Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

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TomatoTomahto
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Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

So, DW and I are 95% likely to go to Munich around the end of April; dates are somewhat open, duration around 5 days. We expect our son, probably with his GF, to visit us for a weekend (he’s based in London, so relatively easy) and perhaps longer.

We won’t have a car. We don’t mind walking and I assume public transportation is pretty good.

I think Altstadt is the preferred location for a hotel, but I’m open to change. Son and I LOVE German food, DW tolerates it. Cost isn’t a factor, unless it’s a clear ripoff. I speak German with a small accent to match my small vocabulary (I spoke it as a child :D ), well enough to convince Germans that my heart’s in the right place.

Any hotel, restaurant, things to do suggestions?

We intend to fly business class. Has Lufthansa lost the plot? Should we fly another airline? Recommendations?

TIA. :beer
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skp
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by skp »

We were in Munich end of April last year on a Rick Steve’s tour. Avoid Mondays everything is closed. Suggest a guided tour. We walked everywhere. I didn’t like the food. Might have been because I wasn’t feeling well that day and was exhausted from all the walking. My husband and I went to Eataly which was across the street from our hotels and I watched him eat. :wink: . All the other restaurants around our hotel were full so maybe you need reservations.

Decided to add. 2 days in Munich were plenty for me. If I was staying for 5 days I’d make a side trip to Salzburg and or Eagles nest. Or even better stay near eagles nest and do a day trip to Munich
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by hunoraut »

Lufthansa is a no brainer and the only reason not to use them is if they require transferring in the US and another carrier doesnt. (better to clear US immigration at home airport)

If you want to try boutique hotel brands not available or as known in US, theres the Do&Co and Kempinski.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by adamthesmythe »

Can't choose an airline without knowing where OP is coming from. When I went recently I connected through Denver on UA.

We had a very enjoyable day at the Deutches Museum. Next day visited art museums, of which there are many. The BMW museum was underwhelming but probably would have been more impressive if I was a BMW fan. The factory tour is difficult to get into. Had not been to the Residenz on previous trips and enjoyed it. While I like the occasional pork-and-potato fueled German meal I did not do much research so ended up with OK but not extraordinary food. In any case Munich was just a way station on an Alps-focused trip which turned out very well.

I won't recommend hotels as I don't see that there is any point, because I choose mine by using the mapping display on Expedia.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by stan1 »

BOS-MUC? I'd take the nonstop unless you really want to be loyal to Delta because it looks like they do not have a nonstop on DL metal. You can decide whether you want to do it as a UA code share or book directly with LH. Personally I would go with the nonstop and not change planes in LHR, AMS, JFK, EWR, etc. unless the pricing on the nonstop is ridiculous. If you are flying business or premium economy pricing can be all over the place.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

adamthesmythe wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:25 am Can't choose an airline without knowing where OP is coming from. When I went recently I connected through Denver on UA.
Sorry; I don’t know how I forgot to mention that. We are coming from Boston, MA.
Last edited by TomatoTomahto on Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

stan1 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:33 am BOS-MUC? I'd take the nonstop unless you really want to be loyal to Delta because it looks like they do not have a nonstop on DL metal. You can decide whether you want to do it as a UA code share or book directly with LH. Personally I would go with the nonstop and not change planes in LHR, AMS, JFK, EWR, etc. unless the pricing on the nonstop is ridiculous. If you are flying business or premium economy pricing can be all over the place.
Yeah, that’s my wife’s view.
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ScituateLife
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by ScituateLife »

I'm also researching a possible trip from Boston to Munich in July. So far my research has found that Lufthansa is the best (only?) bet to get there direct. AA, Air Lingus, Delta, Condor and others have 1+ stop routes which I want to avoid. Business class fares for July dates are very high for all carriers.

Folks in award travel communities recently reported on Lufthansa introducing the A380 into its direct routes from Boston, Denver and DC to MUC from starting in April. Take a look into that.

You may be able to book award flights for 88k miles business class or 44k miles economy class on United and use United points (via Chase, et al) depending on the days you want to fly. I believe after you book on United you'll need to go on Lufthansa and choose your seats.

Good luck and keep us posted.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by OnceARunner »

hunoraut wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:13 am Lufthansa is a no brainer and the only reason not to use them is if they require transferring in the US and another carrier doesnt. (better to clear US immigration at home airport)

If you want to try boutique hotel brands not available or as known in US, theres the Do&Co and Kempinski.
Hard disagree depending on how routing vs. comfort is favored by the OP.

