Hotel Adlon Kempinski

Berlin

“Berlin is a poor but sexy city”; the mayor of the city, Klaus Wowereit proclaimed the day after his re-election as municipal leader. This shock phrase came to symbolize the city throughout Germany and well past its borders. An authentic home of artistic creation has made Berlin a capital of European culture. It boasts no less than 165 museums, 400 theatre troupes and artists representing 120 different nationalities, who, according to French artist, Bruno Martineau, “come here to penetrate this other dimension.” Following the end of the Wall, Berlin has continued to transform itself. In search of renewal and innovation, old neighborhoods have become trendy and avant-garde, from the Potsdamer Platz to the Friedrichstrasse, an avenue known for its boutiques, restaurants and chic cafés as well as the train station area, the island of museums and the Mitte or central quarter with its modern architectural facades, which in recent years, has become home to numerous artists and counter culture enthusiasts.

A mythical hotel

Since the wall was opened on the night of November 9^th, 1989, the Pariser Platz, which opens onto the prestigious Unter den Linden Avenue, has regained its noble aspect. The square, which historically possessed the capital’s reception salon and which has gradually added foreign embassies and other institutional buildings, also contains a mythical structure built on the foundations of the Von Redern family palace. Once the meeting place of the exclusive Prussian aristocracy, the Hotel Adlon, at one time abandoned after being badly damaged by fire, seems to have been reborn from out of its ashes. This neo-classical style building, re-opened in the spring of 2005, contains 69 new rooms, the work of Viennese architect, Gustav Peichi. The elegant and refined interiors were created by decorator Anna-Maria Jagdfeld in a classic-contemporary style in which precious woodwork and silk fabrics harmonize with the marble décor of the bathrooms. Reminiscent of its past glory, when the palace was a prestigious jewel, plunges the visitor behind the scenes of the mundane Berlin society of the early 20^th century. The hotel also possesses four restaurants offering cuisine that is as gastronomic as it is distinguished…a gourmet’s delight.

The Hotel Adlon was used as the décor for the film “Unknown” directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. An anecdote regarding the film concerns the crew which was given permission, for the purposes of the movie, to deposit artificial debris in front of the building. Passersby who noticed the rubble asked if it was part of an artistic exhibit.