Well, it was very time consuming, but I checked out every train station & Alstadt hotel on hotels.com & checked them against tripadvisor.com & each hotel's website. I also searched on this board & reviewed all the Munich hotel posts back to 2007. So, I would greatly appreciate you opinions, comments, experiences regarding the following hotels & regarding about staying in the train station area versus the Alstadt area.

Here's what I ended with for 6 nites arriving April 25 & departing May 1, 2010, 2 adults, trying to stay under or around $200, need elevator in hotel, want AC/heat that is actually turned on at this time of year (sometimes AC is needed even when it is cold outside because room is too stuffy & too much noise with open windows), plan to take train or shuttle bus from & to airport, & will take train for at least 3 day trips, & prefer no penalty cancellation policy (in case change mind on hotel selection or find a better deal/hotel) -

1. Courtyard Munich City Center at 884 euros. I think I like this choice the best, but I am not sure of it's exact location, except that it is "near" the train station. Also don't know if a comp breakfast is included. King bed. No penalty cancellation.

?????Does anyone know where this is actually located - Schwanthalestrasse 37, 80336? Is it between the train station & the Marienplatz, closer to the train station, or where? Close to a metro station? Is the location good?

2. Le Meridien sounds good, but nonrefundable full payment is required with the reservation = 884 euros (same as Courtyard). Don't know if breakfast is included. King bed

3. Mercure Hotel City Center - can cancel up to 3 days before arrival, 669 euros, no breakfast. Not sure if located across from train station or further away. Reviews are good, but not as good as the Courtyard.

4. Flemings Hotel Munich City - cancel penalty; full payment when reserve. 767 euros with breakfast, king bed

5. Eden Hotel Wolff - 984 euros, double bed, no breakfast; don't know cancel policy, but reviews not as good as Courtyard & costs more.

I didn't find any that I wanted to add to my list that were in the Alstadt area; either didn't meet my criteria or cost too much.

Julie

We have stayed at the Le Meridien several times. It is directly across the street from the train station and it is a very nice property. The location is great as it close to all public transportation options, walkable to the Merianplatz and overall it is an upscale, business type hotel. We have never eaten there (breakfast is not included when you book using Starwood points), but there are all types of restaurants near by. I recommend it highly.

You should also check www.hrs.de - Germany's biggest consolidator of hotel rooms. Site will work in English, too.

You can sort the hotels by distance to the central train station (München Hauptbahnhof), or other stations like Marienplatz, and set filters like A/C and elevator.
For most hotels you mentioned, you will get a better rate with mostly same day cancellation policy and no advance payment. Plus you will find some more in the central station area like the Intercity Hotel (IN the station) or NH Deutscher Kaiser (opposite the North entrance of the central station).
From your list, the Meridien is the best.

But there are also many more hotels within your budget like the Hilton City which are slightly beyond the central station to Marienplatz axis, but have excellent connections of 5min or less to the city center by subway or suburban trains.

Hi Julie - We were very pleased with our choice of hotel in Munich! A stone's throw away from the main train station which was the reason we selected the Hotel Meier in Schutzenstrasse ( a nice pedestrian mall).
I cannot remember about aircon but there is definitely piped air coming into the rooms - send them an email and make sure.
Link:http://tinyurl.com/ybb4k3x

I was very happy with the Courtyard. There's a great bakery on the corner. I didn't really have much of a chance to explore the immediate surroundings, because of my professional purpose for the trip, but I didn't feel that it was as seedy as some have reported. I walked to Marienplatz one night, and had no problems with that, and transportation is easily accessible and very convenient. The room is like you would expect of a reasonably nice 3* American business-oriented hotel. I would say the room is medium-sized - certainly not small like many European 3* hotel rooms.

I had a great deal on Priceline. If I were paying rack rates, perhaps I would have looked for a place with a perfect location and perfect ambiance, but really, the Courtyard was very good.

I forgot to add that I had a real king-sized bed, and they have a ridiculous number of nice pillows on the bed.

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies.

WillTravel, glad to hear about your experience with the Courtyard. Would you please tell me where it is located - I couldn't find it's location in relation to the station? The Le Meridien is across the street from the train station. Is the Courtyard a block or so or .... Is it in a better or worse area than the Le Meridien? Is it still close to the train station - thinking about when we are pulling luggage in the rain!

Poconolady, your experience with the Le Meridien is what I have noticed - it seems to be a favorite - why is that? Would appreciate some insight regarding how it is preferred over the Courtyard - is it a real king bed; not a deal breaker, queen is ok, but we hate those European double size beds; not that we wouldn't accept one, afterall we are in Europe! As Cowboy1968 suggested, if I can find it with a refundable deposit, it can be considered since it is conveniently located directly across from the train station - it doesn't offer comp breakfast, but that is not a deal breaker.

Cowboy1968, thanks for the website. I'll work on that tonite.

tod, thanks for offering another option; I'll check on it.

I did reserve the Courtyard just to hold a place & the price. But as I like, it is refundable, although as WillTravel posted, it does sound nice - although as of yet, I don't quite know the location.

Julie

Julie, have you looked at the map on the Marriott site?

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/...h-city-center/

We stayed there in July and I think this is a pretty good representation of the location, although it is on the other side of the street (Schwanthalestrasse). That map also enables you to take a "bird's eye view" of the area.

We liked the Courtyard very much. We don't usually stay in that type of hotel (we prefer smaller, independent types), but it worked out well for us on this particular trip. The included breakfast was very good. We walked to and from the station with rolling bags; I'd say the walk was about five minutes, tops, from the front of the station.

