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If you squint and cock your head to the side, sometimes some of the events we do can make my job seem really glamorous. Like our recent European Yoga Workshop Tour. Gallivanting from Zurich to Munich to Berlin and London, leading some yoga classes sounds like an ideal way to spend the week, right?
I mean, it sure beats my 9-5 grind back in the day, but it doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. The German leg of our tour was rough. Specifically, getting from Munich to Berlin. Initially we said we’d fly, because the flight is maybe an hour, tops, but then we couldn’t find flights as cheap as we’d hoped. We looked into trains, because we all know the impeccable reputation the Deutsche Bahn has, but alas, that too was pricier than anticipated. So then we looked into a car rental. The drive is about six hours, and can be much longer if there’s a stau (pronounced “shtow” and rhymes with “owwww” - German word for traffic jam). The price was right, so we booked.
But then! We realized our Munich workshop ended at 8:45pm. People generally like to take pics, chat, and have me sign their copy of Namaslay, so we were looking at maybe a 9:00 - 9:15pm departure time, which would mean we’d arrive in Berlin around 3am, if all went smoothly.
Now, the German autobahn is world renowned. Half the time, there’s no speed limit, and believe me, Germans are the best drivers I’ve ever seen. No one drives slow in the passing lane. People use the passing lane, as, you know, a passing lane. Blinkers are used. No one cuts you off. I don’t know if all of this kindness and fellow driver respect is due to the fact that it’s just obscenely difficult and expensive to get your driver’s license in Germany to begin with, or the fact that there’s a law that says you can’t flip someone off (you’ll legit get a ticket - and that alone blows my mind because it’s he said/she said, but people do not flip each other off)! All this to say, if I have to do a six hour, middle of the night drive, I’d want it to be in Germany.
Except that on this night in Munich, there was a terrible storm. I’m talking major gusts of wind, sheets of rain, and we were in a dinky little Škoda. Any time people passed us in the passing lane at a cool 120mph, next to our mere 70, the entire car would shake a bit, and I had to grip the steering wheel extra tightly to avoid being blow into the adjacent lane.
Anyway, to say the journey was a breeze would be laughable. It was a gust of a trip, if that’s an expression (it’s not, but it should be). We literally blew in to The Sir Savigny Berlin around 3:45am, and were promptly ushered to our respective rooms.
Lobby of The Sir Savigny Berlin
Sitting area just off the lobby - The Sir Savigny Berlin
Hotel rooms in Europe are a lot like hotel rooms in NYC - small. I was expecting a tiny room, just big enough for a bed, but I was pleasantly surprised. The room was somewhat small, but definitely not tiny. The second I walked in, I felt instantly transported to a different time period. The dark marble in the bathroom area, the moody velvet drapes, the sparkle of the crystal, it was all so beautiful it almost took my breath away. The hero piece in the room was the bed, and while it’s the usual hero piece in any hotel room because #tired, this one was one to write home about. The bed somehow managed to be both supportive for the joints and soft enough to sink into. The covers were the perfect weight - not so light that you are chilled, but not so heavy that you sweat. The cool leather headboard was a beautiful masculine contrast to the dainty details around the room - delicate gold sconces, all natural lotion and soap adjacent to the sink, a massive, glittering chandelier. I had the best night’s sleep of my life, and it wasn’t because I arrived at nearly 4am. My only regret was that class was at 10, and we needed to be dressed and at breakfast by 9am if we were going to make it to class.
gorgeous room at The Sir Savigny Berlin
When morning arrived, I took a shower (perfect water pressure, and since I’d left my shampoo in the car, I appreciated the high end, all natural bath products Sir Savigny offered. They had an excellent hairdryer in my room (so glad it wasn’t one of those dinky ones found in most hotels), and I was feeling pretty good as I headed down to meet Lauren for breakfast.
The charm at breakfast was next level, and it’s mornings like these that remind me why I prefer boutique hotels to chains. It’s charm city. The buffet spread at the main table included muesli, granola, fresh croissants and pastries, fruit, meats, and veggies. I was happy enough with that, but then a server came by with coffee and showed us the menu. The continental breakfast included a handful of items off the menu, and my goodness were they incredible. I even broke my parasite cleanse diet to have an avocado toast with egg. Lauren had a croissant egg scramble sandwich and said it was out of this world.
My Breakfast - The Butcher @ The Sir Savigny Berlin
Lauren’s Breakfast - The Butcher @ The Sir Savigny Berlin
Ambiance is everything, and the little breakfast area once again came with character. Floor to ceiling windows meant the room was drenched in natural light - something I really welcome, especially at the end of a dreary German winter where most days, the skies are grey. Neon lights reading, “What’s your beef?” gave a nod to The Butcher, Sir Savigny's popular in-house restaurant.
Most notable was the service. The staff knew we were on a tight schedule, and were so incredibly helpful - our meals were packed up for us to take away, complete with biodegradable wooden utensils. Ugh! The charm!
I can confidently say this hotel checks all the boxes. It’s close to the city center; the service is impeccable. The food is delicious, healthy, and fresh. The beds are honestly the most comfortable I’ve ever stayed in. The rooms are ‘gram worthy, yet 100% functional. I’ve found my new go-to Berlin hotel for the future, and I highly recommend it to you, if you’re ever in the area.