On December 16 2022, at approximately 6.30AM CET the aquarium of the Aquadom Berlin collapsed. The hotel is therefore closed until further notice

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin is located in the Mitte (Central) area of Berlin, which is home to Government buildings, museums, shopping and historic architecture such as the city’s Dom Cathedral. Situated on a major thoroughfare within a complex, including offices and some retail outlets, with a view to the river Spree from the restaurant. The hotel is close to a number of public transport services and is easily reached both from other parts of Berlin and from the city’s airports and can thus be considered a venue whose accessible location is a prime benefit to any international or domestic meeting.

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin markets itself as an upper mid-range hotel with 427 bedrooms and 15 meeting rooms with the largest being the Saphir, which seats up to 150 cabaret style.

The hotel itself has a modern steel and glass facade over the first 6 floors, with a domed roof over the top 2 floors, which also houses some of the meeting rooms and office spaces. There is a cylindrical 25-metre-high aquarium located in the lobby which is part of the adjacent Sea Life. The overall style is that of a contemporary business hotel with modern, meeting-centric facilities.

The meeting space is extensive and flexible with 15 meeting rooms split over two areas: 10 rooms on the ground floor with private access for day meetings and a further 5 rooms within the two storey Dom Lounge on the 7th and 8th floors, which might be said to reflect that of a business centre. Ground floor meeting space access is via an off-road entrance or a single entrance from the public areas into the
Conference Service Centre so that privacy and confidentiality can be guaranteed for healthcare sector meetings. Indeed, a day meeting held in this space would likely not touch the public areas of the hotel at all. These facilities lend themselves well to a range of meetings such as advisory boards, speaker meetings, investigator meetings, HCP training programmes, as well as small to medium-sized internal meetings. The hotel states that it is compliant with the German FSA code of conduct for Pharma meetings involving HCPs and has introduced pharma-specific delegate packages designed to comply with regulations governing spend on food and beverage.

The hotel’s website presents the facilities of the hotel aligned to both leisure and business guests. Primary to the leisure proposition is the Aquarium, a feature in the reception atrium which has been used in a range of marketing initiatives.

Reference is made to the many tourist sights accessible, even if not visible, from the hotel with mentions of its close proximity to the Berlin Congress Centre. The imagery focuses on a broad range of the hotel’s services, the bedrooms, public areas and restaurants, and does present numerous images of the extensive meetings space which can very quickly be seen as a major feature of the hotel. The on-site spa is given very little prominence on the hotel’s website, apart from a brief mention under the SERVICES tab and imagery is restricted to 2 photographs. The spa is marketed in bedrooms via a brochure, which can be removed if necessary.

The city centre location of the venue is easily accessible using the city’s extensive bus, train and tram networks as well as from the city’s two airports (Tegel and Schoenefeld) via an Express Bus service to the city’s main station, then either a 10-15 minute taxi journey or take the underground for 2 stops, followed by a 5-minute walk. Slightly longer journey times apply from Schoenefeld. Alternatively, a taxi from the airport will take around 25-40 minutes. The hotel has underground parking with 600 spaces available, with over a hundred reserved for the hotel.

The Radisson Blu forms part of a modern hotel and office building complex in a busy, thriving area on the banks of the River Spree, surrounded by cafés, shops, several museums, the famous Berlin Dom (Cathedral), is next door to Sea Life (who own and operate the Aquarium in the hotel’s lobby), and several parks and gardens. The overall setting is consistent with being in an area for business yet within an easy walk of tourist attractions.

The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Europe’s largest university hospital, is 4km from the hotel with a number of healthcare and life science companies having offices in the city. The Messe Berlin (the city’s principal medical congress venue) is 10km from the hotel.

 The Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin could be described as a modern business-style hotel in Berlin, which caters well, both to the corporate market and leisure visitors. The meeting facilities at this venue are extensive and the ideal number of delegates for a residential conference is 120. Two similar-sized events can be hosted concurrently in the two distinct and secure spaces for meetings with 10 rooms located on the ground floor, with private access for day meetings and the remaining 5 on the top two floors in what is essentially a business centre style, secure meeting space. All rooms are equipped with projection facilities and concealed drop down screens, and WIFI is complimentary throughout the hotel. In addition, the hotel has invested in the latest meetings technology, including Apple Airplay, the DigiChart (captures flipchart notes digitally) and the MultiPad (an interactive Megatablet). Onsite, there is a small fitness room, swimming pool and spa and the restaurant HEat, offers a varied menu of dishes inspired by American, Indian and French techniques and flavours. The décor of the restaurant is modern, colourful and stylishly attractive with views of the river and terrace. Some references may, online, be seen to a nightclub being located at the hotel but that has been closed for some time and not visible in any way from outside, or inside the hotel.

