Das Stue, Berlin, Germany

Behind the grey stone of the former Royal Danish Embassy’s curved façade is a glamorous world of marble, wood and copper. Now the Das Stue hotel, the 1930s building sports a bold new addition of angular, cantilevered planes by Potsdam-based Axthelm Architekten. Das Stue (‘living room’ in Danish) ironically is largely an Iberian creation. Patricia Urquiola’s public spaces are full of dramatic splashes of colour, and feature a collection of black-and-white fashion photographs from the likes of Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, while Barcelona-based LVG Arquitectura has designed the 78 generous rooms in a more subdued palette of browns, ochres and greens. The third Spaniard is Michelin-starred chef Paco Pérez. An alumnus of El Bulli, Pérez is responsible for all menus, including the 25-course ‘Experience’ at 5-Cinco, the fine-dining restaurant. As for the 260 sq m minimalist spa, it offers a Finnish sauna and treatments by Austrian specialist Susanne Kaufmann using her Organic Treats product line. The urbane, pan-European feel of Das Stue perfectly matches the renaissance of this elegant area of Berlin.