Having stayed at this hotel for 5 nights between Dec.17-22,
I must say that their super-value-offer for a single budget room
turned out to be more than satisfying. My 4-star rating is thus related to the general value of the place, and does not relate to any special qualities except from that - it is a simple budget hotel serving a good breakfast and it is nicely situated, but it is not the Ritz. The "Insel Rugen" is actually closely collaborating with the "Austriana", which is on the same premises. Apparently I was slightly upgraded, since I had well-functioning shower closet in my room, and I think I was given a room in the Austriana section, on the 3rd floor. The rooms presented in their Austriana brochure looked wholly different though, much more modern. A Danish couple I spoke with, however, had not been satisfied with their Austriana room, which was on the 2nd floor.
My room was impeccably cleaned, and the breakfast was good and filling, never running short and with a few pleasant tiny variations every day. It was served on the 4th floor, but in the busy season they also have a breakfast restaurant on the 3rd floor, the one you see pictured on their website. The decor was
old, spartan and very kitsch-like, but seems different in other parts of the hotel.
There are many cafes and eating possibilities in the area, which has kept a pleasant and slightly aristocratic appearance with mansions, tree-lined alleys and quite a few Jugend-details, something you tend to appreciate when you experience the brutal modernism now dominating most of Berlin. The Kebab just next door keeps late hours and serves healthy food, and you can have a filling meal for 3-6 Euros. As a whole, actually, I found it easy to discover cheap eating in Berlin, which was a pleasant surprise. Especially lunch is often available for about 4-6 Euros in many places, and since I had decided to spend only little on my tour, this was most convenient, in combination with the hotel´s good breakfast.
If you arrive bus bus at the ZOB station, and you don´t want to spend money for a taxi, the best thing is to take a bus straight eastwards to the Savigny Platz, currently Lines 149 and X34.
Then walk down the Bleibtreu-Strasse, which has pretty houses. This means that you will have to walk 10-15 mins, but also that you don´t have to change and figure out a more complicated and time-comsuming route with the U-Bahn and S-trains, where you still have to do some walking as well.
Whether the hotel can become too busy when groups come by
during high-season and this might reduce its attractiveness, I can´t say. A large group of French youngsters were there for a couple of nights as well, but this did not cause any problems.