Marc and I finally arrived in Berlin after a long train ride from Frankfurt.  Our trip took longer by an hour and a half because our train had to take in passengers from another train which experienced mechanical problems and which broke down.  What was supposed to be a direct train ride now had to take a detour to Hanover.  Our train's car which used to be not so full had become so packed there were now people standing in the aisles.  Anyway, we did arrive at Berlin's Hauptbanhof in the afternoon of July 7, 2012.  It was a Saturday and the whole place looked like a zoo. There were millions of people everywhere.  It was good that there was a metro station in the Hauptbanhof.  We bought our tickets, and we learned to validate them before boarding the metro train.  The ride was so so.  There were many people but it was not crowded like the trains in Tokyo and Beijing.  Traveling with suitcases did not feel so aggravating.

It was raining so hard when we left the metro station.  We had to walk two to three blocks to the IBIS Hotel Berlin Mitte.  I was quite unhappy with the location given the distance we had to walk to get to the hotel.  The torrential rain didn't help either.  We were very sure that we were deep in Berlin's former communist eastern part had the cold war still existed.  Upon arrival, Marc checked with the front desk and much to our dismay, they had no reservations for us whatsoever.  Marc had gotten very upset by this time and his unpleasant demeanor was showing.  I had to get the reservation papers from him and I had to recheck them.  Fortunately, the young German hotel reservations agent was very kind and patient.  We realized that Marc had actually made reservations for a room at the IBIS Potsdamer Platz in Berlin Mitte and not the IBIS Berlin Mitte.  The hotel employee helped call a cab for us and off we went to our real hotel.

We checked in.  We were quite flustered by this time because of the mistake we had just made going to the wrong hotel. The horrible weather which looked like a typhoon really dampened our spirits.  There was even some lightning.

Our hotel room at the IBIS Potsdamer Platz was room 704.  The airconditioning was not very strong.    We requested a room change but the lady at the front desk asked us to wait a little longer and see if any air did come out of the airconditioning unit.  She did agree to move us to another room should the issue not get resolved.  Luckily, it did not become a problem during our visit. We chose to stay.

Marc and I had forgotten about this wonderful chain of hotel.  We first stayed in one during our trip to the United Kingdom years ago.  We likewise stayed in their Seoul branch when we went to Korea in the summer of 2005.  This hotel though not budget is not on the high end of hotels either.  It is more middle of the road and its rates generally range from $100 to $150.  We scored big time with IBIS this year after we took advantage of its early reservation offers.  We paid much less than a $100 for each of the nights we stayed with them except for the IBIS in Vienna.  Given the prices of hotels in Europe and the weak dollar against the Euro, we couldn't be any happier with our choice.  The location of our IBIS hotels had been very centrally located as well.

It might interest some to learn that there exists yet another IBIS chain in Berlin called the IBIS Budget.  The rates are lower because the rooms are smaller.  Check out their website.  The hotel is actually called the ETAP IBIS Budget.  I checked out their site and the photos showed very similar rooms.  On the day before we checked out, we saw many European students belonging to group tours in front of the hotel.

Anyway, the pictures below were taken from our hotel room at the IBIS in Potsdamer Platz.

Can you see the Berlin Wall?  It's the grayish part in the middle of the picture. Then, beyond the buildings, you can even get a glimpse of the dome of the Berlin Reichstag.

I liked the hotel a lot.  After having just stayed at the IBIS Hotel in Frankfurt, I couldn't help but compare the flooring.  The one in Frankfurt had wooden flooring while the one in Berlin had wall to wallcarpeting.  I was not a fan of the color of the carpeting as it gave the floor a not so clean look. To be honest, I actually walked in my shoes inside sometimes.  The hallways were immaculate.  Overall, I rate this IBIS Hotel highly.  It scores big points for its location. It is walking distance to many important sights in Berlin.  Berlin while very expansive it is a walkable city.  Its sights are close to each other.  I would definitely not mind staying here again if and when I return to Berlin.

It was in Frankfurt when I first learned of the budget version of the IBIS called the ETAP hotel. In Berlin, it was located right next door to our IBIS Hotel. We went to the hotel's front desk and inquired about its rooms prices. The rooms turned out to be 10 euros cheaper. We didn't check out the rooms personally but the hotel seemed very, very popular among students and budget travelers.

Also next door to our IBIS Hotel was the hotel chain's upscale version, the Novotel.