Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I went to Berlin for a long weekend of Christmas markets. We had a great time until we discovered that our return flight was cancelled due to the snow at Heathrow... It was all rather stressful and the earliest flight back was 48 hours later, but every cloud has a silver lining: we had two extra days in one of my favourite cities! Our home for our extended break was Ellington Hotel, which I visited for a lovely lunch at Restaurant Duke in March.
Located in the Charlottenburg district near the Tiergarten, the historic, four-star hotel is housed in a listed Bauhaus building and has a fantastic jazz heritage. Originally a ballroom frequented by all the greats in the roaring 1920s, lots of the original features remain like the striking 185-metre long facade, brass fixtures, and glazed green and white tiles. Today, the hotel has 285 rooms decorated in a modern, simple style with black and white jazz photographs, huge windows and lots of natural light, comfy white beds, large TVs and open bathrooms. Downstairs, the lobby and lounge has lots of modern design touches: a neon sign, sparkling disco balls, dark leather chesterfield sofas and beautiful Christmas decorations.
Ellington Hotel Berlin, Nürnberger Str. 50-55, 10789
Located in the Charlottenburg district near the Tiergarten, the historic, four-star hotel is housed in a listed Bauhaus building and has a fantastic jazz heritage. Originally a ballroom frequented by all the greats in the roaring 1920s, lots of the original features remain like the striking 185-metre long facade, brass fixtures, and glazed green and white tiles. Today, the hotel has 285 rooms decorated in a modern, simple style with black and white jazz photographs, huge windows and lots of natural light, comfy white beds, large TVs and open bathrooms. Downstairs, the lobby and lounge has lots of modern design touches: a neon sign, sparkling disco balls, dark leather chesterfield sofas and beautiful Christmas decorations.
Duke is a happening place for lunch: during the week it's busy with the business crowd, and it was packed for Sunday lunch with a buzzy atmosphere and a pianist playing live jazz. Breakfast is a casual affair with a buffet of juices, teas and coffees, cereals, pastries, bread, cold cuts, and chefs serving eggs and omelettes. We sat having breakfast watching the snow falling onto the courtyard garden feeling very cosy and festive indeed. When we realised our flight was cancelled, we went back to the hotel and the friendly reception staff very kindly put us up - it's a chic hotel with lovely staff, unique history, great food and a central location; check it out when you're next heading to Berlin.
Ellington Hotel Berlin, Nürnberger Str. 50-55, 10789
