Amano

Regardless of where you’re staying in Berlin, there’s a fair chance you’ll end up at the Amano one evening. That's because the hotel’s hip rooftop bar — laid-back but fashionable, with sweeping skyline views, manned by serious mixologists — is a destination in itself, frequently cited by both locals and travel magazines as one of the city’s top spots for a sundowner. But this isn’t just a bar with a hotel attached; the Amano group’s high standards and innovative design inform all of the hotel’s spaces, not just those that are open to the public.

Since opening in 2009, the modern 163-room Amano has attracted mostly business travelers. But that demographic is changing, with the hotel offering hipster-friendly amenities including bicycle rental, “pedestrian navigation systems,” and iPods programmed with walking tours of the neighborhood. The design doesn’t hurt, either — the interiors were done by Esther Bruzkus Architects, the well-established Berlin design group. The look is contemporary, but not cold: think leather banquette seating running the entire length of the far wall, huge picture windows, striking accents in bronze and mirrored glass, glamorous columns seemingly inspired by old-world Berlin, but reimagined with eye-catching industrial materials.

Guest rooms and apartments, playfully categorized into Standard, M, L and XL, are crisp and cool, with shining parquet floors, done up in bright whites and sophisticated charcoal. Apartments come with stylishly equipped kitchens and extra living space; some have small private balconies. But apart from the XL, which has a lavish, slightly sultry look that makes it stand apart from the rest of the hotel, the guest rooms are more about function than form. Generally speaking, there's no splashy artwork up here, nothing trendy or gimmicky, just clean lines and well-made furnishings, luxurious linens, wi-fi that always works. (You’re in Germany, where everything always works.)

If there’s anything missing, it’s a restaurant — though there is a garden breakfast area, as well as the popular Amano Bar and the quieter Amano lobby bar. But thanks to its central location, on a quiet side street in Mitte, you’re just around the corner from a wide range of dining and nightlife venues, including the popular Mani restaurant at the Hotel Mani, also known as the Amano’s little sister.