I’ve been looking back at an old blog and a few years ago I wrote a post about the SM Apartments, owned by SteelCollar, in Berlin. I thought it was worth sharing a slightly updated version of this post as some of you kinksters may be interested in it.
I’m very lucky in that I have my own permanent dungeon space, but appreciate that most people don’t have that luxury. And so quite often look at hiring somewhere to play, and over the years there have been some amazing play destinations. The Black Tulip in Amsterdam was quite legendary for example!
Around the UK and London there are some dungeons available for the evening or by the hour. But there is something about taking a break away with your boy /slave / maid to an apartment that has everything you need and a fully equipped dungeon & more right there. Oh and one that happens to be round the corner from some very horny bars!
And the SM Apartments are still, in my view, some of the best dungeon spaces you can get!
Berlin is also home to the Hoist Basement apartments – but these don’t appeal as much for me. And there is a very simple reason – the Hoist ones are almost over styled to be hard sex environments. Yeah a good dirty play space is awesome, but I really also like comfort and style to relax in and have my boy clean my leathers and boots in or just sit at my feet as we relax with a good wine. And the SM Apartments offer both the play space, and relaxation and comfort.
This trip we stayed in The Suite, the largest of the three apartments available. This review is based on a visit from 2012, so some of the decor and features and decor have changed since then, but the principles and ideas are the same!
If you really don’t like Tom of Finland art you may not love the apartment – it is decorated with 14 of his iconic drawings throughout the lounge, hallway and bedroom. The apartment decor are themed around hot sexy leather kink imagery!
As you walk into the apartment you find yourself in a large airy lounge area – the rooms are very very tall giving a great feeling of space! The kitchen area and breakfast bar / dinning table is off the lounge. It has all the essentials – fridge freezer, toaster, microwave, kettle and Nespresso machine. There is also an electric hotplate should you need it. The fridge and kettle were about all we used, along with the dish washer.
The bedroom has a large king sized bed with plenty of drawers for storage, a hi-fi and wall mounted TV. The apartment also comes with it’s own iPad and WiFi. A word of warning with the WiFi … the walls of the apartment are very thick and the signal sometimes gets lost if you stray too far from the bedroom (this may have changed now … it was 2012 when I last visited).
The bedroom is where I think I would say I only had one complaint – lack of pillows on the bed. There were just two very thin pillows that offered no support. But we made use of the blankets in the cage / cell to boost them up and all was good.
The bedroom is where we also came across our first item of dungeon furniture – a Fetters Mk 1 Whipping Bench. A great classic bit of dungeon furniture – so classic in fact it is one of my signature pieces in my own dungeon now!
And then the playroom … the real reason everyone stays here!
A huge cage, sling stand, suspension rig, wall restraints, bondage table, gyno chair, tv & dvd player, russian gas mask, restraints, chains, ropes, leather sleepsack, rubber sleepsack, condoms, lube, pegs and a few other bits and pieces you will enjoy. I think some pictures say much more about the space, I have to add thought that the lighting was awesome!
We had a great time at the apartment and really enjoyed exploring Berlin as a city. The apartment is very well location for the U-Bahn, just ten minutes walk away if that. One of my fave bars visited was Prinzknecht just around the corner. Walking in I felt like I’d been transported to San Francisco, it felt very American to me in its styling and service. None of which is a bad thing – very different, a great thing and a great bar.
So if you are looking for a kink play weekend away then you really do need to visit Berlin! Staying in one of the apartments also allows you to live out a 24/7 Dom/slave relationship fantasies for a weekend with your Master or Mistress – its the perfect get away and only a few hours flight from the UK!