jkpie

My wife and I are taking a trip to Germany during Oktoberfest this year (our first to Europe) and could use some suggestions on lodging and things to do in Munich and Salzburg.

Our primary concern is finding lodging in Munich. I have found several hotels with availability, however, it would be nice to have recommendations on where to stay from someone with first-hand experience.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Riffic

jkpie, welcome to traveltalk

There is a wealth of info on this site for Salzburg and Munich. If you use the search function and enter "Munich AND itinerary" or "Munich AND ..." Hotels, must sees, restaurants--you'll find a lot of stuff. Same for Salzburg.

Here is some info you may want to provide in order to get responses....
What sort of hotel are you looking for... A commercial chain or a local establishment? what's your budget? Would you prefer to be right at the Wieß'n (locale for Oktoberfest) or in the city center?

JN

As for hotels, we stayed at the Der Tannenbaum in Munich--in the Altstadt off of Sendlingerstrasse for around $120/nt double. Regular rooms are small, so while we booked the hotel through Hotels.com, we called the hotel to upgrade to a comfortclass room for a total of 40E over three nights. Not sure what rates will be at Oct fest--much higher I'm sure. Loved the location and the room--close to everything, yet quiet.

Salzburg--our favorite is the 4**** Blaue Gans in the Altstadt, though have enjoyed the cheaper 3*** Am Dom as well.

I'm sure you'll get recommendations for things to see: Residence, Nymphenburg, the 3 Pinakoteks, Englisher garten in Munich will be on your list. Day trip to Neuschwanstein/Hohenschwangau as well.

Enjoy

TopMan

If you are going THIS year you need to start looking yesterday for a hotel..the ones in the center are often booked up to a year in advance for the Oktoberfest time period.
I am trying to be helpful, not an alarmist since the first time I tried to stay in Munich during Oktoberfest and was looking a full six months prior the only thing decent I could find was in Shwabing so I ended up in Augsburg..I learned my lesson. Good luck.

jkpie

Riffic,

I was trying not to be overly wordy in my original e-mail. I am a novice at the Fodor's website and appreciate the search suggestion.

Based upon how late we are booking hotels in Munich, I'm not overly concerned about chain vs. privately owned hotels or the room rates (I just want to find a nice place to stay with decent amenities). We would like to be walking distance from the Oktoberfest fairgrounds, however, we are not sure whether that is desirable versus staying in the city center.

Mthomp77

If you are not too concerned about price, try the Kempinski Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons) It's centrally located, a couple of blocks from the Munich Hafbrau Haus, and is a great place to stay. We stayed there last month for 5 days and were upgraded to a deluxe double (like a small suite) because of the length of our stay.

DAX

I have stayed at the Kempinski Munich and WAS NOT upgraded. I actually booked two rooms and received two horrible rooms (New Year's Eve, fully booked). My brother in law stayed at the suite and we thought it was just ok for 450 euro. I wouldn't bet on getting any upgrade during Oktoberfest. Check out Le Meridien Munich.

Bird

Hotels in Munich during Octoberfest are going to be both scarce and pricey. If you don't mind train rides, then you might consider Augsburg, Landshut, or Altotting. All are interesting in thier own right and are convenient to Munich. You might place a bid on Priceline and see if you can get a decent price for that time. Good luck.

bob_brown

I agree. You are going to find prices raised. Moreover, you will probably take what you can find rather than what you want.
Schwabing is not that far from the city center on the U-Bahn, but it is not within walking distance of the festival area.
Whether or not you could find anything now in that district is something I don't know. I got lucky and made a reservation in early May at a hotel in Schwabing. The dates are during the time of Oktoberfest. But it is not a luxury hotel, certainly not in the Vierjahrzeiten or Kempinski class by a long shot, but it suits my middle class tastes.

jkpie

Thank you all for your suggestions. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! We actually got lucky and found availability at the Hotel Sofitel Dorint Sofitel Bayerpost. The hotel appears to be in a good location to both the train and Oktoberfest.

In Salzburg, we booked a room at the Blue Gans (as recommended by JN).