Some time ago I wrote about a visit to the Grand Hyatt Berlin. I won an online auction for 2 free nights and added a paid night so that the stay would count towards status. It has been a long time since I was in one hotel for three day and I was really looking forward to it.

I caught the U-bahn from my previous hotel and arrived at Potsdamer Platz around lunchtime.

The walk from the train station to the Hyatt is about five minutes, keeping to the left of the entrance to the main station taking in a Rauschenberg sculpture:

Just behind the sculpture is a short passage which takes you to the road with the Hyatt, at the far end. The Berlin was on and so the street was decorated and blocked off to control traffic access.

I was a little early for check-in, but the room was ready. I had two free nights and a paid night, so could not use a suite upgrade.  However, Diamond status secured me a room on the Grand Club Floor. A standard, inside facing room was bright and airy, as many of the rooms are here, The Berlinale was on and as the Hyatt is close to some of the main venues, the hotel was busy for the three nights I was there.

The hotel seem to have removed the desk I was used to having and so now a glass round table serves this purpose.

The view of the courtyard was pleasant enough with lots of light on the days when the sun was out. There are electric blackout blinds fitted in case you want to make the room dark for a daytime nap.

The bathrooms are spectacular at this property. Basically in the shape of a box inside the room, but with two entrances. The first to the hall and the second to the bedroom. A large bath, with a shower and wet area, toilet and wash basin are accommodated here, as is the large closet.

During my stay Hyatt was running a small Twitter campaign which resulted in a bottle of champagne appearing in my room. It was a lovely surprise and I enjoyed it very much.

I was delighted with this gesture and duly tweeted! The next day a small glass of whiskey and some chocolate turned up…

And on my last night some macaroons and a model of a Trabant car arrived! The hotel really spoilt me and it made the trip very memorable.

The car now sits in my office at work as a pleasant memory of the hotel.

The Grand Club is good at this property. I cannot say wonderful as they have reduced the service and food offerings since the early days. There are no warm items either in the morning, nor in the afternoon. This is disappointing. In the old days the staff used to meet you at your table and prepare your coffee; these days you are left to do it yourself. No big deals of course, but still a little bit disappointing. There is a large fridge in the Grand Club with soft drinks which you can access during the day.

The cakes for afternoon tea were pleasant, although it seemed that hardly anyone used the room then:

Many people have commented that the hotel has become less friendly and flexible recently. Certainly the reclassification of the suites so that upgrades really only score a larger room was a disappointment. I did find the staff in the Grand Club less friendly than in the past – they no longer make your first coffee, nor produce your first glass of wine and are noticeably less about in the lounge. It’s still a good property – but watch out for room rate changes as the day of arrival approaches. They can drop significantly