First trip to Berlin, a city we found very hard to "figure out" prior to our arrival, but without a doubt we hit the bull's-eye with Hotel Mandala [pronounced man-dah-LAH in Berlin]. I would recommend this well-run and stylish hotel to both short- and long-term guests. The large rooms with closets galore and affordable rates would make it an ideal choice for a long-term stay.

The entire area is all glass-encased new construction [read: no shortage of Starbucks and the like] as this area was literally a no-man's land when the Wall was standing. However it is a short walk to the Berliner Tor [Brandenberg Gate] and Unter den Linden, the main boulevard of Mitte [or "middle"] and is also just a few steps to the delightful Tiergarten Park. On the downside your are in the "middle" of nowhere, in a way, being between the two sides of Berlin. What this means is cabs, which were not terribly expensive. Whatever you do, do not miss the very moving Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which is a two or three minute walk from the hotel. A stone's throw from this memorial is the site of Hitler's bunker, thankfully now filled in, above which is currently a non-descript car park. Nothing demonstrated the splintered history of this city more than this strange juxtaposition.

The hotel shares the building with other entities, so the ground floor entrance to the hotel is a small doorway directly next to the Berlin Film Festival Offices. There is a small lobby on the ground floor, but the bulk of the hotel is on the upper floors of the building (reached via a glass elevator overlooking the Sony Centre across Potsdamer Straße) including the restaurant, Facil, on the fifth floor and the ONO spa on the eleventh (top) floor.

The staff was top notch, embodying that rare combination of being both handsome and helpful. They had the foresight to anticipate our needs and the knowledge to fulfill them. I can't say enough good things about each and every person we encountered at the front desk.

Perhaps my opinion of the front desk is tainted by the very generous room upgrade they gave us, from a 50sqm Management Suite to a rather capacious 80 sqm Grand Suite. The glass-enclosed balcony alone was massive with fancy-schmancy electric louvered windows which wouldn't be out of place in a James Bond film. The main part of the room was large and then meandered around to the bedroom/bathroom and the adjoining closet area, meaning an area literally full of open closets. One small complaint, the very stylized tub offered no intuitive way to get the water from the bath to the shower. My friends at the front desk were very helpful, and I sensed I wasn't the first (or last) person to be flummoxed by this vexing plumbing fixture.

The breakfast at Facil was simply heaven. The level of service and the wide range of food (all delicious) made this the ne plus ultra of hotel breakfasts. I suggest trying to arrive at non-peak times, as the demand for tables was higher than the supply.

The ONO spa is very stylish and offers saunas (no wet heat) and a relaxing area with million dollar views of Berlin.

Like most Americans, our knowledge of European history is spotty, at best, so the hotel was able to engage a tour guide named Peter who was a Berlin-native. This was the best money we have ever spent as in three hours we "got" Berlin in terms of both its history and its evolution. I highly recommend this intelligent personalized approach for Berlin neophytes over the slightly less expensive tour groups.