Berlin: Where to stay

(CNN) -- When it comes to accommodation, Berlin is still the cheapest of the major European capital cities.

Although you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise if you stayed at the Ritz-Carlton (Potsdamer Platz 3). With its sumptuous interior and unrestrained opulence it's rivaled only by the glamorous Hotel de Rome (Behrenstrasse 37) when it comes to combining elegance with location.

For the aesthete on a budget the Motel One in Alexanderplatz is a stylish option. While lacking some of the amenities you'd find at more expensive hotels, it doesn't compromise on design and the rooms and lobby are discretely minimalist, enlivened with clever splashes of color.

The more adventurous traveler may wish to sample the surreal surroundings of the Propeller Island City Lodge (Albrecht-Achilles-Strasse 58). As much a work of art as a hotel, each room has a unique theme, including a room with a flying bed, a room decorated like a prison cell and even a room with coffins for beds.

A cheaper, although no less eccentric, option is the Ostel 'design hostel' (Wriezener Karree 5). Located in a concrete apartment block its retro communist-chic fittings recreate the interior design of Cold-War era East Germany. Whether or not that's a good thing is a matter of opinion...

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