SO/ Berlin Das Stue Formerly: Das Stue

A near-ridiculously sumptuous, 78-room establishment that has operated as a hotel since 2012 but which was built in 1939 as Berlin's Danish Embassy, designed by Stuttgart-born architect Johann Emil Schaudt (1871–1957), whose CV also includes iconic department store KaDeWe [see entry]. The word 'Stue' means 'living room' in Danish, and plush-leisure thinking informs every inch of this radically reinvented building, which suitably is located just near the Nordic Embassies [see food entry]. It's also practically within the Tiergarten, seen from many of the rooms, 11 of which include terraces and balconies. The publicity material mentions "Cary Grant, bar culture, real gentlemen and ladies and cultivated conversations", not to mention "polished surfaces and rich fabrics". Michelin-star food, library lounges, a glass sauna and a bar offering adaptations of "forgotten 1920s and 1930s cocktails" also all figure in the state-of-the-art boutiqueness. Closest U-Bahn station is Wittenberplatz – one of the gateways to all that is good and gay in Schöneberg. Berlin Zoologischer Garten station is another option.