"I’m writing this review because i genuinely want women to read this, even more so than the hotel themselves. This was my experience at Pestana Berlin Tiergarten- which was not merely disappointing; it was a serious failure in guest safety, privacy, and customer service. I think this needs to be known.
As a Canadian woman in my twenties from the hospitality industry, I can give you my honest opinion and that is this place was horrible. I’m travelling with my partner thru Europe, as I LOVE travelling and Europe is one of my favourite places. This was my first ever trip to Germany, and Berlin has been a bucket list stop for me! I have awaited this trip since my early teenage years.
The check-in initially went ok. We arrived slightly before the standard check-in time, but our room was already prepared. The desk staff accommodated us and issued our keys, and the service seemed pretty nice. The room itself appeared clean and, at that point, we had no reason to anticipate any problems. It was as the pictures online.
After settling in, I took a shower. Tired from travel, and in need of a freshen up before exploring the city I’ve waited so long for. A normal thing one naturally does when staying in a hotel, I began blow-drying my hair with the bathroom door open. My partner and I were the only people we believed should have had access to our room.
To my surprise- while I was completely nude, another hotel guest entered our room using a key that had apparently been issued to them by the hotel.
I cannot express enough to the person reading this how disturbing and violating this was.
My partner immediately confronted the individual, who was visibly holding keys to our room, and instructed him to return to reception. Approximately five minutes later, there was a knock on our door. A member of the front desk staff arrived — without calling ahead — and explained that the incident had apparently occurred because of a “system error.”
My partner understandably asked what the hotel intended to do to make this situation right.
The response from the front desk was: “What do you want me to do?”
This was not an offer of assistance, an apology accompanied by a proposed solution, or an attempt to understand the seriousness of what had happened. It was a question placed entirely back on the guest whose privacy and security had just been compromised.
After no meaningful discussion, negotiation, or proactive offer from the hotel, we were ultimately given breakfast as compensation.
The situation became even more concerning later that evening.
When we returned to the hotel, our own room keys no longer worked. We had to return to reception to obtain new keys. We subsequently learned that the keys belonging to the other guest had not only been issued for our room, but that our original keys had been cancelled — and apparently had never been properly reissued to us.
In other words, the hotel’s solution to accidentally giving another guest access to our room appears to have been to invalidate our own access, leaving us unable to enter our room when we returned.
The night staff were aware of the situation and did apologize, which I acknowledge. We also requested to speak with a manager and were told to return in the morning.
The following morning, we had breakfast before checking out. Unfortunately, the breakfast itself was also extremely disappointing. While there was a good selection available, much of the food was lukewarm or cold, which hardly helped improve an already deeply unpleasant stay.
At checkout, the manager met us in the lobby.
What followed was astonishingly unprofessional.
Mr Manager man started the conversation with “this is a four star hotel, if you want a five star hotel stay you need to go pay for it somewhere else”
I did not realize GUEST safety was dependant on the amount of stars a hotel has.
I did not even have the opportunity to properly speak with the manager about what had happened and explain the seriousness of this violation. Instead, the manager and my partner became involved in a verbal argument in the hotel lobby. Given that I already felt extremely uncomfortable being in the lobby after what had occurred, having the matter handled publicly and confrontationally made the situation even worse.
He not once offered to speak to us in a private space. He merely made the other guests in the lobby uncomfortable by raising his voice at my partner. Not a professional hospitality manager.
What concerns me most is not simply that a technical error occurred.
Hotels are responsible for controlling access to their guests’ rooms.
A “system error” may explain how something happened, but it does not excuse the consequences — particularly when those consequences involve a complete stranger being given access to an occupied guest room.
What was most disappointing was the hotel’s response afterward.
At no point during my entire stay did a single member of management or staff ask me how I was doing, despite knowing that a stranger had entered my room while I was naked.
Nobody offered to move us to another room.
Nobody proactively explained what security measures were being taken to ensure it could not happen again.
Nobody asked whether I felt safe remaining in the room. (I didn’t)
Nobody meaningfully addressed my concerns.
And when we asked what the hotel intended to do to make the situation right, the initial response was essentially to ask us what we wanted them to do.
I was left with the distinct impression that the hotel’s primary concern was resolving the inconvenience rather than acknowledging the seriousness of what had happened to the guest involved.
I also cannot help but consider how much worse this situation could have been.
As a woman, I would be particularly concerned about staying here alone. If I had been travelling by myself and a strange man had entered my hotel room while I was in my most vulnerable state, god only knows what could have happened. I genuinely believe I would have packed my belongings, left the property, and demanded a full refund — regardless of whether the hotel subsequently offered compensation. There are plenty of other hotels in Berlin.
A hotel is supposed to be a place where guests can close their door and feel secure.
I did not feel secure here.
More importantly, the incident affected far more than the few minutes during which it occurred. It completely changed how I felt inside the hotel and ultimately ruined my experience of Berlin. Instead of relaxing after exploring the city, I was constantly conscious that someone had been given access to our room. Did the guest have access to my room after I went out? Even being in the hotel lobby became uncomfortable because of the way the situation was handled. It’s embarrassing, humiliating, and extremely violating.
I understand that genuine technical errors can happen. What I cannot accept is the complete lack of appropriate care, urgency, empathy, and professionalism following such a serious breach of guest trust in privacy and security.
The staff had an opportunity to demonstrate that our safety mattered to them.
They did not.
I would not recommend Pestana Berlin Tiergarten.
And I would particularly caution women travelling alone to think very carefully about whether this is a hotel where they would feel genuinely safe and supported should something go wrong.
A clean room and an early check-in cannot compensate for a fundamental failure in guest security.
One star is generous."