I've flown trans-atlantic business class on both United and Lufthansa recently (one direction was United, the other way was Lufthansa). United's polaris seats (really pods) are far superior to Lufthansa's current offerings. I think LH is rolling out allegris, but not sure of what planes it has been updated on. It wasn't on mine.

I suggest OP check the particular planes that are flying each route. Food was slightly better on LH, but service was equal and the seat wasn't even close. Big advantage to United.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by stan1 »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:01 pm
stan1 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:33 am BOS-MUC? I'd take the nonstop unless you really want to be loyal to Delta because it looks like they do not have a nonstop on DL metal. You can decide whether you want to do it as a UA code share or book directly with LH. Personally I would go with the nonstop and not change planes in LHR, AMS, JFK, EWR, etc. unless the pricing on the nonstop is ridiculous. If you are flying business or premium economy pricing can be all over the place.
Yeah, that’s my wife’s view.
Smart woman, what's your view? :-)

If you are willing to take train to NYC region a lot more options open up.

If you are seeking optimization you have to look at the specific model of aircraft to see what type of seats they have. The A350 products should be good, but DL sometimes flies older 767s and BA still flies some planes with the despised ying-yang business class seats.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

stan1 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:02 pm
TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:01 pm Yeah, that’s my wife’s view.
Smart woman, what's your view? :-)
Everything equal, I agree, but not if LH is a horror show. I had thought JetBlue had direct flights, but see that I was mistaken. I had been wanting to try JetBlue biz class to London, but she overruled me on our London trip (likes BA) recently.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by InvisibleAerobar »

OnceARunner wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:50 pm
hunoraut wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:13 am Lufthansa is a no brainer and the only reason not to use them is if they require transferring in the US and another carrier doesnt. (better to clear US immigration at home airport)

If you want to try boutique hotel brands not available or as known in US, theres the Do&Co and Kempinski.
Hard disagree depending on how routing vs. comfort is favored by the OP.

I've flown trans-atlantic business class on both United and Lufthansa recently (one direction was United, the other way was Lufthansa). United's polaris seats (really pods) are far superior to Lufthansa's current offerings. I think LH is rolling out allegris, but not sure of what planes it has been updated on. It wasn't on mine.

I suggest OP check the particular planes that are flying each route. Food was slightly better on LH, but service was equal and the seat wasn't even close. Big advantage to United.
Pretty much this. On all of its A380s (appears to be the equipment used for BOS - MUC), A340s, A330s, and some of its A350s, LH still has the 2-2-2 configuration for J-class, which pales in comparison to the 1-2-1 configuration for Polaris. It appears that LH's B787s are all 1-2-1 though. One could, of course, spring extra for true international first class on LH (say on A380).

The geek in me loves seeing quad-jets, but not enough for me to want to fly on LH (though that's more due to its rather stringent sport equipment policy).
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by stan1 »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:08 pm
stan1 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:02 pm
Smart woman, what's your view? :-)
Everything equal, I agree, but not if LH is a horror show. I had thought JetBlue had direct flights, but see that I was mistaken. I had been wanting to try JetBlue biz class to London, but she overruled me on our London trip (likes BA) recently.
No, LH is not a "horror show", its a very large airline like the others with a lot of planes and staff any of which might experience a bad day once in a while. But we may be getting into optimizer vs. satisficer territory. I would not fly or Amtrak from BOS-EWR just to get better Polaris pod seating on United metal. But others would I think.
Last edited by stan1 on Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by uaeebs86 »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 9:00 am So, DW and I are 95% likely to go to Munich around the end of April; dates are somewhat open, duration around 5 days. We expect our son, probably with his GF, to visit us for a weekend (he’s based in London, so relatively easy) and perhaps longer.

We won’t have a car. We don’t mind walking and I assume public transportation is pretty good.

I think Altstadt is the preferred location for a hotel, but I’m open to change. Son and I LOVE German food, DW tolerates it. Cost isn’t a factor, unless it’s a clear ripoff. I speak German with a small accent to match my small vocabulary (I spoke it as a child :D ), well enough to convince Germans that my heart’s in the right place.

Any hotel, restaurant, things to do suggestions?

We intend to fly business class. Has Lufthansa lost the plot? Should we fly another airline? Recommendations?

TIA. :beer
We spent 4 nights back in November at the 25hours Royal Bavarian across from the main train station.
Very convenient - hotel was decent, got double charged a month later but was able to get them to fix it.

Went took a train/bus to Dachau one day and a day trip to Salzburg, Austria on the train.

Of course we went to the Glockenspiel and Hofbräuhaus in Marienplatz. Took a train down there one day and walked down to the same area another.

