Are you looking for a cheap and central accommodation in Berlin? Then read this post because we are going to recommend you a great hotel that will make you feel like you are at home, or better yet as if you had a house in the heart of Berlin. The hotel we are talking about is the Gat Point Charlie.
Where is the Gat Point Charlie Hotel? For the curious you will like to know that it is located in what were the headquarters of the Stasi secret police of the former East Germany. Regarding its location, it is close to Check Point Charlie, one of the top things to see in Berlin and therefore super central. In just 10 minutes you are at Potsdamer Platz! And you have a subway and bus stop almost at the door.
What are the rooms like at the Gat Point Charlie? The hotel has single, double, triple and junior suites. All are decorated in a modern and minimalist style, the bed is very comfortable and all have private bathrooms, everything is brand new!
What is the hotel like? The reception staff is very attentive and they speak Spanish! This is appreciated for those of us who are not exactly bilingual. The hotel has a bar area where you can have a snack or even a cocktail, they even have happy hour!
What about breakfast? And here we come to one of our favorite points of any hotel, we love to have a hearty breakfast to kick around the city! The breakfast at Gat Point Charlie is super complete, with cold dishes such as cold meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables and also hot dishes with eggs, bacon or sausage. For those with a sweet tooth there is a wide variety of breads, jams, juices, pastries and even homemade cakes!
I’m sure we have already convinced you to stay at this hotel (you can book your room by clicking https://reservations.hotelgatpointcharlie.com/gat_charlie/en) but if you are not planning to visit Berlin at the moment and you fancy another destination, that’s ok! They have another great hotel in the center of Lisbon, the Hotel Gat Point Rossio.
At
the Gatrooms hotels in Lisbon and Berlin, we think of our teams as superhumans
working hard to offer our guests the perfect hotel experience. This task can
sometimes be challenging, but they always nail it in the end. In order to reveal
what goes into creating “the perfect stay at Gatrooms hotels”, we have created
a forum for our staff to describe their everyday life at work.
The day my world turned dark by João Martins
It’s in
adversity that we show the world what kind of person we truly are. This phrase
has been repeated and shared so many times that it has become a cliché. But
clichés are only clichés because they’re true (up to a point).
This rang very
true to me last year, on a day that can only be described as #$””! hell but
that taught me that I was capable of going through all of it and making it to the
other side.
For those who don’t
know me, I work in Sales & Marketing at Gat Rossio. Among the many things I
do, I supervise events from start to end to make sure all our clients’ needs are
met. That was what I was doing with a series of workshops on SEO, Google
Adwords and Analytics being led by two of the most talented professionals I
have ever met. If I hadn’t been working, I would have gladly paid to take part and
grow as a professional.
The workshops
had been going on for a couple of weekends, but that day, as I arrived at the
hotel at 7:30 in the morning, I saw from the outside that all the lights were
off. The first #$%=? of the day escaped my lips and that wonderfully terrible
word would continue to accompany me throughout the day.
Apparently, an
electrical issue had occurred late the night before, and the hotel had lost
everything, and I mean EVERYTHING: no electricity, no water, no phones, no Wi-Fi.
The little power we were somehow able to produce with backup generators was
directed towards the breakfast room. Guests walked the hallways in eerie calm
using phones to light their way. What struck me was the silence: no background
music, no machines whirring, no talking. Nothing.
And in the midst
of it all, my greatest concern was the fact that in two hours’ time I would
have to have a tech-based workshop up and running, with no power available. My
colleagues had been working overtime since 03:00 to try and get things working.
So, I did what
any rational person would do in this situation:
I RAN!
Well…not quite. First,
I went to speak with the organizers to advise them of the situation and assure them
that I was going to make it work. Then I ran.
I ran into the
streets, visiting the surrounding hotels in the area to see if they had any space
available, how much it would cost, and so on. I was chasing solutions.
I found one at
International Design Hotel; their team were my salvation, particularly David
and the maintenance team, who helped me set everything up. I was a sweaty,
cursing, adrenaline-fueled mess but I was moving forward.
Once my solution
was ready, I ran back, hoping against all hope that my clients and their students
would be open to the idea and that the issue had been resolved so that
everything could return to the original plan.
Fortunately, my
clients are some of the best people I have ever met. Seriously, if I had been in
their shoes, I would not have been as calm! They were happy with the solution,
and enjoying the change of pace, I walked with them to the hotel and talked
with some of them, turning the walk into a tour. When they were settled, I kept
watch to make sure everything was working as planned. Two hours later a miracle
took place: the hotel was fixed and all was well with the world.
