Berlin, We Made It
May 26, 2026
It’s been a few months since we opened the doors of The Dean Berlin, and so far, it’s been quite the time.
For a brand that started on Harcourt Street in Dublin, landing in Charlottenburg is a big deal for us. Not in a chest-puffing way, more in a still-pinching-ourselves way. Berlin is a place with its own culture, its own rhythm, a very specific idea on what’s good and what will work. So to arrive here, and for people to get what we’re doing and welcome us with open arms, really does mean a lot.
From the beginning, the late-19th-century building on Uhlandstraße that’s now The Dean Berlin had good bones. What it needed was someone who could read it properly, who could make the most of the tension between its history, the surrounding culture and what it could be. That person was Rachael Gowdridge, the award-winning interior designer who’s spent the last fourteen years making waves in the hospitality design world. She embraced the building’s features, celebrating what was there, and what she created is remarkable. Patinated plaster, original mosaic floors, deep red vestibules that stop you the moment you step into a room. Dezeen called it “a series of expressive, characterful spaces,” and Monocle noted that “refined moments sit alongside raw ones, much like the district itself.”
We’ve never believed that art in a hotel should feel like decoration. Instead, it should feel like conversation. For Berlin, we worked with independent curator Thom Oosterhof to develop Wanderers, a bespoke curation built around the city’s ever-shifting rhythm and the people who pass through it. Thom placed works by emerging and established German-based artists throughout the entire property, through the lobby, up through the floors, into the corridors. Artists including Xia Peng, Erika Richter, Wiebke Maria Wachmann, Ricky Lee Gordon, and Wolfgang Guenther of Melancholia Futura all have work in the building. Condé Nast Traveller put it simply: “the hotel doubles as a gallery.” Even passersby can witness the exterior piece by Julia Stolte and Fiete Stolte (see our recent video about their process on The Dean’s Instagram here.) Art is central to our philosophy, wherever we are, all to make sure that the hotel is a living part of the city’s creative scene, not just a backdrop to it.
And as with all our hotels, the food and drinks are at the heart of everything. Downstairs is the much-loved Benedict, which includes a bakery, restaurant, bar, all-day social hub. It was always conceived as a place for guests and locals in equal measure, a proper neighbourhood anchor. A place where you could have your morning coffee at the counter and your late-night drink in the same seat (hot tip – don’t miss the caramel pancakes).
In March, we threw a housewarming which included multiple activations over seven hours. Berlin turned out in full force and this not being the average housewarming, we’re still hearing about the rooms people stumbled into. Live performances, DJ sets, parlour games, live art sessions, tarot card readings. The Times called us “a stylish newcomer already drawing attention” which we’ll take, though the night itself felt less like a launch and more like proof that the city was ready to make the place its own. You can read the full story of the night here.
Truly, what we’re most proud of is the team on the ground. Opening a hotel in a new country, in a new culture, is not a small thing, and the people at The Dean Berlin have embraced what we’re trying to do with a soul and spirit that you can’t manufacture. They are the reason guests keep coming back. They are the reason the place feels alive. We hope to welcome you soon too.
Come see for yourself. Book direct here for your stay at The Dean Berlin.
