but even cheap has it's limits. We stayed 2 nights and paid €53 per night, so for Berlin, that's bottom of the ladder. We weren't expecting much, possibly hostel level or b&b standards, after all we were in Berlin to see the city and have a place to sleep after a lot of walking around.

Now we are far from being demanding, sheltered and spoiled but it was hard to find the room welcoming in any way. The place is in need of renovation; the carpets are very soiled - there is a vacuum cleaner in the hallway for guests to use but the look of the carpet itself is simply from many years of use with a history of dubious stains. We wore shoes all the time.

There was a kitchenette in the room but again it's difficult to determine whether it was dirty from lack of cleaning or dirt accumulation from years of use . Either way, it was un-appetizing to even look at. The enclosed pic was the corner join of the counter in the kitchenette.

Above your head dangling from the flourescent striplight you'll see dusted cobwebs from an age around the time the Berlin wall was still standing.

The toilet is a mantrap. In the north of Germany you get the 'inspection shelf' type of toilets, but the seat is flimsy and has a lot of give. Perch carefully or it may get messy...

It's not the service, they lady at reception was nice and pleasant, but the fact that the place needs major renovation. The doors in the room have holes in them from careless users who opened two doors too quickly at the same time. We also had stickers, but in our case, they probably really did improve the room somewhat.

Like I said, we're not airy fairy and dreaming of luxury, but basic standards have to be met. On reflection there are alternatives for the price range - plenty of them. I wonder if the standards in them are higher than what we experienced?

We did enjoy the city very much. This pension was a bit of a let-down. Our room was 502.

This is a very difficult place to either recommend or tell people to stay away from.
But basically it is a place to sleep that is reasonably clean and quite cheap, but also a little depressing. It feels like living in some old and abandoned east-Berlin interrogation quarter.
Don't expect the reception to be open regulary, we never understood when someone was there. You can cook in your room and they provide you with cutlery and such stuff, but since we only saw the reception open when we arrived it was quite difficult to get hold on.
But if you get a room on the upper floors the view is beautiful, the location of the place is excellent and the surrounding area is quiet enough. Granted, it is a very different place to other pensions or hotels, but for the price I guess it's okay.

Well, even now I am still not sure on what to write! In an absolutely superb location in Berlin, a ten minute walk to Potsdamerplatz, right next to a bus stop on a major bus route, in a very grand old building located next to the Landwehr Canal, and at such a cheap price its untrue, to us it was a real find. With the best view of the Sony Centre and the Berlin skyline for twenty or so euros a night, it may be very run down and tatty, but importantly it is clean. We wanted a place with en-suite facilities near the city for budget money. Despite the fact it was tatty, with its small balcony and kitchen facilities, it was remarkably civilised, to sit drinking coffee made in the room with the doors open watching the sun come up. If they spent a million turning it into a luxurious Berlin City Centre hotel, they would be booked to the hilt every night, with its location. As it is, it represents amazing value for money, and the thing we noticed is how there were mainly Germans there, and not just budget travellers - a group of apparently well – to – do doctors were staying there. So if it’s where the locals go it can’t be bad.

On arrival you have to pay cash, but at least they seem to understand that no-one expects this, so they give you time to go and get cash – cash points are a few minutes away – we had enough as it happens when we got there. Then someone who speaks neither German nor English takes you to a room to choose your kettle, plates and cutlery that you want for your stay. After this a trip in the lift – there are two lifts, one works and the other seems to provide spares - to your room with its holes in the ceiling, furniture and walls, stickers on the doors and well used beds. We were comfortable, the room was clean and the shower room also clean, the shower hot and fine. A clean kitchen area and table with chairs by the balcony gave a nice chance to have a cuppa and fresh air in the morning. I know all rooms won’t have had the view we had.

Behind the “hotel” heading down past the youth hostel is an Imbiss offering decent coffee and breakfast offerings – don’t take their advice and head to Potsdamerplatz. Nearby is a small bar with an amazingly friendly bar lady.

Our Berlin trip was great and this place, the nearby bar and Imbiss and its location added to making our trip a success.

"Converted" eastern bloc apartments with as much atmosphere as a funeral.

When we arrived they expected full payment, which we did not have. We asked if we could go and find a cashpoint and draw out the money to pay later which was agreed. There was no-one attending reception for the next day and a half. Consequently we could not give them the cash to clear the bill. In our room one morning we heard some noises at the door and were shocked to be confronted with 2 burly men who had been "sent to change the locks". Luckily I could speak German and explained how we had been trying to pay the bill but due to the lack of staff on reception this proved impossible. I was spoken to very rudely and wondered what would have happened had we not been in the room at the time i.e to our personal possessions.......

The room itself was at the end of an uninhabited and very long corridor which felt like something out of the film "The Shining". Beds were on opposite sides of the room and solid iron (prison grade) - no opportunity to push together.

The "apartment" had no cutlery/crockery as stated on the website, (this had to be requested from reception but seeing as no-one was there we couldn't). Bathroom had no windows and was grubby.

Fridge was covered with children's stickers (see attached picture). Room was freezing cold and no spare covers/duvet.

Room also overlooked a noisy youth hostel and we had to take out our rubbish to the bins down the road every morning.

Overall a disappointing experience especially when considering the cost £50 (80 Euros) a night could buy an excellent room at the Express Holiday Inn (Anhalter Bahnhof), which we have since stayed at and highly recommend.

Stay here at your peril (and you enjoy confronting locksmiths!)