The best family-friendly hotels in Berlin, including zoo-view rooms and wacky interiors

Aside from the colourful interior design that will certainly appeal to children, 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin has the added advantage of overlooking the city's zoo
Aside from the colourful interior design that will certainly appeal to children, 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin has the added advantage of overlooking the city's zoo

Berlin is a great family destination. It has green spaces and gardens galore, plus limitless playgrounds, fun, interactive museums and child-friendly cafés and restaurants. Most – though not all – hotels are also family-friendly, with many offering dedicated family suites or interconnecting rooms, and relevant amenities such as children’s menus, extra beds and board games or PlayStations. A few have pools, while others might have mesmerised cylindrical fish tanks in the lobby or overlook the zoo. Here's our pick of the most family-friendly hotels in Berlin.

Hilton Berlin, Germany
Hilton Berlin, Germany

Hilton Berlin

Berlin, Germany

8Telegraph expert rating

This plush five-star hotel on Berlin’s elegant Gendarmenmarkt offers a central location and comfortable, contemporary rooms. There's a spa with a sizeable pool, a couple of restaurants (plus an expansive executive lounge), and service is generally very good. The hotel has family rooms that allow free stays for up to two children aged 18 or younger when sharing the room with an adult (and using existing bedding options). It’s also possible to book two interconnecting rooms with the second room charged at 50 per cent of the rate of the first room for guests under 18. Babysitting service and children's menus are also available. Families can use the hotel pool free of charge. Read expert review From £94 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

An insider guide to Berlin

Grand Hyatt, Berlin, Germany
Grand Hyatt, Berlin, Germany

Grand Hyatt Berlin

Berlin, Germany

8Telegraph expert rating

This Berlin classic – the first Grand Hyatt in Europe and one of the official press venues of the Berlinale – is located right on Potsdamer Platz. A series of refurbishments has kept the interior style thoroughly up to date, and in-house amenities span three restaurants, and a rooftop spa and pool. The hotel offers a family package that includes 50 per cent off the Hyatt Daily rate on a second room for children aged 12 years and under. The Bed & Breakfast package also gets a breakfast for the entire family (children aged six years or younger can eat breakfast with their parents free of charge). Checkpoint Charlie and the shops and restaurants of Friedrichstrasse are a short stroll away. Read expert review From £123 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best things to do in Berlin

Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin
Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin

Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin

Berlin, Germany

10Telegraph expert rating

Berlin’s most glamorous hotel address, overlooking the Brandenburg Gate. The Adlon offers family rooms and makes children feel welcome with a range of charming touches, from allowing them to check their families in at the front desk and getting their own themed key cards, to age-appropriate treats in rooms (lollipops and gummi bears), children’s robes and toiletries. The concierge is full of tips for family-friendly info and events. Local attractions for families include Berlin Zoo, the Legoland Discovery Centre at Potsdamer Platz, making chocolate bars at the Rittersport Bunte Schokowelt and the city’s excellent Natural History Museum. Babysitting services and extra beds are also available. Read expert review From £197 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

• The best five-star hotels in Berlin

The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin
The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin

Berlin, Germany

9Telegraph expert rating

This hotel’s distinctive skyscraper-style building fits perfectly into Potsdamer Platz’s NYC-esque cityscape, but the interiors are classic Old Europe, with baroque chandeliers, marble staircases and Art Deco furnishings lending an aura of monied refinement throughout. There are shops and museums all around (as well as bits of the original Berlin Wall right outside the hotel), and large Tiergarten park is right next door too. Family rooms are available – including one that combines three guest rooms with a separate entrance for the whole ensemble; great for bigger families – as well as kids’ cars and games in the lobby and a special children's afternoon tea (on arrangement). Read expert review From £168 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best restaurants in Berlin

Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof, Berlin, Germany
Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof, Berlin, Germany

Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof

Berlin, Germany

7Telegraph expert rating

From the large, airy lobby, with its shiny floors and large artwork on one wall, to the neutral-but-smart rooms, the ambience here is quietly stylish and crisply efficient rather than anything über-chic or eye-catchingly flamboyant. The Deluxe or Junior suites are ideal for a family as they have more room and a lounge area. The Xxenia restaurant has a children's menu, and the wellness area downstairs has a pool large enough for the whole family to enjoy. The hotel is located right opposite the Berlin Zoo and is also close to the Tiergarten, which has plenty of green space for relaxing and pathways for activities such as cycling and rollerblading. Babysitters are also available on request. Read expert review From £79 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

