We stayed recently at Schoenhouse (week of January 1st) and were on the whole very disappointed. We had high expectations given the very favorable Tripadvisor ranking, other reviews online and direct feedback from friends we trust.

The hotel was "fine," but by no means recommended for a first time stay in Berlin (or even a second or third.... ) There are far more interesting and pretty design-type hotels. Once I saw Amano on the second day .... closeby also in Mitte .... I knew we should have stayed there... and it's pretty much the same price! Horrible feeling. Also, Lux 11 and Weinmeister were at the top of our list .. and unfortunately, the higher Trip Advisor ranking made Schoenhouse win out.

The lesson here? Go with your gut feeling and not just the numbers. Yes, this is true apartment-style living but there's probably better apartments via VRBO.com or Air BnB if that's the route you want to go. Berlin is REALLY spread out so know before you go .... and why not stay in a hotel if it's pretty much the same price?

The room.... While large, it smelled like a one big ashtray ... we were invited to move one day later into another room .. .which was a nice offer but a pain. This is not an uptight American complaining about a smoking smell but rather .... the smell hit you over the head as soon as you walked into the room.

We did move rooms for the subsequent nights, but we heard A LOT of noise in the rooms above (hardwood floors so the noise really carries) We are not early people - we are talking noise at 12am, 1am, 2am..... Normally, in a hotel ... you could complain to the front desk .. but after hours - there's no one to call..... and it's not really feasible to have to deal with the issue directly with the other guests... Hey, it's their holiday too.

The room was clean when we arrived (*there's no maid service throughout and I never did figure out how I would have called someone after hours*) and the bed and sheets were also fine but not great..... The towels were really small and thin but that's more of a minor comment..... The whole room's vibe was drab and tattered ... it was probably nice about 5 years ago ... but definitely a little worn now. Having traveled extensively in South America in the mid 90s when I was in college, it reminded me of one of those cost-effective utilitarian pensiones/guesthouses.

The staff was friendly and efficient ... but always seemingly in a rush. I'd look into another hotel.... read up as there seems to be a lot of new hotels in the city..... it will be a much more enjoyable, unique and comfortable stay. I even checked out Amano (just to torture myself maybe?) and the staff seemed friendly and the vibe very cool. I probably should have tried to move hotels but we had been traveling for the week prior in Paris so weren't up for another move... We also had to pay in full (is this normal?) so sort of expected that there wouldn't have been a very friendly return policy.

Do yourself a favor... enjoy all Berlin has to offer and stay in another place.

These apartments are located on the border of Prenzlauerberg and Mitte near the great alte Schonhausser Allee. The apartments are big (we had a junior), clean and have nice interiors.

In the entrance of apartments there is a nice little shop with cheap and good breakfast.

LOCATION:
- Centrally located
- Walking distance from Alexanderplatz
- Only 3 minutes away from subway station (Rosa Luxembourg Platz)
- Many good restaurants at walking distance (see below)

ROOM: (Deluxe apartment nr. 012 (4 persons).

- Very spacious! Huge!
- FREE WIFI
- Furniture: modern but basic (see photo's). Nicely decorated. We liked it.
- Balcony
- Kitchen (incl. coffe machinee, watercooker, toaster, microwave, etc.)
- 2 flatscreen tv's
- good soundsystem
- 1 bathroom with bathtub and toilet + 1 extra separate toilet.
- 1 sleeping room
- 2nd bed is the couch in the living room
(you have to turn the couch into bed in the evening, not a problem for us)

Didn't like:
- some things were broken (toaster, balcony door, some small things)

Recommended nearby restaurants:
- Simplicity Sushi & Noodles (next door)
- Manngo (great and cheap Vietnamees food)
- Marrakech Restaurant & Caffee (opposite the street - great for traditional waterpipe)
- Monsieur Vuong (Vietnamees restaurant, currently rated nr. 17 at Tripadvisor)

I would reccomend this apartment!

These apartments are perfectly located between Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, and the building sports apartments of different sizes. We stayedin the senior apartment, whcih comes with a kitchen and a dinnertabel, and has a nicebalcony overlooking the inner courtyard.
Wooden floors and cabinets createawelcoming atmosphere. The only downside to all this wood was that the underside of the table and the plank in the wardrobehas quiteafew invisible splinters that ruined my sweater.

During our stay we felt very safe and enjoyed a quiet sleep. Staff is friendly and efficient, from the swift check in to the call for a taxi at the end of our stay. They very kindly let us check out a bit later than usual.
Downstairs is a small deli for take away sandwiches, and a selection of winesand snacks.

This is a place we would happily return to for a longer stay.Our onlypoint of criticism is their towel change policy. The room was spotlessly clean, and a small towel and one large towel per person was provided. But after two days when our towels had not been changed we asked for fresh ones. The reply was puzzling: a fournight stay did not merit a towel change!
Also the room wasnot cleaned at all during our stay.
New towels were sentup to our room anyway, but we were surprised to find that they had left the used ones. A minor flaw in an otherwise perfect stay.