
Our room rate was $280 a night with breakfast buffet included. The staff are friendly and helpful. The awkward hours make travel planning inconvenient, as one can not use the gym or the laundry except if you stay in the hotel during the day, which makes no sense during vacation.
If the hotel will adjust their operations hours, I would highly recommend!