Dossier 04 · Berlin
Berlin: the metropolitan casino hotel
A casino and a Rafael Moneo hotel on the same square, a station with the airport express a few minutes’ walk away, and a city outside the door. The most urban of the six.
- 18+minimum age, official photo ID
- €2entry per visit
- 11:00–03:00casino, daily
- 19 minBER to Potsdamer Platz by FEX
Photo: Florian Wehde / Unsplash
Our verdict
Who it is for
Choose Berlin for a city weekend with a casino on the same square, not a retreat.
The Spielbank is on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1 and the Grand Hyatt on number 2. The casino opens daily at 11:00 and plays until 03:00, entry is €2 and the minimum age is 18. The Potsdamer Platz station has the airport express, the S-Bahn and the U2, a few minutes' walk from the hotel, and the Brandenburg Gate is roughly a fifteen-minute walk.
Know before you book: Berlin publishes no dress code and no table counts, the hotel's published renovation history after 1998 is thin, and a long closure of the north–south S-Bahn link is planned but without confirmed dates. The casino is closed on 24 and 25 December and on Good Friday.
The casino
Gustav Jaenecke founded Spielbank Berlin on 1 October 1975, the 18th casino in Germany, and play began in the Europa-Center. On 2 October 1998 it moved into a Renzo Piano building at Potsdamer Platz; its lease there runs to the end of 2036. The official page describes a chandelier of 333,000 crystals weighing two tonnes, hung over all levels. German Wikipedia puts annual visitors above 600,000 as of 2019 (not an official figure).
A May 2023 trade article reported a year-long renovation during operation, completed in late April 2023, and gave about 500 slot machines, about 40 tables, six levels and 8,500 m². The casino's own timeline has no 2023 entry and publishes no counts, so read those as reported figures, not facts.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Age and ID | 18 or over with an official photo ID. Driving licences, work, student and press IDs and credit cards are refused. The casino records name, place and date of birth, nationality and address (kept for one year) and checks the exclusion file before gaming. |
| Entry | €2 per visit. |
| Dress | Not published. |
| Hours | Daily 11:00–03:00; American roulette and blackjack from 17:00; poker floor from 18:00. Bars on every floor, with the kitchen serving from 18:00. |
| Games | American roulette, blackjack and poker (Texas and Omaha), with cash games from €1 minimum and daily tournaments. Slot counts are not published. |
| Rules | Photography, filming and audio recording are banned outside the designated selfie areas. Playing at the casino and with another provider at the same time on a mobile device is banned. Outside food and drink, weapons and animals can lead to refusal. The casino calls itself completely barrier-free. |
| Closed | 24 and 25 December (statutory) and Good Friday. Christmas 2026 and Easter 2027 notices have not been published. |
| Packages | Welcome €39 (drink, tour, game introduction, €15 in chips); Dinner €79 (sparkling welcome, three-course menu, tour, €10 in chips); Gold €25 and Platin €50 (entry for two plus a food and drink voucher). Dinner and Welcome can be booked on OpenTable. |
| Tipping | Staff may not accept tips; guest donations to the boxes go to the operator. |
Rooms & spa
The Grand Hyatt Berlin on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2 has 321 rooms and 21 suites (342 in all). By the hotel's own descriptions, standard rooms are 38 m² with a king or twin bed, a Junior Suite is 48 m², a Grand Suite 50 m² (69 m² with a city view), a Grand Executive Suite 96 m², the Daimler Suite 161 m² and the Maybach Suite 210 m². Counts per category are not published. The building is by the Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, his first hotel, with a red-sandstone facade and interiors by Hannes Wettstein. Dogs of any size are welcome for €35 a night.
Club Olympus
The spa covers more than 800 m² with an indoor rooftop pool, a jetted tub, a Finnish sauna, a steam bath, a solarium and an outdoor terrace. It is open daily from 07:00 to 21:00 and the fitness area is open 24 hours for guests. Hotel guests use it free of charge; others pay €80 for a day pass (€95 at weekends and on holidays) or €40 / €50 for two hours. The gym and sauna admit guests from 16, and children up to 12 may use the pool area between 10:00 and 20:00.
Nearby
The Ritz-Carlton Berlin (Potsdamer Platz 3) has 303 rooms and suites, a 24-hour gym, a lap pool, a Finnish sauna and a steam room; pets up to 20 kg are accepted for €50 (the hotel's page is unclear whether that is per day or per stay). A €40 million Art Deco renovation was reported in March 2019.
The kitchen
The hotel's VOX mixes Japanese sushi with modern European cooking in an open show kitchen under chef Hugo Thiebaut, with the VOX Bar holding more than 300 spirits and whiskies. The casino serves casual food from 18:00. In a straight line from the Grand Hyatt are FACIL (two Michelin stars, about 120 m), GOLVET (one star, about 450 m) and the one-starred Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer (about 1 km); walking times were not routed.
