Waldorf Astoria Berlin – New York glamour above City West

On Hardenbergstraße, directly opposite the S-Bahn station Zoologischer Garten, a 118-metre limestone tower marks the skyline of Berlin's City West. This is the Zoofenster, designed by the German architect Professor Christoph Mäckler, and since its opening it has housed Germany's first Waldorf Astoria, the brand's debut in the country. The hotel occupies the lower floors of a tower nicknamed after the zoo it overlooks, its stone base narrowing into a periscope-like shaft that offers some of the most cinematic views in the city. Inside, the language is unmistakably Waldorf: gilded art deco ironwork, a lobby gate that nods directly to the New York flagship, and 232 rooms and suites reaching up to a Presidential Suite on the 31st floor. The MICHELIN Guide awards the hotel Two Keys, recognising a stay that is distinctive, confidently run and unmistakably of its city.

01The house

The Waldorf Astoria Berlin opened its doors in the Zoofenster tower, a project completed in 2012 and reported to have cost 557 million dollars, its 390-foot silhouette becoming a new landmark for West Berlin. Designed by German architect Professor Christoph Mäckler, the building paired a solid stone base with a narrower tower above, and when the hotel opened it became the area's first five-star address, reshaping a stretch of the city that had been defined by 1950s office blocks.

Waldorf Astoria had wanted a Berlin address since 1979, when the brand was first conceived as a hotel for travellers arriving at Tegel Airport; German reunification delayed those plans for decades until the hotel finally opened, becoming the first Waldorf Astoria in the country. Arriving from Hardenbergstraße, guests pass a golden Berlin Bear standing outside the entrance before the double-height revolving door delivers them into a lobby announced by a large gilded bronze gate, a direct reference to the art deco ironwork on the façade of the Waldorf Astoria New York. Nearby, a wall of white stone and gilded glass squares serves as an autograph book, signed over the years by guests including Charlize Theron and Dustin Hoffman. A spiral staircase linking the ROCA restaurant to the Lang Bar is inscribed with the notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, one of several quiet design flourishes that reward a second look.

02Rooms and suites

The hotel counts 232 rooms and suites, all finished with marble bathrooms, Nespresso machines and dining tables for two, a nod to the brand's own history: Waldorf Astoria is credited with inventing room service. Deluxe Rooms on floors three to fifteen measure 42m², with the upper ones looking towards the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church or Zoo Berlin, while Junior Suites from the same floors add a separate sitting area.

Insider tip

Opposite S-Bahn Zoologischer Garten, next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the Kurfürstendamm.

Higher up, the Tower Suites occupy floors 22 to 29, each with a kitchenette, private living area and access to a dedicated tower lift; the Premier Grand Tower Suite on the 25th floor adds a loggia balcony and 120m² of space. The 30th floor holds the 127m² Astor Suite with 180-degree views over the city, and above it, on the 31st floor, sits Berlin's highest five-star suite: the 280m² Presidential Suite, with floor-to-ceiling windows on every side, a fireplace, a grand piano and specially designed Royal porcelain, reached by its own private tower elevator.

03Where to eat

ROCA is the hotel's main restaurant, built around Mediterranean flavours with what the house describes as New York energy, its dining room set beneath a hand-painted ceiling mural and opening onto a street-side terrace in summer. Times Square, the light-filled breakfast restaurant, serves a buffet of regional and seasonal dishes alongside homemade pastries and champagne, while at weekends the all-day 'Champagne and Eggs' feast brings Waldorf Astoria inventions such as Eggs Benedict to the table alongside blueberry pancakes.

On the 15th floor, the Library Lounge is given over to afternoon tea with a view across City West, doubling as a quiet work space with its own business centre. Peacock Alley, the hotel's afternoon-tea and cocktail room, takes its name from the corridor that once connected the original Waldorf and Astoria hotels in New York, reimagined here for Berlin.

04The bar

The Lang Bar sits in the lobby in full art deco dress, its drinks list built around Film Noir-inspired cocktails from the house's mixologists; the bar is run under its own label by Stilian Laufer and Oliver Timm. For something higher up, Serenity Rooftop opens the city out below, a vantage point from which the transformation of City West — Louis Vuitton and Hermès flagships now standing where postwar office blocks once stood — is easiest to read.

05Spa and wellbeing

The Waldorf Astoria Spa on the fifth floor is the only one of its kind in Germany, a 1,000 sqm wellness floor with five treatment rooms, a cloud-shaped pool, Finnish sauna, steam room and a terrace with views towards the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Signature treatments are created exclusively for the hotel with BABOR, and the spa has been named Germany's Best Hotel Spa and won the World Luxury Spa Award for Best Luxury Spa. As of October 2026, access costs €15 per person per day for hotel guests, and is complimentary for guests staying in the Tower Suites and for Hilton Honors Gold and Diamond members; a 24-hour gym with Technogym equipment installed in 2025 sits alongside it.

06The neighbourhood

The hotel stands in Charlottenburg's City West, steps from the Kurfürstendamm shopping boulevard and directly across the road from Zoo Berlin and the station Zoologischer Garten. Next door, the ruined spire of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church — left bomb-damaged since the Second World War and now paired with a 1960s church building — remains the district's most poignant landmark, visible from the hotel's own sun terrace.

07Making the most of a stay

The house runs on what it calls True Waldorf Service: multilingual staff, butler service on request, twice-daily housekeeping, a 24-hour business centre and even a dog-sitting service for guests travelling with pets. For a first stay, a Tower Suite buys both the private elevator and complimentary spa access — worth factoring in before booking a lower-floor Deluxe Room with its own fine city view.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.