Sir Savigny Hotel, part of Sircle Collection

Sir Savigny may be an aristocrat, but he’s an aristocrat of the urban sophisticate variety. The Savignyplatz itself is a green idyll sprouting from the Kantstrasse, a block from the Kurfürstendamm, the famous shopping boulevard, and Sir Savigny lies just around the corner. This district, Charlottenburg, was the hip heart of West Berlin before reunification, and while there are edgier boroughs to the east, there’s nothing quite like this comfortably upscale mix of classic elegance and contemporary design.

The same can be said for Sir Savigny, a late nineteenth-century hotel refurbished in a smart contemporary style. In spite of their name, the Business Rooms are stylish, and look out onto the Kantstrasse, providing a bit of activity to get you out of bed in the morning. By contrast the Superiors open onto the courtyard, with balconies that are made for a leisurely bit of espresso-sipping. And the Executive Rooms are the best of all worlds, more than twice the size of the standards, enough to feel like a proper Charlottenburg studio apartment.

And while 44 rooms isn’t terribly small, the hotel maintains an air of understatement, more pied à terre than gathering place. It’s a prime location for such a thing, to be sure, given the dining and nightlife around Charlottenburg — and the Savigny’s bar keeps guests watered and fed, with drinks, tapas and sandwiches into the night.