The Ritz-Carlton Berlin is a calm, comfortable tower on Potsdamer Platz, and what stays with me is how quiet it was. Our suite was big for Europe and silent at night, and breakfast at POTS was so good I never wanted to skip it. The basement pool is small and cool, though, and service outside the Club Lounge on the 10th floor can be patchy. A Deluxe room costs about the same as at the Adlon, the Waldorf Astoria and Das Stue, so I'd choose the Ritz for a big room and the trains at the door, ideally in a Club Room. For old Berlin I'd pick the Adlon, and for character, Das Stue. See pictures ↓
Service
A doorman was at the car door before we'd quite stopped, and he walked us in past the black Berlin bear with a suitcase that stands by the entrance. At the desk we were handed a glass of sparkling wine while the forms were done, and I'd barely finished it before we were on our way upstairs.
Turndown left a German chocolate by the bed every evening, and it was the first thing I looked for when we came back. Tell them when you book if it's a birthday or an anniversary, because that brings a cake and something sparkling up to the room.
Away from the 10th floor the service is less steady. One busy morning at POTS my eggs took an age to arrive, and the front desk puts a hold on your card at check-in, sometimes more than one, so look over your statement once you're home. Club guests check in privately upstairs with a welcome drink, and the lounge team up there is the strongest in the hotel.
Rooms
On our first evening I sat on the curved sofa in our suite with the lamps on and the curtains drawn, and the square outside made no sound at all. The living room is a proper sitting room, with an oval walnut table, herringbone oak floors, a starburst light on the ceiling and two ink drawings above the sofa. Through the door, the bed sits against a purple headboard set into a wall of oak and plum squares. The curtains close from a switch by the bed, and under the light feather duvet I slept deeply every night.
The bathroom is white marble from floor to ceiling, with a deep tub that has a wooden tray across it and a separate glass shower. The long black marble vanity has two basins and old-fashioned cross-head taps, so two of us could get ready at once, and the Diptyque comes in pump bottles. The rooms were refitted in 2019, and ours was very clean, with no wear that I could see, though the style upstairs is plainer than the Art Deco lobby.
Most people will book a room, and the Deluxe rooms are about 40 square metres, which is generous for a European city. The Deluxe View rooms face Potsdamer Platz, but it isn't much to look at, and the rooms on the inner courtyard are quieter, so I wouldn't pay more for the view. I'd go for a Club Room, which is about the same size and comes with the Club Lounge. If you want a suite with the lounge included, book the Carlton Club Suite, which has 105 square metres, separate living and dining rooms and full-height windows onto the square.
Food and drink
Breakfast at POTS is the meal I'd come back to Berlin for. The coffee comes from a proper portafilter machine, and the pastries, cold cuts, cheese and fruit are laid out close together, so you aren't trekking across the restaurant with a plate. There's a menu too, and the French toast and the truffle eggs were both excellent. The croissants were good enough that I had two every morning.
Dinner at POTS is modern German food from an open kitchen, served under big bronze chandeliers, with bread and butter brought to the table on a wooden board. My beef came dark and glossy under a nest of fried potato threads, and it was good, but I couldn't tell you much about it the next day. In summer the terrace over the Sony Center would make it a nicer evening. It's closed for dinner on Sundays, and room service is expensive, so I'd go out.
The Curtain Club is where I'd spend the evening. It's Art Deco with a Latin American twist, a pianist and a singer play on some nights, and the cocktails are strong. Get there early at the weekend, because it fills up and being a hotel guest won't get you a seat.
Setting
Walk in from the street and the double staircase is right in front of you, cream marble with black ironwork and a gold handrail, curving up both sides under a domed ceiling hung with a cascade of glass. The lobby is the most Art Deco part of the hotel, with starburst chandeliers by the tall windows and a marble fireplace that has a sculpture where the flames should be. Above it hangs Jeanne Mammen's 1928 painting She Represents, and I liked sitting near it in the afternoon, watching people come and go through the front doors.
Outside is Potsdamer Platz, all glass towers, with the Mall of Berlin next door. It's very handy. The S-Bahn and U-Bahn are at the door, and the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Philharmonie and the Tiergarten are all an easy walk. But it has very little of old Berlin about it and goes quiet in the evening, so for dinner I'd take the train somewhere with more life.
The wellness area in the basement is the part of the hotel I'd change. The pool is small, with a raised round daybed at one end, and both the water and the relaxation area were cooler than I'd have liked. There's a Finnish sauna, a steam room and a 24-hour gym that does the job. Go first thing, when it opens at six, and think of the pool as somewhere for a dip and a sauna before breakfast.
Value
A Deluxe room here usually costs about $320 a night, and it can drop to about $250 in a quiet week. The Adlon runs about $310, Das Stue about $325 and the Waldorf Astoria about $290, so the four are close enough that you're really choosing on style and location.
I'd put the extra money into a Club Room. The higher rate is all you pay for the lounge on the 10th floor, which was redone in autumn 2025 with a fireplace, ribbed glass and bronze, and big windows over the Sony Center and the Tiergarten. Breakfast is served there from the POTS menu, there's a light lunch, afternoon tea, and drinks and snacks in the evening, and they'll press two garments a day for you. Bonvoy status won't get you into the lounge here, and if you book a Deluxe room, choose a rate that includes breakfast. You do earn Bonvoy points, and you can spend them here.
The Adlon by the Brandenburg Gate has the history and the famous address, and it feels older and more formal. Das Stue, in a converted embassy beside the Tiergarten, has more character and better design, and the Waldorf Astoria is out in Charlottenburg near the Kurfürstendamm, further from the sights. For a first trip to Berlin, with the trains at the door and a room big enough to spread out in, I'd book the Ritz.
Who it suits
It suits Bonvoy members, couples on a city break and anyone on a first trip to Berlin who wants a big room with the main sights on foot, especially in a Club Room. It's the wrong pick if you want a proper spa or a hotel that feels like old Berlin. For history at a similar price, book Hotel Adlon Kempinski by the Brandenburg Gate. For design and a quieter corner by the Tiergarten, try SO/ Berlin Das Stue, and for the shops of the Kurfürstendamm, the Waldorf Astoria Berlin.
