Regent Hotel Berlin

In the footsteps of famous German writers

Today, the façade is bright and inviting and the lobby flooded with natural light all day. The Regent Hotel Berlin on the city’s beautiful Gendarmenmarkt square offers an unparalleled view of the French Cathedral and the legendary Konzerthaus. From here the Unter den Linden boulevard, the Brandenburg Gate, Friedrichstraße and Checkpoint Charlie are just a few minutes’ walk away.

But in years gone by, it was the cellar which was bustling with life. The site of today’s hotel at Charlottenstraße 49 on the corner of Französische Straße was once home to an elegant mansion from 1780 designed by Karl von Gontard, architect of the German Cathedral. In 1811, the renowned Lutter & Wegner wine house moved into the mansion – and the wine also attracted the writers and thinkers of that age. The rooms of the wine house, with their dimmed light, became the regular haunt of writer E.T.A Hoffmann and actor Ludwig Devrient. In 1881, the large cellar vault was even immortalised as the setting for Jacques Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann (Tales of Hoffmann).

In 1966, with the corner mansion destroyed in the Second World War, the site was used for a new Four Seasons Hotel. This was then taken over by the Regent Hotel Berlin in 2004. The architecture is the work of Josef P. Kleihues, with interiors by the iconic design legend Frank Nicholson. Incidentally, Carl Gotthard Langhans, architect of the Brandenburg Gate, also lived in Charlottenstraße 49 and today is remembered by a memorial plaque on the hotel facade.

And what about the writers and poets? They once again have their own creative corner in the Regent. Every day in the Poet’s Haven in the Lobby Lounge, complete with open fireplace, the luxury Regent Hotel Berlin offers a chance to travel back in time. Here, guests can enjoy a reserved sofa corner with a curated list of books served with a selection of local delicacies. And of course, even 200 years later, you can order a regional beer or wine as a source of inspiration. The only difference – today the wine is organic.