Ellington Hotel Berlin

An architectural gem, the Ellington is striking in its simplicity. Aside from the name, hints of the hotel’s jazz past are seen in the black-and-white photographs of musicians that line the walls, and in a quirky old radio booth near the bar area. The artwork pairs well with the streamlined design and decor: Knoll-style benches, brass doors, and cylindrical planters. A narrow red carpet leads to a gold, kidney-shaped front desk that offsets the white-on-white lobby. Public spaces include a stark-white lounge with recessed lighting and a cafeteria-style breakfast room. Duke Restaurant, with its open-air kitchen, white tablecloths and steel-gray chairs, and wine bottles stored in an open safe, is consistent with the sleek, minimalist decor elsewhere. Guests can settle into the reddish-brown leather couches in the Smokers' Lounge and Bar, which has an impressive array of cigars on display, or gather or dine on the Summer Terrace -- in the hotel's inner courtyard -- weather permitting. 

The Ellington is close to prime shopping, within a five-minute walk of Kaufhaus des Westens department store and located around the corner from Kurfurstendamm, Berlin’s main shopping street, with several restaurants and bars nearby. It's also within easy reach of the city’s U-Bahn network, and it's about 20- to 25-minute ride via public transportation to such sights as the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie. Berlin Tegel Airport is a 15-minute drive or a half-hour ride on public transportation.

The Ellington's 285 rooms and suites come in a variety of categories, from narrow Standard Rooms to sprawling suites. Rooms are minimalist in decor, with mostly bare-white walls and imposing floor-to-ceiling headboards. But the lack of color or carpeting can make the rooms feel a bit stark. The fifth-floor Tower Suite, with enormous windows that offer fantastic views of the city, replaces the bare hardwood floors with a jazzy red wall-to-wall carpet. All rooms come with flat-screen TVs, minibars, writing desks, safes, and hairdryers, but -- except for the suites -- they lack tea- and coffee-making facilities. Sleek bathrooms include toiletries, but be aware that the glass-door showers sit right by the beds, and don’t offer much privacy. And some of the bathroom's tile grout is looking dingy. Windows are not fully soundproofed, so light sleepers might want to request rooms that don't face the street.

The hotel serves a buffet breakfast for a fee, while the French-inspired Duke restaurant serves from an open kitchen, and has an extensive open wine cellar. The hotel also has a Smokers' Bar and Lounge, for cigar aficionados, a Summer Terrace in the inner courtyard where meals can be taken when weather permits, and a fitness center that includes several cardio- and weight-training machines, along with free weights, and personal trainers (for an extra fee). There are several meeting rooms and event spaces that can accommodate up to 800 guests, as well as a computer for guests' use. Basic Wi-Fi is free, but high-speed Wi-Fi carries a fee beyond the first hour.