25hours Hotel Bikini Celebrates Anniversary With a Timely Refresh

Interior design trends evolve over time and not just in terms of finishes, fixtures, and furnishings. The way in which rooms are laid out and meet the demands of the day change too. In the past 10 years, integrated technology has become far less conspicuous. Architecture is now largely concerned with site-responsiveness and well-being rather than just jarring aesthetic statement-making. There have even been innovations in the dynamic use of material and stylistic flourish as well. The expectations for hospitality spaces – in particular – have also become far more exigent and complex.

Recently tasked with the retrofit of the 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin – the groundbreaking hotel he and his team originally designed in 2014 – prolific German designer Werner Aisslinger was presented with the rare chance of revisiting an old project. Not only that, he was able to mark the epochal shifts mentioned above and introduce comprehensive upgrades accordingly. As demonstrated in this unique endeavor, it isn’t just interior design that has evolved in the past decade but also the practice’s approach. The result is not a complete overhaul, gut renovation, but rather a perfecting of what was already in place.

A modern 25hours workspace with a long wooden desk, two chairs, a plant, and a built-in circular bookshelf seating area by large windows overlooking a cityscape.

“The 25hours Hotel Bikini is a cult location within Berlin and on the global hospitality scene because it has never lost its appeal and charisma as an unconventional creative hub,” Aisslinger says. “Even today, eleven years after it opened, there are still queues on the street every evening to get into Monkey Bar or the NENI restaurant or the 10th floor. Nevertheless, everyone involved is naturally keen to maintain this cult status and ensure that design optimizations and new concepts keep the hotel as unique and popular as ever.”

Modern 25hours hotel room with a large bed, white bedding, decorative pillows, a stuffed monkey toy, and a cozy sitting area featuring a bookshelf and round mirror.

A modern 25hours interior features a bicycle mounted on the wall, a large metallic bag hanging, open shelving with books, and clothes hangers under a wooden shelf with integrated lighting.

On this second “pass,” particular attention was placed on the 22 Large Urban and Large Jungle guestrooms. While beds were moved to the center of these accommodations to better frame from the adjacent zoo and expansive Tiergarten Park, an intimate – almost biophilic – palette of colors and materials layered over the somewhat rudimentary Neo-Grunge industrial look fashionable a decade ago. A nuanced amount of ornamentation has also re-entered the picture.

Modern 25hours hotel room with a red velvet sofa, round table with magazines, potted plants on a mirrored side table, and wall art featuring birds and flowers.

A modern 25hours bedroom with a red couch, a lamp featuring a palm tree design, large windows with views of trees, and a hanging wicker chair by the window.

Modern 25hours hotel room with an orange bed, circular wooden partition, built-in bookshelf, brown sofa with green pillows, and abundant natural lighting.

“Our latest design interventions play with the contrast between the rough exterior of the building and the cosy corners that have been added,” Aisslinger adds. ”Innovative fabrics have been used, along with sustainable upcycled building materials such as natural bricks, upcycled cork and rattan, as well as mirrored surfaces that reflect the city into the rooms.”

Modern 25hours hotel room with a round sunken seating area, bed, large windows, hanging chair, built-in bookshelf, and warm wood accents.

Modern bedroom with large windows, a swing chair facing greenery, and a bed in the foreground—plus a circular mirror reflecting a cozy 25hours-inspired reading nook with bookshelves.

Still holding fast to the 25hours brand’s eclectic and bold visual identity, Aisslinger and his team developed a custom 13-foot lamp out of kilim carpeting, produced in partnership with Italian brand Moroso. A more holistic lighting scheme was implemented in medium tier guestrooms.

A modern 25hours hotel room with a large bed, two white pillows, a plush monkey toy, pendant lights, and a cozy reading nook featuring shelves and a round opening.

Modern room with wooden furniture, a bicycle mounted on the wall, a hanging yellow bag, and flower decals on a light-colored wall—perfect for relaxing or getting inspired after a busy 25hours.

Modern 25hours bathroom with a terrazzo sink, illuminated mirror, and a view into a room featuring a bench, hanging clothes, shelves, and a bicycle against the wall.

Reuse was another central feature of the project, especially in the reconfiguration of bathrooms. With light now primarily emanating from vanity mirrors, shower trays and bathtubs were removed, refurbished, and then reinstalled. This revolutionary approach further emphasized the improvement over complete replacement approach.

Modern 25hours hotel room with a large bed, copper accent wall, hanging lights, glass of water on a tiled counter, and a window revealing city buildings and a crane outside.

A modern 25hours hotel room with a double bed, white bedding, a copper accent wall, green curtain, hanging lights, and a tiled sink area.

Modern 25hours hotel room with two single beds, a large window, plants, a glowing lamp, bedside table, and a tiled bathroom vanity featuring an illuminated mirror and sink.

An enduring hot spot for locals and visitors alike, 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin has been rejuvenated in accordance with the German capital’s own evolution.

Modern 25hours hotel room with a single bed, potted plant, bedside lamp, and large window showing a cityscape. Neutral wall colors and minimalistic decor create a relaxed atmosphere.

A modern 25hours room with minimalist shelves holding a white bag, a hanging yellow hanger, a toy monkey, a book, a smart speaker, and a lit lamp on a wooden surface.

A modern bathroom inspired by 25hours features a black faucet, a grid wall shelf with a stuffed monkey, a cup, a yellow hanger, and a wall doodle, plus a light attached by a blue cord.

A modern 25hours hotel room with a large bed, a wall-mounted sink, a green-tiled countertop, and a hammock by the window offers relaxing views of trees outside.

A bright 25hours room with wooden walls features a white bed, a blue hammock by the window, a pillow, dark curtains, and a red hanging lamp.

Modern 25hours hotel room with green walls, a bed, wall-mounted TV, and a hammock by large windows overlooking trees. Features include a small desk with plants and a bench with a book.

A modern 25hours hotel room with a wooden desk holding a lamp, two potted plants, a notebook, and a cup; a TV on the wall, yellow stool, bed, and hanging blue hammock are visible.

Modern 25hours hotel room with a double bed, copper accent wall, hanging lights, and an open bathroom area featuring a sink and mirror.

A modern 25hours hotel room featuring a copper accent wall, a bed, a desk with a plant and lamp, plus a window seat overlooking the cityscape and its historic church tower.

A modern 25hours hotel room with a large bed, built-in desk by a window, illuminated mirror, sink, and cityscape view outside.

Modern bedroom with a bed, large windows overlooking a city park, a wooden desk with plants and decor, and a yellow stool—perfect for unwinding or working in comfort after a busy 25hours.

A bright modern 25hours room with a desk, houseplants, a lamp, and large windows overlooking city buildings, including a historic church tower in the background.

What: 25hours Hotel Bikini
Where: Berlin
How much: $142
Design draws: A refreshed, additive interior design intervention of the popular zoo-adjacent hotel favoring a more intimate and mature design vocabulary with nuance ornamentation and reused elements.
Book it: 25hours Hotel Bikini

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Photography by Stephan Lemke.

Adrian Madlener is a Brussels-born, New York-based writer specializing in collectible and sustainable design. With a particular focus on topics that exemplify the best in craft-led experimentation, he’s committed to supporting talents that push the envelope in various disciplines.