Waldorf Astoria Berlin

Escaping the heatwave in Germany a bit and being pampered in a luxury hotel with air conditioning – that was my motivation for a two night stay at the Waldorf Astoria Berlin in June 2026. I was always curious about the hotel and whether it is worth investing a bit more into a hotel stay than usual. Here is my review of the hotel in German capital, which is franchised by Hilton.

Waldorf Astoria Berlin – Location

The Waldorf Astoria Berlin is located right across the road of Berlin Zoologischer Garten rail station. The area was formerly known as a center of drug addicts, but has changed quite a bit during the last decades. There are a couple of other hotels and stores as well as a basic mall around. You reach (West) Berlin’s posh shopping street Kurfürstendamm within a few steps as well. One key attraction in the area is Berlin Zoo, which is also very close to the hotel. The train station includes some shopping opportunities which are also open on Sundays, which may be very handy. If you want to do posh shopping, the famous KaDeWe is about a ten minutes walk away from the hotel.

If you use public transport, the travel situation of the Waldorf Astoria is quite ideal.  The train station does not offer national travel any more, but is connected by several commuter rail lines. Right in front of the hotel, there is an elevator to the Eastbound U2 underground train.  U9 trains and U2 Westbound trains can be reached easily as well. In front of the station, there is a major bus and coach station for additional connections. If you arrive by car, the hotel offers valet parking (42 EUR / night). Public transport to or from Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) does require a transfer, though.

Waldorf Astoria Berlin – Room

I had a two night stay at the hotel in June 2026, Friday to Sunday. Including all taxes, the two day room rate for a King Deluxe Room was 571.04 EUR. I did not receive an upgrade, despite my status at Hilton. The room was really nice. From the hallway, you could enter the bathroom to the right or head straight to the living and sleeping area. The hallway also featured quite some storage as well as the minibar as well as coffee and tea making facilities.

The living room was actually nice and had a good view over Berlin. I struggled with the work desk, though. First of all, there was just one power outlet next to it. Secondly that power outlet and the chair was set up in a way that you have sunlight in your back. I would definitely rather expect the opposite. I really liked the light controls in the room, which worked very well. The remaining area in there felt spacious, but not that splendid.

The bathroom with a separate bathtub and shower felt really nice, the marble decor gave some luxury touch. The sink area also gave you sufficient space for your personal items. Again, I felt that the bathroom was on the compact side. In the whole room, there were some scratches and scars, most of them rather minor. While the cleaning of the room was good, I wondered why I got all towels and similar items for two persons, while the room just featured one bathrobe.

Waldorf Astoria Berlin – Breakfast & Food

Breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria is definitely a good experience. There are a few buffet station, where you can help yourself. In addition to hot drinks, one breakfast dish made to order is brought to your table and included in the breakfast. If you want to have additional morning treats, they are charged with 10 Euro. The buffet holds some very nice items. I especially liked the vast selection of bread and bakery items. The quality of the food is very good. Even though it was not that busy during my breakfast times, I struggled with the service, especially on Sunday morning. It took me some 15 minutes to order my breakfast dish.

Waldorf Astoria Berlin – Service

When you go to a Waldorf Astoria, you expect more than a good service. Unfortunately, the hotel failed during my stay in that regard too frequently. The welcoming at the hotel door was very nice, but I arrived before check-in time, so that I was absolutely fine for my room to be ready. I had to wait for more than two hours – and it was after check-in time (around 15:15), when I went back to the reception and asked for an update about my room. They had simply forgotten me – and instead of apologizing in any way the receptionist just stated that they just had a shift change. The hotel was not sold out at all during my stay, so I was not too happy about it. Check out was absolutely weird as well. A member of the hotel staff felt like hugging and chatting to a hotel guest (a former German tennis professional, by the way) and by that blocked my access to the reception desk for a few minutes. The receptionists did not do any effort to serve me.

Waldorf Astoria Berlin – My View

First of all, I liked staying at the Waldorf Astoria Berlin. It is convenient, the connections are great and it does have a nice touch. The room was nice, but not overwhelming. Breakfast was definitely the hotel’s best discipline, despite the service issues, especially on the second day. Having biased and unrespectful staff, though, absolutely limited my experience and made this place even drop out of my Top Pick! ratings.