I'm of German descent and it was my first trip to Deutschland in my whole life at age 60. Would love to go back and explore the north.
I speak German at only the one year of HS level but look very German so several people asked me things in German. :D

We flew Air France in/out of Paris direct from Phoenix and took trains the rest of our France/Switzerland/Germany/Austria trip so I'm no help there.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by TomatoTomahto »

uaeebs86 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:25 pm I speak German at only the one year of HS level but look very German so several people asked me things in German. :D
I can only hope for that. I pay (a small amount) to have German conversations online to
Improve my fluency. It’s been so many years since I spoke it at home that it’s work to express myself, and most Germans I meet would have better English than my German.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by curmudgeon »

Lufthansa BC is fine, especially travelling as a couple. I wouldn't stretch to do a different airline. I would agree with Altstadt as a good location. The hotels by the train station wouldn't be my preference. We stayed at Motel One Sendlinger Tor when we were there some years ago, which was well-located and modern, but not luxurious - something like Bayerischer Hof or Mandarin Oriental might be more what you are looking for.

Personally if I were making the trip in April, I might be temped to add on a 7-day Danube river cruise or some time in Vienna.

The Viktualienmarkt can be a fun area to find a place to eat. There may also be Easter markets in some plazas. Hofbrau is the famous beer hall restaurant, but we thought Augustiner was better. There is a discount regional train day ticket option (the Bayern ticket) that covers all regional trains after 9am if you want to make a day trip to Salzburg or Neuschwanstein.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by bobn60014 »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:45 pm
I can only hope for that. I pay (a small amount) to have German conversations online to
Improve my fluency. It’s been so many years since I spoke it at home that it’s work to express myself, and most Germans I meet would have better English than my German.
On our last few trips speaking, or trying to speak, a bit of German goes a long way. Everyone appreciates the effort. But don't be surprised when attempting to speak it, whoever you're addressing replies in perfect English, "lets speak English, it will be much easier for both of us!". English is widely spoken, especially in the tech-industrial major cities.
Enjoy, we'll be there in the fall, meeting up with our son and DIL, who are Berlin based.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by exodusing »

OnceARunner wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:50 pm
hunoraut wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:13 am Lufthansa is a no brainer and the only reason not to use them is if they require transferring in the US and another carrier doesnt. (better to clear US immigration at home airport)

If you want to try boutique hotel brands not available or as known in US, theres the Do&Co and Kempinski.
Hard disagree depending on how routing vs. comfort is favored by the OP.

I've flown trans-atlantic business class on both United and Lufthansa recently (one direction was United, the other way was Lufthansa). United's polaris seats (really pods) are far superior to Lufthansa's current offerings. I think LH is rolling out allegris, but not sure of what planes it has been updated on. It wasn't on mine.

I suggest OP check the particular planes that are flying each route. Food was slightly better on LH, but service was equal and the seat wasn't even close. Big advantage to United.
Personally, I'd take a LH non-stop over a UA one-stop, even though UA has the better seat (for the long-haul; BOS-EWR is domestic recliner). I'd rather not risk connection issues or take additional time, but as you write, it depends on OP's view of routing v. comfort. FWIW, I'm a fan of UA polaris.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by mrb09 »

Been about 7 years since we last flew to Munich, and that was a stage to visit Italy, so we stayed by the airport (we've been to Munich before). I personally like the Munich airport, and it is a hub for Lufthansa - they have a fairly nice business class lounge for your departure.

I'm out of date, but I've flown Singapore and Air Emirates as well as a number of other airlines, and Lufthansa seems to me to have a perfectly fine business class.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by CJC000 »

We visited Munich and the surrounding areas in the late 90’s while stationed at Ramstein. Our observations:
Munich was heavily bombed during WWII and most was rebuilt in a modern fashion except for the Marienplatz which is fairly small. So it didn’t have the old world charm of other German cities that we liked better. They speak a Bavarian dialect, not “High German” so maybe practice some greetings. Do a bike city tour with Fat Tire Tours or Mikes, you can get private ones and they are very worthwhile. If you have time, tour Nymphenburg Palace, Königssee, Garmisch/Zugspitze, Dachau, Neuschwanstein and have a great beer at Andechs Monastery! Bavaria is a beautiful region of Germany - and we found the food to be outstanding. The Regional or S-Bahn will get you most places
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by 02nz »

It takes a lot to overcome the convenience of a nonstop. LH's business class on the A380 is outdated by about 20 years, but it's a flat bed, and not bad enough that you should connect or take the train. It's in reality not much longer than a flight to the west coast.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by hunoraut »

OnceARunner wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:50 pm
Hard disagree depending on how routing vs. comfort is favored by the OP.

