"Today there’s that sense that Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin—having withstood the vicissitudes of a tumultuous century—is armor-plated, unassailable as the bullet-proofed floor-to-ceiling windows of the presidential suites. Under the Kempinski aegis since the 1990s, it bottles that sense of timelessness and offers a feeling of security and tradition as something that is as precious as it is soothing. The past is present here, exuding patrician-style grandeur and elegance: the Art Deco floor gauges in the elevators, an old-fashioned bicycle that the bellboys use, the panels of walnut wood in the Michelin-starred Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer restaurant, acres of marble for a grand staircase, and gold flakes even on the lobby lounge’s currywurst. Old-school perfectionism calls for the three types of caviar and Champagne at breakfast, as well as butler-ironed newspapers brought to the table. It all contributes to that illusion that you are in a cocoon, away from the travails of the world. From $400. —Catherine Fairweather" - CNT Editors