Even better,
although the clients liked the new space, they considered my hotel their headquarters
and said they would prefer to return there after lunch.
And return we
did. As they settled in and I entered into a more relaxed state of mind, I
could only be in awe of the day, of myself, and of these fantastic people that
had helped me set up alternatives and that didn’t explode in righteous anger at
their day being ruined by something outside of anyone’s control.
The only control
I had over that day was over myself and how I handled and reacted to events,
and I’m proud to say I did quite alright.
So, don’t
despair when life comes at you with a total blackout. Things might not go as
well as they did for me, but keep moving forward and do your best so you can
end your day tired, but with your head held high. Don’t stop trying.
Berlin is a
trendsetting city. When the brunch boom hit a few years ago, eateries here quickly
found a way to offer a new type of customer‒ “those who brunch” ‒extensive options for high quality, healthy and locally-sourced food.
Kopps
@koppsberlin
According to The New York Times and CNN, this is one of the best vegan
restaurants in the world. According to us, it’s a place where whatever you
order, it’s bound to be delicious!
Brunch served: Saturday
09:30-16:00 and Sunday 09:00-16:00.
Located on
Tempelhofer Ufer in the Kreuzberg district, Hallesches Haus is an eye-opening
event space with a modern, industrial vibe that serves locally-sourced organic
cuisine.
Brunch
served: Saturday
10:00-18:00. Enjoy a cup of local roasted coffee, too.
Isla Coffee Berlin
@Islacoffeeberlin
This city oasis
with a zen vibe set in the midst of a sometimes hectic Hermannstraße in
Neukölln features a minimalist decor, locally-produced furniture and an
abundance of plants. The brunches they serve at this “island” of calm are based
on a no-waste philosophy: leftover milk foam is used as ricotta to make their
bread pudding.
Brunch served:
Weekends,
10:00-16:00.
Fine Bagels
@finebagels
This bakery produces traditional New York bagels in the heart of the
Friedrichshain district. Perfect for enjoying lunch after browsing the
extensive collection of English books at the Shakespeare and Sons bookstore,
where it is located.
Open: Monday to Sunday
08:00-20:00.
Brammibal’s Donuts
@Brammibalsdonuts
Accompany
these marvellous, homemade vegan doughnuts with a great cup of coffee after
devouring a freshly toasted bagel. When it comes to brunch, anything goes. Open: Monday to Saturday 10:00-20:00. Sunday
Gatrooms, the chain behind the Gat Point Charlie Hotel in Berlin and the Gat Rossio Hotel in Lisbon, stands apart for being an integral part of the cultural offer in its home cities. It holds four exhibitions a year in each of the two hotels, among other events such as workshops and artistic performances.
This autumn, we have the privilege of exhibiting the work of well-known international artists who draw on internal reflection and use different techniques to push the boundaries of art. The exhibitions will run from September to November.
Venezuela-born Sol Felpeto is a multicultural artist who, in her own words, “seeks to translate art into something immediately catchy, making a connection between the known and the new to create emotions”. In this respect, and in her desire to “rewrite history using animals”, Felpeto has adapted Picasso’s masterpieces using her unique Pop Artoons style, replacing the classic protagonists with cats. https://www.solfelpeto.com/
Artist Marco Laborda hails from Barcelona and, as he himself explains, wears “several hats, all of which tilt towards art.” Fascinated with portraiture, collage is his main form of artistic expression, in which “he cuts and pastes vivid elements to produce portraits that are reminiscent of Francis Bacon’s disfigured characters or Francisco de Goya’s realistic portraits”. http://marcolaborda.com/about/
The best thing about an art gallery being in a hotel is that it is open to the public every day of the week:
Gat Point Charlie Hotel: Mauerstraße 81-82, 10117 Berlin
Gat Rossio Hotel: R. do Jardim do Regedor 27-35, 1150-193 Lisbon.
On 2nd June, in connection with the 10th anniversary of Gat Rossio Hotel and the Festas de Lisboa, we hosted a photography workshop led by professional photographer Pedro Pina. It was about 1-hour theory session focused on getting the most out of the participants’ camera or Smartphone, followed by a three-hour tour of Lisbon’s most photogenic corners and an hour-long presentation of the pics taken.
The best photographs selected by our team, are displayed at the hotel Gat Rossio, and you can take in anytime!
