Hotel Review: Lulu Guldsmeden

There are not many hotels where you can request a wooden swing to hang in your guestroom, but Lulu Guldsmeden isn’t your average hotel. The brand-new, family-owned boutique property, located on Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, is committed  to sustainability and has an air of quirkiness.

Fun for kids and adults alike, swings made from wood planks and rope can be hung from hooks in Lulu’s loft-like rooms, some of which have 13-foot-high ceilings. Each of the property’s 81 guestrooms and six suites differ slightly in design, but all are equipped with Guldsmeden’s signature four-poster beds, Balinese furnishings and a modern bathroom with funky black, white and gray tiling. Bath products by I Love Eco Essentials, including a package of chewable toothpaste tabs, are 100 percent organic and biodegradable (that means no microplastic will end up in the ocean as a result). Even the toilet paper in the bathroom is made with 100-percent recycled paper. 

Located within a mid-19th-century building, Lulu blends Scandinavian design elements with Balinese accents — all centered around the Danish concept of “hygge.” Hygge, which loosely translates to “a feeling of coziness and satisfaction,” is best realized in Lulu’s public spaces, namely its lobby lounge and signature restaurant, Saeson, where worn leather couches, wooden chairs and artwork reminiscent of American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat set the mood. 

“The focus is on creating a comfy environment, rather than design perfection,” said Tami Lee, who works in sales and marketing for Lulu Guldsmeden. “This means that there is a bit of an eclectic feel, which I think is on the opposite spectrum of where social media is today and its pressure to be perfect. Having this in mind, it also creates a space where our guests can feel relaxed and be themselves.”

At the hotel’s Scandinavian restaurant Saeson, just about everything on offer is organic, from its selection of smorrebrod (Danish open-face sandwiches) and NaturCola-brand soft drinks to its wine and spirits. I loved that cocktails were served with glass straws, rather than ones made with single-use plastic. Even Saeson’s menus are recycled from the original wood floors that were pulled up during the hotel’s renovation.

Breakfast can be included with the room rate and is served until 10:30 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends in both Saeson and the lobby area. Guests can fill their plates from a buffet ofsoft-boiled eggs; sausage; bacon; smoked salmon; organic Monchshofer cheese; croissants; cereals; salami sourced from nearby Havelland, Germany; and yogurt topped with cocoa nibs, muesli or mixed nuts soaked in agave syrup.

Berlin-made Schindelhauer bikes are available for rent from the front desk and are ideal for exploring nearby Tiergarten, which includes a large park, Zoo Berlin, the Victory Column monument and the romantic lakeside Cafe am Neuen See. 

Truth be told, Lulu Guldsmeden is located in a central area of Berlin that can be likened to an awkward teenager: someone who is a bit unsure of herself and just trying to figure out who she really is. A seedy strip club and a casino that’s open until 3 a.m.  are directly across from the hotel. Cross the adjacent Lutzowstrasse street, however, and you’ll feel like you’re in a completely different neighborhood with a Paul Smith store, Swedish high-end boutique store Acne Studios and a couple of adorable restaurants and cafes. The hotel is also walking distance to the newly opened street-art museum, Urban Nation, which is free to the public and features work by artists including Invader, Banksy, Ron English, Tristan Eaton, Okuda San Miguel and Berlin’s notorious 1Up crew.

That said, properly qualifying clients is essential here. Staying at an eco-friendly, sustainable hotel may mean that guests have to relinquish some modern comforts — air conditioning in particular. This discovery was, quite honestly, a bit of a shocker to me and my travel buddy, who happened to be staying at Lulu during an unseasonable heat wave in the last week of May. Temperatures peaked in the high 80s, and the ceiling fan just wasn’t cutting it. Lulu was in a soft opening phase and in the process of outfitting its remaining rooms with ceiling fans — so we dodged a bullet there, I suppose. 

The hotel was also in the process of constructing an outdoor courtyard and completing a comfortable outdoor seating area along Potsdamer Platz, a public square. According to management, construction is nearly complete, and all rooms will be bookable by the end of June.

Another surprise about staying in an eco-friendly hotel was reduced housekeeping services. Our suite came with a king-size bed and a set of twin beds. Management assumed we would only use the king bed and did not have the twin beds made up for us. Call me old-fashioned, but I would be lying if I didn’t think this was, well, odd.

From our experience, it would be best to book your eco-minded clients here in the late fall, winter and early spring (thankfully, all rooms have heaters). Make sure they have a room on the third or fourth floor, facing the courtyard, so they can avoid the around-the-clock noise from the street.

Hey, they never said going eco-friendly would always be glamorous, but it sure feels good to do the right thing.

The Details
Lulu Guldsmeden
www.guldsmedenhotels.com