The Bar is located immediately below the Aquarium in the Atrium lobby and serves a variety of food and beverages throughout the day and into the evening. It is surrounded by casual seating but is a far from an intimate setting. This changes in the evening, with mood lighting and music (not live) being played to what becomes a social space.

The restaurant has 150 covers indoors and a further 184 on an outside terrace with views of the river and Cathedral. It also offers a private dining area, Flame, which seats 10 people.

In our opinion, this venue is appropriate for Advisory Board and Key Opinion Leader, investigator, product training or internal meetings where easy air access, reliable service from sector-experienced staff and a range of modern, well-equipped meeting rooms are required.

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin is part of the global Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group of hotels. As with all the hotels that sit in this brand, it benefits from the values of the parent group, including innovative design, and corporate social responsibility. Notable initiatives include the group’s Responsible Business (RB) programme and each hotel has a unique RB Action Plan, covering areas such as community outreach, environmental improvement, employee well-being and health and safety. The Radisson Blu brand can be reliably considered a brand for business, without the risks that can be associated with some high-end or luxury brands.

Meetings: There are 15 meeting rooms at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin, 10 of which are to be found on the ground floor and 5 on the top two floors. On the ground floor, the meeting rooms have located either side of a long glass-roofed foyer (65m x 8m) accessible from the street making this space self-contained, with the foyer often used as an exhibition or product display space or for catering such as lunch.

The largest meeting room is the Saphir, which can accommodate up to 150 in cabaret style or 437 theatre style. It can be divided into two almost equal halves. In the same area, the Rubin can take 54 cabaret, the Aquamarine and the Turmalin 1&2 can each take 36 cabaret, the Jade 1&2 can take 24 cabaret, the Topas can take 20 boardroom with the Opal (including a wooden circular table) can take
12 perfectly, for the obvious reasons, for round table meetings. The Aquamarin, Rubin, Topas all benefit from natural daylight, but the remainder do not. Styling is modern.

On the 7th and 8th floor, all meeting rooms have natural daylight. The largest room, Nikolai 1 can accommodate 200 for a reception, 140 for a dinner and 132 cabaret style with Nikolai 2&3 on the 8th floor having a maximum capacity of 84 persons cabaret style. On the 8th floor there are two smaller rooms, each can take 20 boardroom style. Both floors have extensive foyer space, in 4 sections perfect for exhibits, poster displays or for team work when workshop sessions are included in the programme.

Delegates can arrive at the 7th floor via a 10-minute lift journey passing through the inside of the aquarium however this requires prior planning and is not obvious from the public areas. Indeed, as a healthcare sector meeting this would likely not be an acceptable or necessary part of any programme.

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Berlin has 427 bedrooms: 158 standard double / twin rooms (5 accessible), 120 Superior double / twin rooms, 127 Premium Business class double / twin rooms, plus 22 suites including the superior Nicolai suite. The décor of the bedrooms varies slightly across each category, all have modern furniture and neutral tones on the walls. All of the bathrooms are clad in
marble and of adequate size for a business hotel. All rooms are air-conditioned, designed for the business traveller and include laptop safe, hairdryer and free high-speed wireless internet. All rooms have a fully stocked mini bar however these can be emptied on request.

Business Class rooms are the same size as standard rooms but feature additional amenities including bathrobes and slippers, an iron/ironing board, a coffee machine, a complimentary bottle of water on arrival and a complimentary daily newspaper. However, the size and décor in the rooms are the same as those in the standard rooms.

The Business Class rooms can be converted into standard rooms by removing the extra amenities.

Junior Suites are significantly larger, corner rooms, with separate sleeping and living areas, offering superior views, such as to the Dom Cathedral, and additional amenities including leather furniture, a second flat screen TV, and a separate bath and shower.

The signature Nikolai Suite is four times the size of a standard room and features all the amenities listed above as well as a separate fully-equipped kitchen, a large oval dining/meeting table seating 8 people, a Jacuzzi and separate shower, a third flat-screen TV and a built-in aquarium in the living room area.

There is an independently owned spa and leisure club franchise on site, use of which is free of charge to hotel guests. Facilities include an 11m pool, a modest fitness suite with cardiovascular machines (open 24/7 to guests), two saunas and a steam room. The Spa is located in a discrete area behind the lifts and adjacent to the entrance to the bar. Marketing within the hotel is restricted to a
brochure in hotel bedrooms. The leisure spaces are not visible either from public areas or the meeting rooms.

The service levels are consistent with a venue suitable for healthcare meetings and events. The staff-to-guest ratio is that of a business airport hotel and the service is warm and friendly without being that of a luxury or high-end venue.

There is free high-speed Internet access, via Wi-Fi or cable, throughout the hotel for all hotel and meeting guests. Strength was consistent in strength during our visit. A basic login is required to access the Wi-Fi.

The Hotel can be known for a floor to ceiling fish tank separating the open plan space leading from the hotel entrance to the reception, restaurant, bar and beyond that the self contained ground floor meeting space with street entrance.