Getting there
Potsdamer Platz station has the S1, S2, S25 and S26, the U2, the FEX airport express and regional trains. The hotel is a few minutes' walk. From BER, the FEX reaches Potsdamer Platz in 19 minutes (Hauptbahnhof in 23, Südkreuz in 14), up to four times an hour since 14 December 2025 plus an hourly RE20, running about every 15 minutes from roughly 04:00 to 01:00. The S9 and S85 do not serve Potsdamer Platz. Hyatt's convention data puts the Hauptbahnhof 2 km and BER 18 km away; by FEX or RE20, Hauptbahnhof to Potsdamer Platz is about four minutes (our arithmetic from the two airport times).
| From | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| BER Airport | FEX airport express | 19 min to Potsdamer Platz |
| Berlin Hbf | FEX / RE20 | About 4 min (derived) |
| Brandenburg Gate | On foot | About 1.1 km, roughly 15 min (Hyatt: 0.71 mi) |
| Munich | ICE via Nuremberg, Erfurt and Halle | Around 4 h; hourly; 16 trains a day on the 2026 timetable |
A closure of about two and a half years on the north–south link is planned, but its start is "completely open" and nothing is confirmed for October 2026 to September 2027. Check before you travel.
48 hours in Berlin
- Friday afternoon
Arrive and swim
Take the FEX to Potsdamer Platz, check in, and use the rooftop pool at Club Olympus (open to 21:00).
- Friday 19:00
Dinner at VOX
Dinner runs daily 17:00–23:00 and the restaurant has live music on Fridays and Saturdays 18:00–22:00. The Dinner package at the casino (€79) is the alternative.
- Friday 22:00
The casino
Open until 03:00. Bring an official photo ID; entry is €2.
- Saturday 10:00
To the Brandenburg Gate
About 15 minutes on foot from the hotel. Breakfast at VOX runs to 12:00 at weekends.
- Evening
Cirque du Soleil ALIZE
A permanent show at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz, next to the casino; it runs about 2 h 05 including a 25-minute break. Check show days and times; the next listed date is Thursday 22 October 2026 at 18:30.
- Sunday
Slow breakfast and the spa
Breakfast at VOX runs until 12:00 on Sundays, and Club Olympus is open daily 07:00–21:00.
What's on
Official dates, verified 20 October 2026. The Philharmonie calendar and Winterwelt dates could not be read, so they are omitted.
- Ongoing
Cirque du Soleil ALIZE
Permanent show at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz; next listed date 22 Oct 2026 at 18:30.
- 23 Nov – 31 Dec 2026
WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt
Christmas market. Winterwelt Potsdamer Platz dates are not yet published.
- 11 Nov – 23 Dec 2026
Goose menu at POTS (Ritz-Carlton)
Monday to Saturday. Festive Champagne Brunch on 29 Nov, 6, 13 and 20 Dec, plus 25–26 Dec.
- 10 – 21 Feb 2027
77th Berlinale
Awards ceremony Friday 19 Feb, Audience Days 20–21 Feb; premieres at the Berlinale Palast in the Theater am Potsdamer Platz.
How it compares
Choose Berlin if…
- you want a city break with a casino attached
- you are 18 to 20 and want to play
- you want to arrive by train and need no car
- you like the idea of a cultural calendar around the casino
Choose another if…
- you want a spa-town atmosphere: Baden-Baden or Bad Homburg
- you want a lake: Tegernsee or Lindau
- you want a published dress code to dress for: Baden-Baden
- you want a quiet park: Bad Homburg
Berlin is the only one of the six that is a big city, and the only one with a casino in the middle of it.
Questions
What is the dress code at Spielbank Berlin?
None is published on the location page or in the house rules.
How much does it cost to get in?
€2 per visit, according to the casino's location page and house rules.
What ID do I need?
An official photo ID. Driving licences, work, student and press IDs and credit cards are not accepted.
Can I take photos?
Not outside the designated selfie areas. Filming and audio recording are also banned.
Is the casino open at Christmas?
It is closed on 24 and 25 December and on Good Friday.
How far is the Grand Hyatt from the airport?
BER is 18 km by Hyatt's convention data and 19 minutes by FEX to Potsdamer Platz station.
Sources
Facts checked 2026-10-20. Confirm opening hours and prices with the venue before you travel.
Spielbank Berlin: Potsdamer Platz · Spielbank Berlin: house rules · Spielbank Berlin: history · Dine & Gamble · Grand Hyatt Berlin · Club Olympus · BER rail connection · Berlinale 2027 · Deutsche Bahn: 2026 timetable