• The best luxury hotels in Berlin

Regent Berlin hotel, Berlin, Germany
Regent Berlin hotel, Berlin, Germany

Regent Berlin

Berlin, Germany

8Telegraph expert rating

With marble, Biedermeier furnishings and oil paintings everywhere you look, old-world opulence is perhaps the best way to describe the overall aesthetic. Corridors and rooms are lined with thick carpets, ostentatious chandeliers illuminate the public areas and most of the furnishings are antiques. But children are still welcome here: The hotel offers a VIK – Very Important Kids – package that includes a free Superior Room when booking an Executive Suite for the usual daily rate. Seven-11 year olds pay only 50 per cent of the normal price for breakfast, while children under six eat for free, and a special lunch and dinner menu is available upon request. Read expert review From £150 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best bars in Berlin

hotel oderberger, berlin, germany
hotel oderberger, berlin, germany

Hotel Oderberger

Berlin, Germany

8Telegraph expert rating

This hotel occupies a beautiful listed bathhouse that dates back to the 19th century. Guests will find original staircase banisters, inner walls and even old doors protected in glass, as well as tasteful contemporary art that create a savvy fusion of new and old. The 20-metre pool is an architecturally handsome space open to the public as well as to hotel guests, and a boon for children. It does require a small fee, even for guests. There are 70 lovely rooms, a decent restaurant and a great location in Berlin’s laid-back Prenzlauer Berg district. The small apartment (sleeps up to eight) is suitable for families, and have the best views. The Mauerpark can be reached in a 20-minute walk. Read expert review From £124 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best budget hotels in Berlin

Adina Apartment Hotel
Adina Apartment Hotel

Adina Apartment Hotel Berlin Mitte

Berlin, Germany

8Telegraph expert rating

The building is set in an inconspicuous block on a fairly pleasant square. The large, modern lobby, which leads into the bar-restaurant on one side and the pool and fitness area on the other, gives a welcoming first impression with a library of books and comfortable sofas, and a homely fire in the colder months. The 139 rooms, split between one to two-bedroom apartments and studio rooms, are generously proportioned and stylish without being self-conscious. There is also a babysitter service on request, special menus for children at Alto, and toy boxes and Wii games. Children will also love the pool, and if they’re under 12 then they get breakfast free. Read expert review From £85 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best clubs in Berlin

25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin

Berlin, Germany

9Telegraph expert rating

The transformation from bland 1950s high-rise into one of the funkiest hotels in West Berlin is largely the work of German designer Werner Aisslinger. Retaining just the right amount of original exposed concrete, Aisslinger has otherwise gone wild, dangling Schindelhauer bicycles from the ceiling, plastering the walls with eye-catching slogans, illustrations and photos, and peppering the public areas with fur-lined hammocks, a Vitra swing sofa and a plethora of tropical foliage. The hotel welcomes families, and children tend to appreciate the wacky interior and proximity to the zoo. Baby cribs can be provided free free and children of any age can sleep free of charge in the same bed. Read expert review From £108 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

The best boutique hotels in Berlin

Gorki Apartments, Berlin
Gorki Apartments, Berlin

Gorki Apartments

Berlin, Germany

9Telegraph expert rating

These family-sized apartments have an immediately homely feel, enhanced by the fictive names bestowed upon each room, an associated doorbell and mailbox and the lovely Gründerzeit (wealthy 19th-century) visual styling inside the rooms. Though there are no public areas to speak of, the young, friendly staff run an iConcierge, whereby you can Whatsapp them any time to order drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and groceries to the room, to get directions or sightseeing tips when you’re out and about, or to rent you some trendy vintage bikes. Cots available on request at an extra charge, baby beds available complimentary. Read expert review From £118 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com

Where to shop in Berlin

radisson blu hotel, berlin, germany
radisson blu hotel, berlin, germany

Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin

Berlin, Germany

8Telegraph expert rating

The Radisson Blu is an appealing all-rounder of a hotel, with a great central location, decent restaurant, and a spa area with indoor pool. It's perhaps best known for the whopping great cylindrical aquarium – the largest of its kind in the world – in its lobby area, officially part of the SeaLife Center next door. The 427 rooms vary mostly in terms of size and layout: standard and business class are a normal-sized, while suites give a lot more floor area for moving around. All are decorated in a comfortable, if uninspired, blend of dark woods and subdued colour schemes. Inner rooms face the AquaDom, while some of the upper rooms (including business rooms) look out to the main street or the Berlin Cathedral. Read expert review From £89 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com