Which hotel in Munich?
 

My dh and I will be in Munich for 2 nights in March, and I'm deciding between several hotels. We like luxury hotels, we're 32, and this is to be a romantic trip for us. Since we'll only be there 2 days, having a pretty good location to all the sights seems important. Price is not an issue among those we're looking at, which is just about everything but the Mandarin, which we think is too expensive.

We're deciding between the Vier Jahrezeiten, the Koenigshof, the Palace and the Sofitel Bayerpost. Here are my thoughts, and I'd love to hear your opinions:

Vier Jahrezeiten: Sounds like a PERFECT location, but some reviews I read that said the entire hotel smells like cigarette smoke (even n/s rooms) worry me, as do reports that it is getting a bit tired/rundown (?). I truly cannot stand cigarette smoke, and especially smoky, rundown hotel rooms.

Koenigshof: Everyone raves about the service, but the location doesn't sound as great and a traveler photo I saw of the exterior on tripadvisor scared both of us. I can't imagine a 5 star hotel looking like that on the outside. What's the deal with this hotel?

The Palace: Looks gorgeous, but sounds like the location isn't so great.

Sofitel Bayerpost: The spa looks AMAZING, and we love spas. But the location doesn't sound that great, reviews seem to indicate it's not as luxurious as the others (?) and it looks suspiciously like a W Hotel (which are hit and miss). We will be coming from a hotel in the alps with a spa, so I'm not sure how important that is.

Does anyone have an opinion on where we should stay?!

I think everything you wrote about general location and outside appearance is right on the spot.
As a local, I have never stayed in either hotel, so maybe you will have others comment on that.

Bavaria has a non-smoking only policy for restaurants since Jan 1, so I think that will also make the Vier Jahreszeiten less smoky.
Besides the smoke issue, the Vier Jahreszeiten has the best/perfect location of all four you mentioned. Maximiliansstrasse in Munich's own lil Rodeo Drive, and you are still in the historic old town center.

The Palace is not in a bad location, that neighborhood is actually quite nice. Yet you will always have to take the subway for 1-2 stops to go to the historic city center.

The Königshof must offer some great wonders inside, because first time I saw it from the outside I pitied the people who had to stay in that ghastly looking cubicle left over from the 1970s. The location is very good to explore the city, though.

Sofitel Bayerpost is sitting right on the side of the central station. That area may lack some charme, but it is not as seedy as comparable station neighborhoods elsewhere.

If I had to choose, I would go for the Vier Jahreszeiten - after I got an update on the current smoking situation.

Of the ones you mention I'd recommend the Sofitel:

Sofitel: Great design, nice beds, rain showers, brilliant spa, nice service, location right by central station, some slightly seedy side street around the corner, but no need to pass through on your 5 min. walk to Stachus and the beginning of the pedestrian zone (where Koenigshof is located). My preferred choice for the past years in Munich.

Vier Jahreszeiten: Brilliant location on upscale Maximilianstr. and a nice rooftop pool and spa on the plus side. No bad cigarette odour either (if you request a non-smoking room). I stayed there twice recently on business (some one else booked for me) and would not choose it myself as the room size is a joke and in general the place is in need of an update (as many Kempinski hotels seem to be).

Palace: Small and private hotel in Haidhausen area, up the hill from the Bavarian parliament. Conventional hotel without a spa, a bit of a hike to the nearest subway. Haven't stayed there.

Koenigshof, ugly building on convenient Stachus (Karlsplatz). Haven't stayed there, reputation as very upscale, traditional place, doesn't seem to necessarily target my age group (same as yours).

Now, if I were you, I'd take a close look at the new The Charles Hotel by Rocco Forte. Convenient loaction to Karlsplatz and central station and looks lovely IMHO:
http://www.charleshotel.de/?source=1007

Thanks to both of you for your thoughtful responses! You've given me some things to think about, and I'll check out the Charles as well.

Platzl is definately my recommendation. right in the center of the town. Great Breakfast and location. Across from the Hofbrauhaus. Worth the money by far. We lived in Munich for 4 years and always stay there when we come to visit.

The Platzl does not meet your criteria of "luxury" hotel as nice as the place is.

IMO, if you want luxury and you are willing to pay for it, forget all of the ones mentioned and go to the Mandarin Oriental.

The location is right where you want to be.

Is it worth it?????? Only you can decide.

A few more thoughts which just occurred to me:

1. As much as I like the Sofitel, on my next stay I will likely try The Charles. I recently passed by and it looked great.

2. The Sofitel has a truly great breakfast buffet with about all the works you could want (including a choice of fresh delicious smoothies and made to order eggs and omelettes) - it does come at a bit of a price as usual, but offers great value.
The dark and sparsely lit winding pool has lots of appeal.

3. Think of the rooms at the Kempinski (probably unless you opt for a more expensive one in the historic part of the hotel, but I cannot vouch for this assumption) as small, Holiday Inn like rooms, which offer a slightly more upscale decor. Sort of 80-s elegance, if you catch my drift. The bathrooms are extremely small and most offer a view of an uninspiring 50-ies style courtyard.
While the service is nice and friendly, the rooms are the factor why I think the place is not worth the money they are asking.

I hope you'll go with the Charles, we wanted to stay there last September 2007, but the hotel opened in October 2007.

We ended up staying at the modern styled Hotel Anna next door to Koenigshof. www.annahotel.de
We were satisfied with the circular junior suite on the 5th floor. It has windows overlooking Karlplatz/Stachus. The only complaint we can think of is the lack of a grand foyer; this hotel has more of a nice private residence set up. All rooms on the 5th floor have large flat screen TV's and new wood floor instead of 13 inch TV's & carpet (lower floors). We didn't notice any smell of smoke as one complained on tripadvisor. Karlplatz location is much better than the train station area even though it's close enough to walk to the train station where we picked up our rental car. My wife appreciated having the very large dept stores Hertie and Galleria Kaufhof next door though nothing like the boutiques on Maximilianstr.

We were among the ones who complained about the Kempinksi smoky halls and disastrous old standard rooms. That said it's an ideal hotel to stay if you stay in one of their junior suites.