Tourism in Berlin is on an upswing, as sales revenues of the city’s main hotels skyrocketed in 2000. Overnight stays reached a peak of 11.4 million, with growth rates for visitor figures increasing by 20% each month. The occupancy rate was more than satisfying than it has been for a long time: just under 50%.

ause of these gratifying figures, expect Berlin’s hotel landscape to reach more enormously beautiful and luxurious heights. Within the next two years, Berlin can expect to add 15,000 more beds in their vicinity, with 20 upscale hotels in the making. By the end of next year, Berlin will most likely have around 68,000 beds, a number which exceeds even that of New York.

The Estrel in Neukölln suddenly found itself in the forefront of the Berlin hotel stage. The hotel had the highest annual turnover for the first time over, raking in a total of DM 94 million, ahead of competitors Sheraton (Frankfurt/Main Airport) and Bayerischer Hof (Munich). With an increase in turnover of more than 53% (!) it is the first German hotel to ever cross the DM 100 million threshold leaving all other Berlin hotels behind it.

Hotel Adlon, on the other hand, moved ahead of the Intercontinental, much to the delight of its General Manager Jean K. van Daalen. The hotel achieved the highest room rates in Berlin. Another development is the construction of the annex for restaurants, “Adlon Palais”, which is slated to finish next year. In answer to this, the Intercontinental is adding a new ballroom to its facilities and is to move its star restaurant "Zum Hugenotten" to the top of the high-rise building.

Other hotels are following suit in this makeover trend. The Adlon und Hilton is set to open an exclusive business club, together with the China Club and the Berlin Capital Club. The Grand Hyatt on Potsdamer Platz, on the other hand, has made their reception area more attractive with gentle lighting and delicate flowers.

New hotels are also expected to rise within the next few years, each boasting of features of world-class quality. The Swissôtel Group, a subsidiary of the airline company Swiss-Air, is scheduled to open the Kurfürstendamm in September. The futuristic building designed by renowned architects Gerkan, Marg and Partners will have 320 rooms evenly distributed within its ten floors. Another plus is the presence of famous chef Anton Mosimann, the hotel’s chef de cuisine. The Swiss chef, who is also the official caterer of the British Royal Family, has garnered numerous prizes and commendations for his incomparable culinary skills. However, it was his London-based restaurant “Mosimann’s”, which catapulted him to international recognition. Chef Mosimann is set to open his first gourmet temple in Germany, to be named simply as “Mosimann’s Restaurant”. The restaurant is expected to accommodate more than 130 guests.

One of the most interesting architectural projects is the hotel and business quarter DomAquarée, to be constructed on the site of the present Radisson SAS and former Palasthotel beside the Berlin Cathedral. The owners, Difa (Deutsche Immobilien Fonds), which purchased the InterContinental in September 2000, expect it to open in the autumn of 2003. The Radisson SAS Group will continue to be the hotel’s operators. This project, with an investment volume of DM 870 million, certainly lives up to its expensive standards. Guests are invited to float in a glass lift over a 30-metre aquarium filled with a variety plants and fish. On the top floor, on the same level as the cathedral cupola, there is to be a bathing and water landscape copied from the cinema thriller “By Order of The Devil”.

The Ritz Carlton and Marriott hotels are also expected to open their doors on Potsdamer Platz. The Ritz Carlton, which will rise as a 70-metre tower with more than 300 rooms, will be located in the Beisheim Tower. According to the company’s spokesperson, it aims to become the best hotel in the capital. The Marriott, on the other hand, boasts of 375 rooms but will be one class lower than the Ritz. Both hotels are to open in 2004.

The business class district is also undergoing its own metamorphosis. In Spandau, there are plans to construct the largest hotel in Europe with 2,400 beds in a 130-metre tower. The Estrel, up to now the largest hotel in Germany, still wants to continue growing. There are plans for a new 20-storey building to house 500 rooms and a multi-purpose hall that can accommodate more than 10,000 guests for congresses and sporting events. The topping out ceremony for this superlative Las Vegas-style building could already take place at the end of the year. The Maritim Group also plans to open up a hotel with 500 rooms, as well as a congress center that can house more than 4,000 visitors. The hotel will rise behind the Shell building – directly adjacent to the Culture Forum which has proved so popular with visitors. The Estrel owner, Ekkehard Streletzki, has another ace up his sleeve. In the summer conversion work will begin on his prestigious hotel, which bears the working name for the time being of Gran Hotel Monopol - a 400-bed hotel on Nürnberger Straße in the style of the young designer avant-garde in Europe. The hotel is to open at the end of 2002