Tips For Munich Hotels During Oktoberfest -- And How Much Is Reasonable?
 

Hi, I'm thinking of going to Munich near the end of September and early October to catch the tail end of Oktoberfest.

I checked hotel.de, and most of the hotels seem to be booked up already. Last week I was still seeing doubles for about 150 euros for hotels near the train station, but when I just checked, everything is up to about 250 euros for doubles.

Is this the sort of price one would expect to pay? It seems appalling.

Are there any other websites or tricks that people can suggest?

Thanks!

A "trick" would be to stay out of town. If you'd stay in Augsburg, close to the train station, it'll take you 30min to Munich. Staying in the suburbs is an alternative too. Just post your findings and people here will help.

Thanks. I'll be travelling with a friend, and I've entrusted him with the Munich hotel reservation. Still I think that I've a little more experience with this sort of thing (and I'm more obsessive), so I'm asking for suggestions that I'll pass on to him. I'll also report back as to what he manages to find.

I've suggested that he check hotel.de, ebookers.com (listed on the Oktoberfest website) and the Munich tourism office.

When I checked last week, a hotel like Senefelder was available at hotel.de for about 150 euros a night. Now it seems to be full. (Just to give you an idea.)

I'm supposed to book our hotel in Berlin, but I'll have to book my plane ticket first.

If you consider staying in another city (and realize the additional costs for the train ticket) start with Augsburg, Freising, Fürstenfeldbruck, Germering!!, Olching, Puchheim, Dachau, Eching, or even Wolfrathshausen.

You can try this:

Deutsche Eiche Landgasthof Ranertstr. 1, 81249 München - Lochhausen
at hrs.de it's 140€.
Far too expensive, BUT the food is good!, their beer garden is great and it's only a very short walk to the S-Bahn station. Trains run every 10min during peak hour and it about 15min to downtown.

Thanks for the suggestion. So I guess central Munich is basically out of the question at this stage?

I always stay at the Hotelissimo Haberstock almost directly across the street from the train station. I will be there Sept10-17, so only one day of Oktoberfest. I don't know if they have any rooms available, but a couple of years ago I decided to go to Oktoberfest(Ihad been in southern France). I just appeared at the Hotelissimo and they had a room available. It is normal for the hotels to increase their rates during this fest, usually 30-50%. Hey, it's worth it.

We had the same problem two years ago when we unexpectedly visited Munich during Octoberfest. After realizing nothing was available IN Munich for under 125 euros, we stayed at the Grand Kempinski at the Munich airport for 115 euros. I dug around on the Kempinski website and found the offer.

The accomodations were great and with the train pass suggested by the tourist information employees, the cost was very good. Keep in mind, we had traveled for a week in Germany staying at quaint inn-type places and we were ready for the modern conveniences of a main-stream hotel (i.e. no quirky bathrooms with low water pressure.)

Hi,
We went 2 years ago and stayed at Dorint Novotel Muenchen Messe. The only reason we stayed there was because my friend works for this hotel chain, and we were given a huge discount. That was the only way we could afford being in Munich. It involved a ride on the underground and the hotel was right next to the stop. I was very impressed with this hotel. It is 4 stars. I checked prices for 9/30 & 10/01. It is 128 euro per night.
They also have a hotel in Augsburg for only 83 euro per night.
The website is www.novotel.com

It's probably way too late to get a room, but the Hotel Uhland is a great B&B just a block from the Oktoberfest park.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I'll check with my friend to see what he has managed to find and report back.

Hotelissimo is fully booked, according to their website.

Uhland still has singles:
http://www.hotel-uhland.de/Oktoberfe...ie-Zimmer.html

The rate at Novotel looks to be about 200 euros on average a night (the initial page did show 128 euros, but when I clicked through the rates were much higher -- but maybe they went up?).

Pretty scary.

I'll keep looking.

My friend has booked Belle Blue for 215 euros a night.

I'll try to negotiate with him to book something cheaper if we can find it. But I guess since we're splitting this it won't be too bad. But I find this sort of price gouging truly outrageous.

It's not worth the money! If you can stay in Lochhausen, don't wait too long. It's still far too expensive!

I think that he wants central Munich. I actually found a hotel with shared bathroom facilities for less than 150 euros. I'd have been happy with it, but I don't think this will fly with him.

I also suggested another alternative for about 25 euros cheaper (i.e. about 190 euros).

>I'm confused about whether I need reservations for tents, etc -- there'll only be two of us.
You don't need reservations for two at all. Most of the time, you'll find someting. If not, the tent will be closed anyway ;-). Try to avoid "Theresienwiese" U-Bahn station, too crowded. Better start at Goetheplatz station, fewer people at that corner of the Wiesn.

1110p:

I feel your pain. The first time we tried going to Munich we didn't understand that Oktoberfest starts in September and ended up commuting from Augsburg. It actually worked quite well but that's another story.
If you think the hotels are "price gouging" then stay off that ferris wheel at the fest grounds and resist the temptation to buy one of those "cookies" people hang around their necks.

Thanks Dukey. I'd be interested in hearing other tips about Oktoberfest -- like whether I need to make reservations for tents, etc. (I don't think it's possible -- just for the two of us?).

Anyway, the hotel is 185 euros a night. Since I'm paying half I guess it's ok. Plus my hotel in Berlin is 56 euros a night (I'm just paying half), so it averages out.

I just I didn't realize that this is such a big event. But the Wombats Hostel's webpage gives me a sense of perspective about this madness:

http://www.wombats-hostels.com/munic...s-munich.shtml

And as I said, even at this late date, I could have booked something for about 120 euros with some compromises after doing some research, but my friend was unwilling.

You could try www.hotwire.com, I put in
the dates for this weekend and I got a price of $150 for a 3 star in Munich.

You don't know the name of the hotel but they tend to be pretty good.

Geordie

Thanks. It's too late now -- we're confirmed at a hotel that has charged us for one night.

I'm thinking that the 3* is probably Parkhotel Schwabing. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay that far out initially, but after learning more about Schwabing, I guess the area is actually fine.