Let me start with the best: this is a lovely, spacious apartment. I have been an AirBnB customer for many years, and this is the cleanest apartment I have ever had. It is also quiet, and the beds are great: my entire party were all ‘of a certain age’ with old bones and problematic backs, and we all slept wonderfully. The high ceilings give the apartment an airy feeling, and the balcony is a great spot to watch the clouds go by. Unusually, there is a luggage room with a separate key, so we were able to leave our luggage for a couple of hours after we checked out. Finally , the host lives next door, and was immediately responsive when we needed kitchen towels.
The building is an historic landmark, but otherwise, the area is not very interesting. On the other hand, it is quite central. The first night, we could walk to the Bergmannstrasse for dinner. The Jewish Museum and Checkpoint Charlie are both very close, as are two U-Bahn stations, Kochstrasse and Hallisches Tor,and S- and U-Bahn Anhalter Bahnhof, meaning we could easily get around. The Landwehr Kanal is also nearby, which makes a lovely shaded walk eastward through Kreuzberg.
Despite all the great advantages of this lovely apartment, we had a constant feeling of being watched. The apartment comes with pages and pages of rules, and they announce clearly that there are sensors in the apartment designed to monitor noise level and CO2, to guard against noise or the presence of too many guests. I know that wild parties are a real problem for AirBnB hosts (and this is Berlin), but we were all in our 60’s, and the hosts can easily monitor the apartment through the adjoining door to their apartment, which isn’t completely sound proof. Guests should note that, while coffee, tea and sugar are provided, guests must remove all other food when they leave. Happily, there is a small supermarket nearby and a Turkish supermarket on Kochstrasse, so one can buy all other staples that will be needed, just plan on finishing them before you leave. There are both a washing machine and a dryer, but they cost extra to use. The apartment is furnished with a very high standard and top-of-the-line appliances, but on the other hand, the hosts (with our permission, to be sure) entered the apartment while we were there to replace the chairs around the dining table. All in all, it was hard to feel completely at home.
We loved the apartment, but will look elsewhere the next time we are in Berlin.