There are better times to open a new hotel than in an overserved market in a weak economy leaving rooms vacant and rates plumbing the depths.

But that doesn't seem to bother the owners of Cosmo Hotel, a new so-called lifestyle hotel in trendy Berlin Mitte. Cosmo is the latest addition to the collection of individually run and uniquely styled hotels affiliated with Design Hotels AG. The 84-room hotel, located just minutes from tourist attractions such as Gendarmen Markt and Potsdamer Platz, opened Jan. 2.