This hotel is perfect for a city break, being walking distance from many places and with excellent public transport connections. The rooms are modern, clean and nicely lit/decorated, the reception helpful, and the bar serves a free breakfast (filled bagels, coffee & fruit) which was perfect for us to grab on our way out somewhere.
The rooms at the front look out onto the street - if you are in front but high up this could be nice but on the lower floors you could feel a little exposed (the windows of the rooms are full-wall floor to ceiling, although of course there are drapes) - we didn't mind but I understand the rooms at the back are also quieter.

My husband and I and two of our friends stayed at Arcotel Velvet for 5 nights over Silvester 2011/2012. The location is excellent, a few minutes from U-bahn Oranienburger Strasse, a few more from S-bahn Oranienburger Tor and about a 10 minute walk from Friedrichstrasse station and you can easily walk to places like Hackescher Hof and Brandenburger Tor. It’s also right next door to the ‘alternative’ art collective Tacheles which is very Berlin, but they also play loud music during the day which was a little disturbing for our friends who had a room towards the back.
We had a Superior room on the fourth floor at the end of the corridor (409) which was very nice. They have a rather unusual open plan shower layout in the room, but as long as you are OK with seeing your travel companion without clothes that’s fine. They also have rooms with separate shower so if you like I guess you can ask for one of them. The floor to ceiling windows gave us a lovely view of the street and we were not disturbed by street noise – just remember to draw the curtains before you get out of said shower. A downside of the room was the lack of storing space, only one small cupboard and anything on a hanger had to go together with our jackets. Our friend’s room did not even have a space for hanging clothes.
Some booking sites list WiFi as being part of the room, but this only true for the suites. The Superior and Comfort rooms have wired internet and WiFi is available in the foyer. Also, our booking site claimed there were coffee making facilities in the room which also was not correct – refer to the hotel web site to check what amenities are included.
The staff was very helpful and nice. We did not try the breakfast-in-a-bag but other guests seemed to either collect them to their rooms or sit in the lobby bar to eat.
We found several really good restaurants just minutes from the hotel, I will rate them on their own posts but also list them here:
Beisl am Tacheles – the Austrian restaurang right next to the hotel was cosy, the staff friendly and the food good
Bellini cocktail lounge – a few blocks towards Hackescher Markt the Bellini lounge made amazingly good cocktails (ok, and a few weird).
Restaurang Oranium – we had breakfast here 4 of our 6 mornings, a wonderful place!
Ristorante Al Dente – a cosy Italian with excellent pasta on Auguststrasse, first street left across from the hotel
Amrit – the Indian right across from Tacheles has horrible service and ok food. Not worth it.

Stayed at this hotel for 4 days late December and the hotel was excellent.
I agree with other TA reviewers in respect of quiet rooms at the rear (courtyard) otherwise you are in full view of all the bars opposite and on the main street. There are lots of bars and restraunts on Oranienburger Strass and also further on is Hackerscher Market and Alexanderplatz which both have good atmosphere at this time of year.The hotel is well located and in walking distance of many of the tourist attractions. It is also 100 metres away from the underground train system.
You can buy a ticket for one day for up to 5 people, which covers train, bus and trams that will cover many of the tourist attractions for 15 euros, which I thought was great value.
The hotel bar did not seem to be in use at night but this was no problem as you could sit outside at the bars opposite under the heaters and watch the world go by. I would certainly recommend this hotel for a long weekend or short stay.

I've stayed in ArcoTEL Velvet in Berlim in December of 2011 with some friends. I found the hotel nice. The staff always very friendly and helpful. The location was everything for me. Oranienburger Strasse, the street of the hotel, has lots of restaurants and pubs, it's nice for nightlife. There's a lots of public transports nearby on walking distance. The rooms are ok ... not very big but always very clean. The only true downside was the bathroom that was a bit small for me and somehow weird. Mine had the toilet separated from the rest (shower and lavatory). The toilet itself was in a cubicle very claustrophobic while the rest was on a division that had no door all in glass. Nevertheless the two together made a small bathroom.

Overall i think this hotel is very good for a city break.