We did not care for Le Meridien - it was one of my least favorite hotels during our 9 week trip through Europe. The only reason we stayed there was because we had Starwood points and our room was either free or deeply discounted (don't remember exact details). It is a typical large, chain hotel. I didn't like the location. Yes, it is very convenient to the train station, but the area around the hotel was not very nice. It is walkable to the Marienplatz but it is a pretty good hike. We were there in the summer and the air conditioning in our room didn't work.

I realized after staying at Le Meridien that I much prefer the small, boutique-type hotels that ooze charm and local ambiance and cater to tourists rather than business people. Just my personal preference!

If location to the train station is your most important requirement, and you don't care much about charm and a beautiful setting, then Le Meridien will be fine.

Julie, the Courtyard is located roughly two blocks from the station, in the opposite direction from the Marienplatz. It is located on a busy street, but the rooms were very soundproof. Big rooms and nice beds. I usually stay in Schwabing, but was very pleased with the Courtyard.

After re-reading my initial reply, I think I want to adjust my assessment of the Meridien being "the best". That remark should only refer to the hotel classification standards in comparison with your other options.
As Attnymom wrote, that does not guarantee that you will like it.

Another vote for the Courtyard.

Thanks everyone. Unless something changes, appears the Courtyard it is! I'll keep watching their site for hopefully some decreases in price. I'll watch some of the runner-ups too, in case their prices come down.

Thanks ms_go for that great map & to everyone else who offered first-hand info on the Courtyard experience & on the location, & to all of you - I love this Fodors' site - I tell everyone about it!

Now, on to researching Berlin for the best lodging area & best hotel for our criteria. Then transportation between cities & day trips, & then researching all of the endless siteseeing options - will be a while before I am finished!

Julie

A little further info about our choice of LeMeridian and why we like it so much. We were traveling at the end of January and were doing a number of day trips by train. It was wonderful being right across the street from the train station when trying to make an early train or draging back after dark from a long snowy days of sightseeing in Salzburg, Nurenburg, Garmisch and the castles . It was convenient for us. We also enjoyed being able to use the pool and work out facilities, business center for internet use (we were not traveling with a laptop that trip) and being able to use Starpoints to drop the price of the room was fantastic.(Cash and points, $60 per night, 5th night free) The bed was fine, a real king I think. Yes, it is a modern business hotel, comaparable with many US Westins or Sheratons. I didn't find the area to be bad, compared to many European train station locations. It is close to public transport, the underground is right in the train station and trams run right outside the front door. It is walkable to many points. We have stayed in other areas of Munich previously and found this location best for us on this trip. That trip we stayed in cute and classic hotels in Rothenburg and Strasburg, modern hotels in Munich and Stutgart, each offers its own atmosphere. If quaint is what you are after then the LeMeridian is not for you, if convenience to the train station, nice modern facilities and acess to transportation around town is more of a concern, then I feel that you can't go wrong with this hotel. The staff was always friendly and spoke English, helpful with suggestions for dinner and things to do around town. We stayed at the LeMeridian for 8 nights and we couldn't have been happier with our choice of hotel.

Thanks, Poconolady; appreciate your help. Right now the LeMeridien is nonrefundable. So, I booked the refundable & same price Courtyard & I'll watch them both for price drops - hopefully & decide based on that.

I noticed that a lot of people book thru Priceline, Hotels.com, etc. I've always been hesitant to do that because I have read reviews about arriving at the hotels & no reservations/room or getting the worse room in the hotel. I may feel comfortable chancing all of that if traveling at home in the USA, but haven't been brave enough to risk traveling in Euorpe. Maybe once we are ready to fully commit to a hotel, I might try Priceline's fixed price bidding for a specific hotel.

Julie

Priceline is blind bidding.. hotels.com is a normal website where you book the hotel YOU have chosen by name.

I LOVE bidding on Priceline. But if you are looking for certan amenities, www.hotwire.com ( try to decipher which hotel is offered at www.betterbidding.com) is very good.

Also check www.gtahotels.com , booking.com and laterooms.com.

I'll add my 2 cents on the Courtyard by Marriott. It is in a super location, close to the train station and within and easy walking distance from Marienplatz. We stayed there and got a screaming deal on Priceline (see BiddingForTravel.com to see what people are getting these days). As I recall we paid somewhere around $75 USD per night. The only thing we didn't like about the hotel is that it is an American style hotel (comforters on the beds instead of feather beds). We have enjoyed the charm and the Bavarian style at other hotels more.

I just checked and someone got it for $58 USD in December. Good luck.

My wife and I stayed at the Mercure City Center in August for 9 nights. It was perfect for what we wanted to do, which was take the trains around Bavaria for day trips. It's about a half block from the train station - 1.5 blocks once you count walking to the nearest corner and crossing the street. Good rooms, AC worked well, also had a nice beer garden, with food and Andechs beer. There are two youth hostels on the street, so you would need to not mind some groups of young people hanging outside - it looked like smoking was not permitted in the hostels.

If I were visiting Munich to mainly stay in the city, I would look elsewhere for a hotel. The area is fine, don't get me wrong - but there would be nicer and quieter neighborhoods to stay in. That said, if you are going to be there 6 nights, and you're doing day trips 3 out of 5 days, I think you'll appreciate the location.

BTW, you can save some time and a couple of dollars by buying the Bayern tickets from the machines INSIDE the Reiseburo, instead of at the ticket windows. They usually have a person stationed at the machines to help.

Julie you have done such a great research, simply add finding exact location with www.mappy.com, type address at that is it...good luck.