In early October, along with 8 other agents and Hilton Hotel rep Zoey, Laura travelled to Berlin for a FAM weekend. Here is her blog…
We arrived at our home for the next two days, the “Hilton Berlin”, where we ate a German delicacy ‘The Currywurst’ before checking into our rooms, which had king-size beds, seating areas and beautiful views on to the Dome at Gendarmenmarkt.
After a quick freshen up, we were taken on a showaround of the hotel which is made up of 601 bedrooms, 15 meeting rooms including a Ballroom holding a capacity of 500, and a Health Club & Spa. We hopped in our minibus and rocked up at pan-asian warehouse style Restaurant/Club “Spindler and Klatt” and enjoyed an evening of food platters to the ambience of music from the DJ. In summer, there is a floating river terrace ideal for drinks receptions and dinners.
After a good night’s sleep, we were taken on a tour around the many landmarks of Berlin including East Side Gallery (the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall), the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust memorial, each of which is steeped in history. We stopped off at “Arminius Markethalle” for lunch. Built in 1891, the 3500sqm venue is made up of stands selling clothing, handmade items and buffet & live cooking stations. This venue is home to evening entertainment which you can hire in sections or as a whole for private events.
Full up on Schnitzel, we headed to Teufelsberg (aka Devil’s Mountain). This is an abandoned US Cold War spy station built on top of a man-made mountain of rubble once the former site of a Nazi military training school. It’s possibly the strangest place I have ever visited…climbing up the stories of the main building there are 3 domes. Each level offers breath-taking views over Berlin. The venue is now a hub for street art and team building, we played golf from it. They can also arrange abseiling and mission impossible style activities.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Restaurant and Brewery “Brauhaus Lemke am Alex” for a spot of Beer tasting…when in Germany hey! Myself and a few others then made the short walk from the Hilton to Checkpoint Charlie before getting ready for dinner.
Nest stop the beautiful “Waldorf Astoria” to enjoy a delicious private dinner in the Library; situated on the 15th floor with views over Berlin lit-up at night before a look around the meeting space. There is a Ballroom for up to 350 people and 5 event rooms including a Sun Terrace which can hold 200 people for a drinks reception.
We also saw some of the bedrooms. In total there are 152 deluxe’s and 80 individually designed suites; including the Presidential Suite which occupies the full 31st floor and has 360o views over the City.
Following this, we returned to our Hilton and had drinks in the Listo Lounge to the sound of live music before heading next door for a night of dancing in the club “Bricks”.
On our final morning, we went to “Trabi World” and toured around the City in the traditional cars. The great thing about this activity is that delegates can drive the car themselves if they are feeling brave enough (or not too hungover)! We then had our final lunch at “Classic Remise Car Museum” before making our way home.
Berlin is such an exciting destination, it’s edgy, quirky and anything goes! A big thank you to Hilton Hotels for inviting me to experience it.
DeSouza Associates can help you with international destinations as well as UK – our venue finding service is free. Why not contact us today
