Pension FunkEditor's Pick

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A picture-perfect tribute to Belle Époque Berlin, the Hotel-Pension Funk (Pension “Radio”) occupies the plush apartment where Danish-born silent film diva Asta Nielen lived in luxury in the 1930s. Enhanced with ultra-feminine details like fresh flowers, printed wallpaper, oil paintings, and faux Ming vases, the immaculately-maintained pension is so pristine that we thought we were visiting a museum sans the “do not touch” signs.

The icing on the cake? The pension is located on Charlottenburg’s most beautiful street, Fasanenstrasse, steps away from the heavenly Café im Literaturhaus and the action-packed boulevard Kufürstendamm. Run with gracious élan, the pension—one of our Berlin favorites—will convince film buffs, antique mavens, and anyone interested in memorable lodgings that they’ve died and gone to hotel heaven.

Gorgeous antiques aren’t relegated to the Hotel Pension Funk's hallways. The pension’s 14 rooms with tiled en suite or shared bathrooms feature turn-of-the-century beds (in wood or metal), curvaceous armoires, dainty embroidered settees, velvet chairs, delicate desks, marble-covered tables, and/or vanities. We adored the vintage wallpaper and thick floral curtains; they transported us back in time to Nielsen’s era. Not all rooms are frilly, however. One room dominated by a massive, dark wood bed and marble-topped tables screams "strong male lead."

The pension’s centerpiece is Nielsen’s très elegant former salon, where she entertained her illustrious friends as her career began to fade. Touched with velvet and lit with a sumptuous crystal chandelier, it appears as if she never left. Wander the carpeted hallways to admire photographs of Die Asta (“The Asta”), who returned to Denmark when the Nazis rose to power. Luckily, her spirit lives on in the Funk.

» Susan Buzzelli

Note: This hotel was visited by a EuroCheapo editor and is recommended based on cleanliness, location, price and overall quality. EuroCheapo did not charge this hotel to be listed.