The Estrel does not belong to a hotel chain but is privately owned by the contractor and building namesake Ekkehard Streletzki, who received the industry prize "Hotelier of the Year 2000".

Furthermore, Ekkehard Streletzki was awarded the “Verdienstkreuz am Bande” (the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon) by the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in November 2005 in honour of his lifetime achievements, his social commitment, and his work for the city of Berlin.

The hotel is located near the train station Sonnenallee in the district Neukölln near the city center.

It has its own railway station which enables guests to arrive and depart with chartered trains, and an own jetty along the Neukölln shipping channel from where sight-seeing and boat tours are on offer.

Since 1997 the Estrel Festival Center, a reconstructed factory hall, hosts the successful Las Vegas live show Stars in Concert with impersonators of international stars like Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Elvis Presley and others which was attended in 2010 of more than 3.8 million visitors.