Historical architecture meets Berlin’s music scene at Hotel Orania, a luxury boutique stay in Oranienstraße in Kreuzberg. By night, the hotel lures in both locals and visitors with its ever-changing lineup of live performances and a highly creative restaurant: all showcased through towering windows that reveal the warm, India-inspired decor, glowing softly against those Berlin nights.
At the Orania, the focus is on personalisation and blending seamlessly with the community. The bathrooms are stocked with high-quality Berlin-based skincare products. The restaurant uses produce sourced directly from regional farmers and producers. The hotel’s in-house artistic director, Matti Klein, curates free live performances Tuesday through Sunday at the Orania.Bar, which is home to a Steinway piano once owned by the Berlin Philharmonic. The cost for these? Absolutely free.
Even the building itself is an ode to the area's cultural history. Originally constructed in 1913 as Café Oranienpalast, it was a hotspot for cabaret, jazz, and artist events. After years as a store and a brief jaunt as offices, the space was reborn as a boutique hotel. You’ll still find traces of this history in a graffitied name on the original staircase, from its department store days, and columns that echo the original Palast café.
Book a table for the in-house restaurant’s famed ‘X-Berg Duck’ experience. Run by a former Michelin-starred chef, the fusion menu melds German, Italian, and Asian flavours, with the five-course duck offering taking centre stage. Think crispy skin pancakes with hoisin sauce, duck dim sum, and more, paired with mandarin bellinis ensuring the bird is served every which way, and with minimal waste.
Afterwards, waddle up to one of the 41 rooms and suites, each featuring handcrafted Schramm mattresses, Luribaff carpets from Iran, and B&B Italia furniture. This pet-friendly haven even offers handmade dog treats with dietary guidelines and, upon request, German-made dog beds. Woof!
Neighbourhood
Hotel Orania is smack bang on Oranienstraße, a street Time Out named one of the best in the world for 2024. Come to this kiez (neighbourhood) to paw your way through vintage stores by day and bar hop by night. Want to get somewhere else in town? The (disclaimer: slightly seedy) U-Bahn station of Kottbusser Tor is ten minutes walk away.
Nearby
1. Cafe Luzia: Get pumped up to go out at this seductive and smoky bar, where the city’s partiers amp themselves to go out with weinschorle, cocktails, and suspiciously frequent trips into the bathroom stalls.
2. SO36: Make the queer pilgrimage to this event space, a past favourite of David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
3. Second-hand shopping: Emerge in the day to explore the street's clothing stores. You can also go south to the golden triangle of curated and vintage shops by Schonleinstrabe, like Yummy Vintage, Not Too Sweet and Wsiura.
Time Out Tip
Take a day to explore the neighbouring district of Friedrichshain. A quick ride east on the U-Bahn will take you to Schlesiches Tor. Not only is that right next to our favourite toilet-turned-burger store Burgermeister, but it is just across the bridge from the East Side Gallery. Then onwards! To the RAW-Gelande cultural space, the cute Sunday markets at Boxhagener Platz and the city’s largest second-hand store of Humana.