The Gates: Your Internet hotel in Berlin offers free surfing and e-mails in every room. Here, you can relax in a classic-modern atmosphere in the city centre, only 2 mins. from the Kudamm in a central, yet quiet situation. The Hotel Gates is new. Its concept is unique. And you really must experience it for yourself once. Our house has a special charm, which is native to Berlin, thereby emitting an appeal that must result from the successful symbiosis of tradition and modern style. It is noticeable somehow that stars such as Marlon Brando or Claudia Cardinale have strolled down the corridors. Today the two of them could retrieve their emails directly from their rooms. Free of charge. The pleasant atmosphere of the neighbourhood is matched by the luxurious interior of the hotel and its renovated exterior, which stems from the late 1800s. All 72 rooms have satellite and pay television, a direct-dialling phone, a desk and extensive IT equipment. The bathroom features a shower or bathtub, WC, hairdryer and a washstand. After waking up in the morning refreshed from a good night’s sleep in your new anti-allergenic bed, you will enjoy a big breakfast buffet that is typical for Berlin, served in our breakfast room from 1957 that has been classified as a historical monument. With us, not one of your wishes should go unfulfilled… and if it does, we’ll do everything possible to take care of it. IT-equipment: in each room: PC with flat screen and CD-ROM drive, 2.3 Mbit internet connection (40 times faster than a 56 KB modem), Microsoft Office software package IT-Service: free-of-charge, unlimited high-speed internet connection including printouts and data transfer to CD-ROM at the reception The Hotel Gates wins us over with its location, character and ambience. A lot of people may say this is fine and good and taste is after all a matter of opinion. But do you know of a hotel anywhere in the world that offers you the following, completely unlimited, around the clock and absolutely free of charge? Barely open – already sold out read the headlines of Berlin newspapers in June 1957 on the occasion of the opening of the Hotel Windsor. In a record time of 3 months a former eminent residential and business house had been turned into an international hotel for persons with sophisticated demands. The founders and proprietors of the hotel were Werner G. Lang, honorary consul of Paraguay and freeman of several US cities. His international standing but also his marriage to the celebrated European prima ballerina of the Berlin Opera, Gisela Deege, attracted filmstars, diplomats and politicians from around the globe to reside in the first class hotel in Knesebeckstraße. The consul was only too glad to pose for photographers with prominent figures or drive up to the entrance in the newest racing cars. International stars such as Claudia Cardinale, Marlon Brando and Harry Belafonte were welcomed by him in the Hotel Windsor, as well as the German screen favourites Heinz Rühmann or Charles Reigner. And when the football team Hertha BSC had a home match fans would wait next to the red carpet at the entrance of the hotel to get hold of photographs and autographs of their idols such as Uwe Seeler or Franz Beckenbauer. A meeting point for stars and hotel guests was the hotel bar. Here Eddie Constantine, Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff and many others sipped the Hotel Windsor cocktail, created by bar manager Dieter Fuhrmann. Werner G. Lang withdrew in 1973 after 16 years of successful hotel management. He sold the hotel to Georg Sponholz, who had started off in the hotel as coach master. Lang had already entrusted him with managerial tasks before. Due to a legal dispute the new proprietor could not retain the old name of Windsor. In memory of the history of the hotel and in gratitude to Lang he changed the name to the Hotel Consul. After the reunification in 1990, Abraham Rosenthal purchased the Hotel Consul. He rebuilt the old hotel into a comfortable city hotel. The first step was the restoration of the entrance hall. The Berlin architect Armand Grüntuch designed a futuristic glass and steel canopy, that stands in deliberate contrast to the facade that stems from the time of rapid industrial expansion in Germany in the 1800s and is classified as a historical monument. Since then the refinished reception area is illuminated by modern design and provides a clear view onto a piece of history in the house: the stairwell which is also classified as a historical monument. The combination of tradition and the modern age has also been the leitmotif for the extensive changes in the hotel since its founding days. At the end of November 2000, the hotel temporarily closed down for business and the entire house was completely renovated. The unique concept that is geared towards the demands of modern information-orientated society sets a new standard today. Therefore we have also chosen a new name for this new beginning: the Hotel Gates.