Having stayed in some really great budget Hotels/Pensions (simple but clean) throughout Germany at around 50 to 80 Euros, we thought this place looked good value at 60 Euros. How wrong could we have been? We had booked by email and were asked for credit card details to guarantee the booking. Nothing unusual there, except they wanted the 3 digit securitycode as well. I refused to give this info by open email and we compromised by me phoning through basic card details. We had looked at the website for the hotel and at these Tripadvisor comments and it looked basic and cheap for a capital city, but ok.

On arrival last Thursday we were asked for the full amount of our 4 night stay in advance either on my card or cash. This was before we had even seen a room!!! We asked to see our room first and were given the key. We had booked a double with bathroom/shower and wc. The room was tiny with a shower cubicle not even my height (1.86m) in the bedroom. The room was very dirty with someone else's hairs (yes, the curly ones!!) in the wc and on the floor. The room stank of old cigarette smoke. Needless to say, we refused it and went back to Reception to complain. The unfriendly receptionist (eastern european) at first said they were full, but then when we said we would leave, offered to show us another room. As she opened the door, we all realised this room had not been made up at all, probably for several days. It stank even more than the first one. This room was located in the Pension Austriana which is apparently owned by the same person/company . There seem to be different bits of both establishments on all the 3 floors we saw. Obviously this room was not acceptable.

We said we wanted to leave, but the by now thoroughly disagreeable receptionist said that if we did we would be charged the full amount for 4 days, and we would have to take the first room. She said we could only have cancelled up to 2 days before arrival. Difficult if you haven't seen the room!! I started to call Barclaycard/Visa to stop any payment when suddenly she "remebered" that there was one more room. This was on the 4th floor and was just about acceptable. It had big windows so that at least we could air the room. We agreed to accept this room, but for 1 night only. More arguments and telephone calls ensued. Eventually at our insistence, she called the "Manager" who agreed to allow us to check out the next day. This whole procedure took over an hour.

We went out for a much-needed cold beer and some dinner. The area of Pariserstrasse in Wilmersdorf is just south of the Kurfurstendamm and was once quite lively, but is now looking a bit tired and past it, rather like the old Kudamm itself. Berlin Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and other 'hoods in the East are much better if you are under 80 years old !!

After dinner, back to the 'Insel. The room we had accepted was at least cleaner than the others we had seen, but the shower was not clean nor the separate toilet. Before going to bed, I checked as always to see where the fire escapes were, and the notices pointing them out. Silly me. There aren't any. Only the central main staircase that we had come up and this to serve 4 floors and God knows how many rooms/people in total. That night there was a large school group staying. No problem there as they were normal lively teenagers. But we all know what kids do on school trips because we did it ourselves. Yep, you've got it. Alchohol and Smoking. In a hotel 4 floors up with only the main stairs as an exit, very bad corridor lighting (the kind that should come on automatically, but didn't. You had to push a timer switch. Not easy to find in the dark. No signs in the rooms to indicate any Emergency exits or even the direction of the main stairs. I would think that in most countries that is illegal. Would you want your kids to stay here???

Next morning at 8.00 am we left without bothering with breakfast. The duty manager asked us what was wrong with the hotel. I decided life was too short to explain again. She said, "But this is an old Berlin appartment house". No problem there. Old we can do, even shabby. But not dirty, smelly, neglected by penny-pinching owners, and above all a potential fire-trap.

We left. The tourist office guys at the Hauptbahnhof (Main train station) found us another hotel a little outside the centre but only 6 stops/10 minutes from Berlin Mitte on the U6. 90 Euros but worth every penny and it included one of the best German breakfast buffets I have ever tasted in travelling and living in Germany over many years. I will post a review of that establishment separately.

So, please do visit Berlin. Fantastic city, fantastic open and friendly people. If you are on a Euro visit do not miss Berlin, BUT DO NOT STAY AT THE HOTEL INSEL RUGEN OR ITS SISTER ESTABLISHMENT PENSION AUSTRIANA. Instead pick a good hostel or book early with a modern budget chain like IBIS where you can get a room in Berlin Mitte for as little as 44 Euros and get your brekkie in any of the hundreds of good bakers shops in the city.

We had an absolutely fantastic time in Berlin, so THANK YOU to all Berliners. Oh yeah, the U2 gig at the Olympiastadion was pretty damn special as well.

Tschuess !!