Berlin - Holiday Apartment in Friedrichshain

cojobt

Hi,

4 of us are heading to Berlin in June. We normally stay in Friedrichshain. It's very busy the weekend we're going, and our usual places to stay are booked up, so we're looking at apartments.

Does anyone have any experience of apartments to let in the area? Any recommended AirBnB places? Or does anyone have any mates who lets out flats?

We've always stayed around Warschauer Str., or near Boxhagener Platz. Lively areas, well connected, close enough to local attractions.

Obviously budget is a consideration.

Looking forward to any feedback.

keithclancy

Used this crowd a few times and always had a good experience, they have apartments all over the city:

http://www.ferienwohnung-zimmer-berlin.de/en/search_request.php?new_lang_url=/en/search_request.php

cojobt

Cheers keithclancy, I'll look into it.

sarkozy

I can recommend that link, too. You'll find somewhere around there eventually, if you're having trouble. You could always find somewhere a little further along the train line nearer Ostkreutz. It's only an extra 5-10 mins walk, but not away from anything. Alternatively, a bit further away nearer the Boxi side of Frankfurter Allee wouldn't be too bad, but less atmospheric, I guess. You might also consider the far end of Grunbergerstrasse or the other side of the tram tracks (or generally the other side of Warschauer Strasse away between the S-Bahn Stop and Frankfurter Tor.

As for other districts, obviously Kreutzberg and Neukoln are worth considering, but you're right, F.hain has it.

Galadriel

I go to Berlin every Summer and always use waytostay.com, never had an issue, locations are great. Actually, the apartment we are renting from them
this year is near Boxhagener Platz.

cojobt

Beware vacation scams on Craigslist!

I ended up using AirBnb, but not before nearly falling foul of a scam on craigslist.

It's a busy weekend in Berlin, but then I suppose most are. Note to self: book at least three months in advance to get best deals. The best hostel I've stayed in is Plus Berlin on Warschauer Str, but it was already sold out for our dates

So, off to Airbnb I went, but I also tried berlin.craigslist.de. They have a listing for Holiday Rentals. I searched Friedrichshain. This came up:

http://berlin.craigslist.de/vac/4955076111.html

and looked fantastic. I got in touch asking about availability. The owner replied:

"Hello,
There is availability for the requested dates.
Rent for a Night is €50
5 Nights= €250
Refundable Damage deposit = €200 .
Mode of Payment: Paypal.
No extra charges, the rental fee covers all expenses.
There is a Tv, washer/dryer,heater, well equipped kitchen,etc. in the unit, Including WIFI.
To book the apartment, a deposit of at least 50% of the rental fee plus the damage deposit is required.
Would you like me to send the booking form?
Kind regards,
- Harrison."

At first I thought that price was fantastic and I couldn't believe my luck. However as it was craigslist I asked a couple of questions, about a balcony, smoking etc., and whether he had any 'assurances' about the flat but got no reply.

The next day I replied saying I'd like the booking form, and got a full lease agreement in return, which requested lots of personal details and a digital signature. Once I returned that, he would arrange payment via Paypal. He wanted the full security deposit and half the rental fee up front, so €325.

I sent another email asking questions, and got a short response. I've learned before that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I searched the email address, the owner's name (reassuringly Anglo: Harrison Crawford), Facebook, but couldn't find much. Finally I searched the description of the flat, and found a duplicate here:

https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/42809

This is the same apartment with the same description and photos, but it's on Airbnb at three times the price per night, and managed by Tina, not Harrison Crawford. It's also booked up for the dates we were looking to go.

I've contacted the real owner of the flat through Airbnb to let them know, and went on to book our top choice on Airbnb, at the more realistic price of €555 for 5 nights - with 4 people staying that's a pretty good rate.

So there you go. If it looks too good to be true, it is.

sarkozy

If it's a scam, I think you should notify AirBnB and Craigslist.