Berlin is in the midst of a shift. The city is stepping away from the ultra-cool post-East hipness it has become so famous for and toward an effortless modern grandeur in the new, old west. Now there’s a new boutique hotel that reflects this movement: Das Stue. Das Stue is the answer to an unspoken yearning for substance; a place for the established, and not just the emerging, to meet in an intimate setting. The hotel’s name is Danish for “living room”. The owners see it not as a living room in the literal sense, but rather more a drawing room; the space in any well-appointed house where people relax, socialize, entertain, and discuss. “The name refers to two important aspects – what the drawing room really is, which is a place to withdraw in an intimate circle; and the idea of ‘drawing room plays’, a genre of theatrical productions and films whose plots are filled with elegance, wit and entertainment,” says General Manager Jean-Paul Dantil. “Think of Cary Grant, bar culture, real gentleman and ladies, cultivated conversations. It’s a celebration of socializing.” Das Stue indeed captures a modern ease and confidence as it hearkens back to an old-fashioned elegance.
Consisting of an historical portion and a new addition by Potsdam-based Axthelm Architects, the 80-room hotel is located in a traditional diplomatic district in the little-known district of Tiergarten, just off of Tiergarten Park and tucked into a section of the vast Berlin Zoo. The area’s past is laden with historical importance, influence, and power. The many grand embassy buildings surrounding the hotel are a testament to the district’s longstanding international orientation.
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