Hotel Adlon Kempinski

Lorenz Adlon opened his hotel on Pariser Platz in October 1907, beside the Brandenburg Gate and at the head of Unter den Linden. Kaiser Wilhelm II had backed the project, and the Adlon quickly became the house where Berlin received its grandest visitors. The building now standing at Unter den Linden 77 is a reconstruction, opened in 1997 on the original site, and the Hotel Adlon Kempinski has again become a fixture of state visits, film premieres and society events in the German capital.

History

Adlon, a successful restaurateur and wine merchant, built the hotel on the site of the Palais Redern, an older palace whose demolition was controversial and went ahead with the emperor's support. The new house drew diplomats, industrialists, royalty and artists. Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein and Marlene Dietrich are among the names linked with it between the wars, and Vicki Baum's novel Menschen im Hotel, filmed in Hollywood as Grand Hotel, is often said to have drawn on its world.

The hotel came through the bombing of Berlin but burned out in early May 1945, after a fire broke out in the cellars. A surviving rear wing stayed in use as a hotel in East Berlin until it was demolished in 1984. For almost three decades Pariser Platz lay beside the Berlin Wall.

After reunification the Fundus group, working with Kempinski, rebuilt the hotel to a design by the Berlin architects Patzschke, Klotz und Partner. It reopened on 23 August 1997. In 2002 the hotel made headlines around the world when Michael Jackson held his infant son over a balcony railing to greet fans gathered below.

Architecture and design

The reconstruction follows the scale and broad outline of the 1907 building rather than copying it stone for stone, within the strict design rules set for the rebuilding of Pariser Platz. Inside, the lobby is organised around an elephant fountain, a motif taken from the original hotel. The public rooms use marble, polished wood and heavy fabrics in a manner that recalls the grand hotels of the imperial era.

Rooms and suites

There are 382 rooms and suites. Many look onto Pariser Platz, the Brandenburg Gate or Unter den Linden, and the largest suites are regularly used by visiting heads of state, with security arrangements to match.

Dining

The Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, the hotel's fine-dining room, has held two Michelin stars. Sra Bua by Tim Raue serves Asian cooking under the name of one of Berlin's best-known chefs, and Restaurant Quarré, on the ground floor facing Pariser Platz, is the all-day brasserie, with a terrace in summer. Afternoon tea is served in the Lobby Lounge beside the elephant fountain.

Wellness

The Adlon Spa has an indoor swimming pool, saunas, a gym and treatment rooms.

Weddings and events

The hotel has a ballroom and a series of meeting and banqueting rooms, used for state dinners, galas, conferences and weddings. Its position on Pariser Platz has made it a regular setting for film festival parties and official receptions.

Location

This luxury hotel in Berlin occupies one of the most symbolic corners of the city. The Brandenburg Gate is next door, the Reichstag and the Tiergarten lie just beyond it, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is a few streets to the south. The embassies of the United States and France face the same square. Brandenburger Tor station, on the S-Bahn and the U5 line, is outside the door, Berlin Hauptbahnhof is a short taxi ride away, and BER airport is around forty-five minutes by car.