Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

In bed

From an über-cool hostel to a lovingly renovated architectural gem, we discover where to sleep in style

Michelberger

BERLIN
39-40 Warschauer Strasse, tel. , www.michelbergerhotel.com

The Michelberger Hotel captures both the austere and creative Zeitgeist of Berlin. Situated east of the trendy and over-hyped Mitte district and well connected by train, tram and U-bahn, this place delivers a new take on the hostel hotel. As a general rule, Berlin does the budget thing well – there are several A&O Hostels in the city, plus the Pfefferbett Hostel in Pfefferberg – but at the Michelberger, the difference is that the creative crowd stay here because it’s cool, rather than because it’s cheap. The Universal Music studio is just down the road beside the river Spree, and the hotel books bands into ‘The Big One’ – its room that sleeps eight.

The place is named after its founder, Thomas Michelberger, but this completely underplays the collaborative approach of the operation. It’s a big team, and one of the enthusiastic crew members could be as much at home checking you in as serving you a beer and some of the all-day goulash soup at the bar. And having fun while they’re doing it.

The majority of rooms at the Michelberger are compact (or ‘cosy’), with street or courtyard views, and finished in an anarchic yet practical way. Expect plenty of plywood, plastic, exposed cabling and unfinished surfaces, but even more wit and inventiveness throughout. The sleeping platforms in the loft rooms are surrounded with football goal netting, nylon rope is used for towel ‘rails’ and to hang mirrors, and shelves are lined with vintage books. The austerity ends with the free in-room wireless internet and bottle of mineral water, while all rooms have an ensuite bathroom, so there’s no trip down the corridor.

A hearty and typically German breakfast is served at benches in the refectory space across the courtyard, and the smell of home-baking epitomises the back-to-basics approach of one of Berlin’s most honest hotel experiences. Double room from €65. Guy Dittrich

Number 12

WARSAW
12 Ulica Mysliwiecka, tel. , www.number12.pl

Embodying the sophistication and understated elegance of a bygone era, Number 12 is a lovely two-room boutique hotel tucked away in the leafy embassy quarter of Warsaw, a stroll from Royal Lazienki Park. Built by Polish architect Rudolf Swierczynski in 1924 as a place to live and work, the villa suffered damage during WWII but was restored, and converted into a luxurious bolt-hole in 2007.

The building contains an ingenious blend of architectural styles and decorative details, from neo-gothic archways to bijou balconies, while rooms are the epitome of heritage-meets-21st-century design. On the ground floor is the Green Suite, where warm hardwood floors sit perfectly with olive-hued, retro wallpaper. The windows look out on to a pretty private garden, and a large antique sofa has been re-upholstered in fuchsia fabric. Down a spiral staircase, meanwhile, the Blue Suite boasts custom furnishings and splashes of soothing aqua. Best of all, guests can order in-room spa treatments. Double room from €130. Anna J Kutor

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