Right about 'nhow'! Fun awaits for funk soul brothers and sisters in Berlin

It’s already known for the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate and Bowie's esteemed trilogy of late-’70s albums, but Germany's capital has a new high-kicking kid on the block.

The latest beat on the street comes in the toe-tapping form of an initiative called "dance nhow, change now". Ingredients include break-dancing and hip-hop, mixed with voguing and Afro. Add transcendental trance and bring to the boil!

The home to this medley of sound is a neon-splashed boutique called nhow (the lower-case ‘n’ is deliberate), designed by renowned interior architect Karim Rashid and awash with amazing technicolour that Joseph could only dream of.

Expect the unexpected at this disruptive and characterful child of Minor Hotels, a group that boasts 560 sites in 58 countries, conceived as creative melting-pots inspired by their surrounds.

Rockier than Zugspitze, rolling like the Spree the flows alongside, its eclectic accommodation is cooler than the chilled glasses in the hotel’s welcoming bar.

The venue, with its themes of music, design, art and fashion, puts the fun into funky and is a place where quirk meets twerk. Pretty in pink, surrounded by sound, imagine Barbie partying with Bach, Brahms and Beethoven, with classical and contemporary soundtracks giving guests a lift, literally, throughout elevator rides.

Room service uniquely includes guitar and keyboard hire, while a lofty Music Studio is a must-visit for musos, its welcome card echoing Marilyn Manson's adage "if you act like a rockstar, you'll be treated like one".

Having moved to these environs with Iggy Pop, the late great David Bowie's most productive period saw the rapid release of the Krautrock-influenced albums Low, Heroes and Lodger, although the vibe here is better encapsulated by the artistic chameleon's 1983 hit album and single Let's Dance.

A post-thrills chill-out zone comes in the refreshing and rejuvenating shape of a 450 square metre spa oasis. And there's beds and breakfasts, substantially ample in equally satisfying measure, fit for a König. Or Königin.

"We enjoy visitors enjoying themselves," said Yaiza Cardo Ramirez, Minor Hotels Europe & Americas consumer PR manager.

Fellow hospitable host Colin Lenz, the senior PR and communications manager for Minor Hotels Northern Europe & Americas added: "Each guest will live their own personal experiences with one thing in common: the wow factor!"

Social media influencers - and we "two left feet" types, guilty of murder on the dancefloor - threw shapes and bust moves courtesy of a silent disco session, where collective inhibitions were shed like snakeskin.

Enter Peter ‘Dr Dance’ Lovatt, sharing the benefits of rhythmically whirling and twirling like nobody's watching. Dancing is "the surprising secret to being smarter, stronger, happier," he says in his book The Dance Cure, hailed by no less a luminary than Brit ballerina Darcey Bussell, who said he "has brilliantly put into words what I have felt my whole dancing life: that the power of dance can liberate and change all our lives".

The Flying Steps Academy, Germany's largest urban dance school established by the eponymous world-renowned breakdance champs, offers classes sympathetic to all ages and abilities, even arthritic asthmatic pensioners. We know who we are!

It was expertly choreographed for everyone – including me – to move, groove, shake and break hip-hop style, sporting stylish Sloggi kit, to Pharrell Williams's 2013 hit Happy.

For calories to be burned, they have to be gained, and there no better place for this than Markthalle Neun, a pleasure palace where "bakers bake, brewers brew and butchers butcher”. It’s a community cooperative where stall-holder neighbours become good freunde.

Ale aficionados (again, we know who we are!) should visit Heidenpeters, whose fruit-infused cloudy concoction Hazy Heidi - "similar to pineapple juice, only with a little more alcohol" - can reportedly cause men drinking beer with the foam afloat to hear the occasional yodel.

Jäger & Lustig may sound like a firm of solicitors but is, in essence, way more inviting, "known for cosy ambiance, a true gem for those seeking authentic German hospitality".

Success on a plate comes in taste bud-tingling form of regional homemade dishes, none more traditional - or comforting - than Königsberger Klopse meat balls Großmutter used to make.

Travel facts:

Partner visitBerlin, the city's official marketing agency, is the brains behind the WelcomeCard transport of delight, covering regional and S-Bahn trains, underground services, trams and buses, including express links to and from Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Visit visitberlin.de/en for details.

Rooms at nhow Berlin start from €104 (£88) per night (room only) and from €154 (£130) per night on a B&B basis for two guests. Visit www.nhow-hotels.com to book.