Review of Sofitel Berlin Kurfürstendamm

100   Recommended
October 1, 2016 by

 Map | 4 Reviews | 100% Recommended
Share
Save
Liked:
Location
 
Service
 
Food
 
Amenities
 
Room
 

{{ oRightNav.heading }}

Sofitel Berlin Kurfürstendamm
 Map | 4 Reviews | 100% Recommended

Save

Share
Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats

IMG_1221.JPG

Having to go to Berlin, I decided to try this Sofitel because of the existence of a club lounge. I was aware, thanks to the review on our favorite forum, of the uncertainties regarding lounge access (due to its small size, platinum members are sometimes refused access), so I knew that there were some « risks ».

Between the booking and my stay, wkndtraveler made a review and informed us about the lounge renovation (to have a larger one) and that there was a temporary lounge available during that period. wkndtraveler kindly advised me to contact proactively some key staff at the hotel to prevent some problems for lounge access, which I did. Here is the response I received :

 

Dear Mr Goldorak,

Thank you for your Email. We are delighted to welcome you here as a Platinum Member. According to the Le Club Accothotels guidelines the access to the lounge is subject to availability on the day of arrival. For this time the lounge is already fully booked. As a courtesy we will include the breakfast in our restaurant Saint Germain for you as your rate was booked without breakfast.

Mr Goldorak, please be ensured that we do not deny the access on purpose but to guarantee the high level of service we are not able to overbook the lounge. We will do our best to make your stay most comfortable.

For any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

 

Being of course disappointed, I tried to push them arguing with the fact I would use the lounge only one evening (this was a 2 night stay but I was checking-in too late to benefit from the lounge the 1st evening). 2nd response received :

 

Dear Mr Goldorak,

Thank you for your answer. I understand your disappointment but unfortunately we are absolutely fully booked. As an addition to the complimentary breakfast we will provide four welcome drink voucher instead of two which you can use in the bar. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further questions.

 

To be honest, I really had mixed feelings about all this. Of course, I cannot complain as they gave me 4 drink vouchers and free BF but the fact I had to write 2 e-mails to have this left me a kind of bitter taste in the mouth (I’m sure none of that would have been provided spontaneously). Also, wkndtraveler explained us in his last review that they installed a temporary lounge in some meeting rooms, during the renovation work of the main lounge renovation. So why don’t they made this temporary lounge in a large enough room to accomodate the platinum members ? I might be completely wrong, but I have the feeling that lounge access will still be problematic in the future (just my gut feeling).

Check In

Check-in was efficient without good or bad surprise. The 4 drink vouchers and free BF were confirmed (as well as the no access to club lounge due to fully booked hotel). For the same reason, no room upgrade (but, as usual, not a word about this from front desk staff – you guess from the room description and pictures on the web site…). Here are pictures of the lobby:

IMG_1154.JPGIMG_1155.JPG

Room

Nothing to complain about the room. It was a pleasant one. Bathrobe, slippers, Nespresso machine, safe box, etc. Very quiet, which is someting I appreciate particularly. A plate with some fruits and a bottle of water were in room as VIP treatment.

IMG_1222.JPGIMG_1223.JPGIMG_1224.JPGIMG_1225.JPG

IMG_1137.JPGIMG_1138.JPGIMG_1130.JPGIMG_1135.JPGIMG_1132.JPGIMG_1136.JPG

Dining

The bar was also pleasant and staff efficient. No restriction about the drink voucher.

The BF room is very large with large windows. And the buffet was really superb and excellent. 

IMG_1139.JPGIMG_1143.JPGIMG_1144.JPGIMG_1145.JPGIMG_1146.JPGIMG_1147.JPGIMG_1148.JPG

Overall

Overall, a nice hotel and they treated me rather well, but LCAH Elite treatment remains challenging and requires significant efforts…

88 Comments

This review lives in the Master Thread: ex-Sofitel Berlin Kurfürstendamm [no longer part of Accor] thread.
88 comments and Y review
Comment In Thread

Hotels you may also be interested in