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The hip Transit Loft Hotel calls itself a "youth hotel," as it's very popular with young groups and families, though in truth it offers more services and better-equipped rooms than an average hostel. However, it does share some things in common with the typical Berlin hostel: for instance, its location in a converted yellow-brick 19th-century helmet factory. And check out the bright wide-open reception space, brimming with original mosaics, youthful chatter, cafe, bar, and Internet stations. The general atmosphere seems to toss an international cast of characters like a dinner salad. This is all very "hip hostel" in Berlin.
What makes the Transit Loft Hotel a hotel, however, are the rooms. Completely renovated in 2001, the Transit Loft's 47 rooms are clean-cut and handsome, though simple and frill-free. Beds are boxy, tables and desks are utilitarian, and we recognized the attractive navy curtains and carpets from the Transit Loft's sister hotel, the Hotel Transit in Kreuzberg (which we also review). All rooms in the hotel are equipped with their own private tiled bath, setting the Transit Loft far away from the shared facilities of hostel-land.
Though the Transit Loft's address is on busy Greifswalder Strasse, the hotel is actually located around the corner, with an entrance on calmer Immanuelkirch Strasse. The former factory has been converted into a multiuse "leisure" facility, so the hotel shares the building with the "Billiard Fun" pool bar, a video store, a gym, and other leisure-related enterprises. From the hotel, you can easily walk to all the main sights, shops and suds in Prenzlauerberg.
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