The Estrel Berlin, Germany’s largest hotel, is about to get bigger. The owner of the 19-year-old building plans to expand its conference hall to accommodate 4,200 more visitors.
The hotel in Berlin’s Neukoelln district will add 7,700 square meters (83,000 square feet) to its existing 15,000 square-meter convention space. The construction work, which is due to be completed in 2015, will cost the company about 20 million euros ($27 million).
Berlin hotel construction is booming as developers take advantage of increasing tourism. Berlin had 126,000 hotel beds last year, 18 percent more than in 2009, according to data compiled by the German Hotel Association. The number of visitors to Berlin rose by 30 percent to 10.8 million in that period, according to Berlin’s tourism and conventions office.
The Estrel has 1,125 rooms, more than any other German hotel. The Park Inn Alexanderplatz, also in Berlin, is the country’s second-largest hotel with 1,012 rooms.
