Axel opens gay hotel in Berlin

Axel Hotel, Berlin

Axel Hotels, the first hotel chain in the world aimed at the gay community, has opened its latest hotel in Berlin.

The German capital has become the third city in the expansion of Axel Hotels, with an investment of more than $17 million. Situated in Schöneberg, the gay heart of the city, Axel Hotel Berlin, which counts on the support of a Spanish investment group for its creation, opens its doors to offer design, comfort, service and the best ambiance in the city.

Axel Hotel Berlin follows the example of Axel Hotel Barcelona and Axel Hotel Buenos Aires, opened in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

As Juan P. Juliá, President of Axel Hotels, said, “its main distinction is the spectacular ambiance and the perception of the guests that they are living a unique experience in a framework of respect where no-one is judging anyone”.

"A space where everyone is welcome without prejudice of their sexual preference, respected and valued. A hotel with a heterofriendly philosophy, a concept which fits perfectly with Berlin, a modern and progressive metropolis, a paradise of diversity,” added Juliá.

Said Klaus Wowereit,  Berlin's openly gay mayor, “We are enormously proud that a chain as important as Axel Hotels has decided to situate its third hotel in Berlin. With this grand opening, our city continues to back the latest trends, vanguardism, and the most cosmopolitan gay scene.”  

Axel Hotel Berlin has 86 designer guest rooms, equipped to provide guests with maximum comfort: king size bed, plasma TV, iPod On Stage speakers, safe, room service, Wi-Fi connection.  Of these rooms, 6 are suites, 10 are junior suites.   

According to Íñigo Hernández Tofé, Spanish architect, collaborator of Axel Hotels and creator of the architectural project of Axel Hotel Berlin, “The hotel plays with the colors black and gold representing simplicity and elegance. A distinctive touch is added by the transparencies of color, inspired by the Axel mosaic along with the optical effects which reflect the facade in various areas within the hotel”.

Some of the most distinctive spaces of the hotel are Axel Wellness (open air spa with Jacuzzi and magnificent views over the city, sauna, Turkish bath, gymnasium, relaxation area and massage cubicles on the 6th floor), Axel Business Center (area with PCs and Internet connection) and Axel Meetings (meeting room). In reception the Axel mosaic, based on the colors of the gay flag, integrates perfectly with the decoration of Axel Hotel Berlin as one of the most distinctive elements of the chain.

The hotel includes the cozy international creative cuisine restaurant, Kitchen by Axel, an area of design with intimate niches and an outdoor garden terrace which offers gastronomy with an excellent price-quality relationship.

Urban Bar by Axel, with its spectacular columns and windows overlooking Lietzenburger Street, and its stunning spherical central lamp with its play of lights and reflections, is the meeting point for the cosmopolitan and trendy Berlin scene. By day or by night, this bar is the best place to have a coffee or a drink.

On the top floor of the hotel is Sky Bar by Axel, an intimate open air lounge-bar where you can enjoy a cocktail while taking in the spectacular views of the city in the summer season. Thanks to these three areas Berlin will have an attractive, different gastronomic and entertainment offering with its own personality.

The thirty members of the Axel Hotel Berlin team have been carefully selected to offer a personalized, genuine and professional service, to take care of all of their guests’ wishes and anticipate their needs.

After the enormous success of Axel Hotel Barcelona, chosen as “Best gay hotel in the world” by the readers of travel magazine The Out Traveler, and the spectacular first year of Axel Hotel Buenos Aires, recommended by The New York Times “as one of the 53 places to go in 2008”, the new opening of Axel Hotel Berlin continues the ambitious expansion which Axel Hotels is carrying out to introduce its innovative Axel concept to the major cities of the world.

Click here for my previous article on how to travel to Germany on the cheap.

Click here for my previous post on restaurants in Berlin.

 Visit www.axelhotels.com and discover a new hotel concept where design and cosiness are united, where liberal and cosmopolitan atmospheres converge, and where the guest plays the main role.

Below is a video tour of Hotel Axel in Buenos Aires.   Video by Ed Walsh.