Michelberger Hotel

The Michelberger Hotel has a carefully crafted hipster vibe, from the former factory setting and funky decor to the live local music and sustainably sourced food and drink. The sign over the door varies, with sentiments like “The past is over” and “Small is beautiful.” The wide-open lobby has metal-grate shelves and cabinets packed with books, magazines, and newspapers. Even the shades of the hanging light fixtures are made of magazines and newspapers, and numerous low futons encourage guests to hang out. The piano isn’t just for show --- many musicians play and stay here. Guests are welcomed with the Fountain of Youth, the hotel’s privately sourced and locally well-known canned young-coconut milk; housemade spirits are also for sale in the lobby. Strung with lights, the patio area has daybeds and chairs and a barrel-style sauna. The (very) Pink Restroom has a foosball table, but perhaps the ultimate hipster touch is "The Big Lebowski" playing on a loop in the corridor on each floor.

The Michelberger Hotel is located in Friedrichshain -- an up-and-coming, trendy part of town with an industrial background. For leisure travelers, the East Side Gallery -- a preserved section of the Berlin Wall -- is the nearest attraction, and there are also several local restaurants, bars, cafes, and interesting boutiques within walking distance. But most sites require a drive or lift on public transport. For access to the rest of the city, the Warschauer Station (U and S Bahn) is across the street, and it takes less than half an hour to get to most major attractions.

• 10-minute walk to East Side Gallery
• 13 minutes to Checkpoint Charlie on public transportation
• 15 minutes to Berlin Wall Memorial on public transportation
• 17 minutes to Topography of Terror on public transportation
• 18 minutes to Gendarmenmarkt on public transportation
• 21 minutes to Potsdamer Platz on public transportation
• 23 minutes to Brandenburg Gate on public transportation
• 24 minutes to Holocaust Memorial on public transportation
• 25 minutes to Berlin Philharmonic on public transportation
• 22 minutes to Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church) on public transportation
• 24-minute drive to Berlin Tegel Airport
• 25-minute drive to Berlin Schönefeld Airport

The rooms at the Michelberger Hotel range from quite small to gigantic and vary hugely in decor and style. Another name for the Cosy Room might be the "tiny room," with two thin single futons shoehorned into a small space. With only a glass door between the shower and the sleeping space, this is a room for one or an intimate couple only. On the other end of the spectrum is the WG (Wohngemeinschaft), German for shared housing, a giant, high-ceilinged space that retains the feel of the factory. It sleeps eight in bunks and a couple more on couches and has locker-type closets and animal skins as rugs. Several room classes have beds in lofts above the living area; a soccer goal net serves as a banister, which might make those with small children nervous. The Chalet has traditional German pine furnishings, but the toilet vestibule sports dizzying floor-to-ceiling red-and-white checkered wallpaper. The Gold Room has gold everything, from the bed to the tile to the furniture -- and a life-size ceramic Great Dane. The rooms are huge on style but thin on amenities. The owners consciously chose to forgo mini-fridges, microwaves, and coffeemakers, but rooms with small kitchens are available. They do have flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi but lack safes. Bathrooms vary as much as bedrooms but come with hairdryers and Orla Kiely toiletries; most have showers over tubs, and some have the sink outside.

Features at the Michelberger are just as full of personality as its decor. Dishes are made to share at the Michelberger Hotel’s beautiful, trendy restaurant, where the focus is on organic, local, sustainable ingredients. Vegan and gluten-free options are also available. The space has industrial-style white-tile walls and a mishmash of painted white chairs around lovely wood tables, including communal tables. The snacks at the popular, comfortable bar follow the same philosophy. Live music or DJs are on hand most nights. A small fitness room holds little in the way of equipment, just a single treadmill and elliptical machine, but the adjoining yoga space is light and airy and decked out with mats and yoga props. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.