The Holiday Inn Berlin City West offers very good service, a good breakfast and complete amenities with pool, gym and wellness area at a reasonable price. It’s specially interesting for IHG Rewards Club members, with a very low award rate of only 10,000 points/night and excellent award treatment! It’s location near Berlin’s Tegel Airport works best on your way to or from Berlin or with business in nearby Spandau Siemnsstadt or Charlottenburg!
Location: The Holiday Inn Berlin City West is located in Siemensstadt. This was a little bit a trip down memory lane, as I did an internship at the nearby Siemens factory a very long time ago. The hotel is very popular with Siemens business travelers. It’s also near Berlin Airport Tegel, only a 10 minute taxi ride away. For me it was convenient to Spandau and it’s main train station which is 10 minutes by taxi or 25 minutes by subway. Spandau is an old suburb with its own character, a nice pedestrian area with plenty of coffee shops and restaurants. If you are visiting Berlin for its many tourist sites, this hotel is not convenient: Berlin Mitte is about 1h away by public transportation.
Service: The service at the Holiday Inn City West was surprisingly good. The front desk offered a warm welcome (not a given in Germany!) and had me checked in quickly. They explained the amenities of the hotel and informed me of a generous upgrade to a suite as an IHG Platinum member! They also provided a map and tips for the surrounding area. Check-out was equally quick and friendly. As sign announced a planned renovation of the hotel and they were happy to share information about it!
Housekeeping had done a thorough job preparing the room and it was very clean, with all amenities stocked. When the in-room safe wasn’t working, a mechanic was at my room within minutes and worked quickly to resolve it. Things can always go wrong in a hotel and it’s this type of competent and speedy service recovery that I consider a sign of very good service.
The restaurant service was just as much on top of their job. They kept tables cleared and the buffet stocked, serving coffee and drinks on request at the table.
Overall, this was the best service experience I’ve had at a Holiday Inn property in Europe and in line with what you’ll find at more upscale (and expensive) hotels in the region!
Room: I was upgraded to a large King Suite. You enter through the living room with a sofa on one side and a glass dining table on the other. Large windows made the room very bright.
Through a door, you enter the equally large bedroom with a European-style double bed (two mattresses and comforters) at the center.
It’s facing a sideboard, with a TV, mini-bar, the safe and coffee/tea facilities. Next to it is a “butler” to hang your clothes and press your pants, a convenience found in many upscale German hotels.
Off the bedroom is the also very large bathroom. It has a sink and toilet on one side and a separate deep soaking tub and glass-enclosed shower on the other. Having a tub and shower is a rare luxury in German city hotels due to the typical space constraints, so extra points for that! The Holiday inn provides anyah toiletries, a step up from the standard Holiday Inn products.
The room with its fixtures, furniture and carpets is well maintained and clean, but shows its age and feels dated. While it was fine to stay in, the planned renovation is certainly needed!
Restaurant & Amenities: The hotel has a large lobby in “Bauhaus” style, with a soaring glass ceiling and black leather & metal furniture throughout. There’s plenty of modern art to decorate the space and even a piano.
The restaurant is held in the same style with bistro style seating in a well lit space. The breakfast buffet is typical German, with lots of fresh fruit, yogurt, great German breads, rolls and pastries and a large selection of cold cuts and cheese. You can also get eggs and meats. A professional espresso maker brews fresh espresso drinks and cappuccino, so you’ll start your day with a very good coffee. It’s a fresh and filling breakfast, appropriate for the hotel category.
The hotel also has a large indoor pool, fitness room and wellness area. The pool is 10m long, enough to get some exercise in and there are some loungers to relax. The next-door wellness area has a sauna and steam bath. It was turned off during my visit and while staff started it on request, it took a while to warm up. The gym has cardio and weight equipment, enough for a basic workout.
Value & Rewards: I was in Berlin during a large convention and many city center hotels were sold out or excruciatingly expensive. The Holiday Inn Berlin City West was a (comparatively) reasonable $130/night. I booked an award night at only 10,000 points/night (valued at $50) – a great deal on points! You can find current prices here!
As an IHG Rewards Club Platinum member, I received an upgrade from a standard room to a large suite – a very generous upgrade for the IHG program. I also received welcome points and a welcome amenity of fruit and cookies with a personal letter from the GM. This elite treatment is excellent and far above the average for IHG Rewards Club!
Bottomline: The Holiday Inn Berlin City West offered excellent elite treatment, a large room and complete amenities with a pool, gym and wellness area. You get very good service and a good breakfast at a reasonable price and very low award rate, making it very good value. The location is not ideal for tourists, but it might work on your way to or from Berlin with its proximity to the Tegel airport and Spandau train station. The rooms were clean, but felt dated and the planned renovation is well timed!