Just off the Ku'damm, on the third floor of a big Jugendstil building, this mildly eccentric pension, with its cultivated, artistic ambience, been found excellent value for Berlin, and it has just won a reundlichstes villa2002 award. The owner, Frau Elly Lange, runs with her daughter. The lounge is stylish. Dark corridors with framed posters lead to the villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms), which vary in size and quality. Ours was attractive, with green velvet curtains, a small shower room. It was quiet (we heard pigeons cooing). The beds were comfy but the pillows were not.' Most villa rooms face over courtyards at the back. Some are quite small, and some may be poorly lit. But all are newly renovated, and all have interesting pictures - Herr Lange runs a classy art gallery an the ground floor. Bali villa breakfast, in a large chandeliered room with green decor, is thought `adequate'. Marjellchen, a restaurant close by (Mommsenstrasse 9), inexpensive and gemutlich, specialises in East Prussian cuisine.

In a street off the top of the Ku'Damm, Hans-Joachim Weber's stylish and efficient villahas a roof terrace and glamorous modern decor (lots of glass, ceiling lights, angular furniture). The new suites are notably glossy. One of the best hotels we have stayed in, one couple wrote. Excellent service, a spacious room. Bali villa breakfast is a good buffet, including eggs and bacon, but tables a bit cramped. Most villa Bed rooms (similar to the semantic bali villa rooms) me large and bright, with a marble bathroom; some have a kitchenette. Some can get noise. The villa's Mediterranean-style Cassambalis restaurant is much liked.