I've flown trans-atlantic business class on both United and Lufthansa recently (one direction was United, the other way was Lufthansa). United's polaris seats (really pods) are far superior to Lufthansa's current offerings. I think LH is rolling out allegris, but not sure of what planes it has been updated on. It wasn't on mine.

I suggest OP check the particular planes that are flying each route. Food was slightly better on LH, but service was equal and the seat wasn't even close. Big advantage to United.
LH seat less relevant when OP is traveling as a pair. No risk of being in an exposed seat ‘touching toes’ with a stranger. Ive had perhaps 1 UA ride in my lifetime where I consider service even equivalent to any LH ride.

That said, in the layflat era all of these are minutiae to me. LH services BOS-MUC direct (ive flown it) which makes it a no-brainer.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by InvisibleAerobar »

This thread piqued my attention, as we are likely to visit München in April (refundable ticket already purchased).

Neuschwanstein would be of interest, but it would appear that the public transit would take ~3.5 hours each way. Would renting a car be better, and if so, any suggestions on that? I generally dislike tour group buses, but if that would be the best option, I guess I'll begrudgingly take the bus.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by Cruise »

Did hotel research for a planned Munich trip, and settled on The Charles. Haven't gone yet.

You might check out the cost difference for booking the LH flight on UA. If you book it on UA, at least if you have to cancel the trip, the refundable fare will convert to a UA flight credit.
stan1
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by stan1 »

InvisibleAerobar wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 3:23 pm This thread piqued my attention, as we are likely to visit München in April (refundable ticket already purchased).

Neuschwanstein would be of interest, but it would appear that the public transit would take ~3.5 hours each way. Would renting a car be better, and if so, any suggestions on that? I generally dislike tour group buses, but if that would be the best option, I guess I'll begrudgingly take the bus.
Personal opinion: in southern Bavaria interesting points like Neuschwanstein, Garmisch, Eagle's Nest, Deutsche Alpenstrasse, Chiemsee, Rossfeld Panorama Strasse, etc. are all enjoyable with a car and in late April they may be quite scenic depending upon weather of course. Driving in Bavaria is very easy and I did it often in the days before navigation systems. But those could be done on a future visit if they don't want to rent a car this trip. If they do go to Dachau I recommend a guided tour rather than a self tour. It is designed to be a more minimalist experience, so a guide helps explain what happened there.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by Lookingforanswers »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 9:00 am Any hotel, restaurant, things to do suggestions?
TIA. :beer
I used to visit Munich regularly on business and always *really* enjoyed it. I never really *researched* where to eat, but my colleagues took me great places. This was my favorite "fancy" Bavarian restaurant:

https://www.kuffler.de/de/spatenhaus/fotos.php

Also, Munich is a large enough "international" city that there are plenty of other restaurants from around the world - eastern Europe, Italy, France, Vietnam, etc. -- that for members of the family who don't like "German" food there's still plenty of good food experiences.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by rich126 »

We've stayed a couple of times at the Hilton (Rosenheimer Str. 15, 81667 München, Germany). Underneath the hotel is the entrance to the metro which makes things convenient.

The Nymphenburg Palace is a castle not far from Munich. It was really nice after a snow fall (we were there for the Christmas markets a few years ago).

Lots of nice Italian restaurants in Munich.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by InvisibleAerobar »

stan1 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 4:05 pm
InvisibleAerobar wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 3:23 pm This thread piqued my attention, as we are likely to visit München in April (refundable ticket already purchased).

Neuschwanstein would be of interest, but it would appear that the public transit would take ~3.5 hours each way. Would renting a car be better, and if so, any suggestions on that? I generally dislike tour group buses, but if that would be the best option, I guess I'll begrudgingly take the bus.
Personal opinion: in southern Bavaria interesting points like Neuschwanstein, Garmisch, Eagle's Nest, Deutsche Alpenstrasse, Chiemsee, Rossfeld Panorama Strasse, etc. are all enjoyable with a car and in late April they may be quite scenic depending upon weather of course. Driving in Bavaria is very easy and I did it often in the days before navigation systems. But those could be done on a future visit if they don't want to rent a car this trip. If they do go to Dachau I recommend a guided tour rather than a self tour. It is designed to be a more minimalist experience, so a guide helps explain what happened there.
Thanks for your insights.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by stan1 »

InvisibleAerobar wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:59 pm
stan1 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 4:05 pm

Personal opinion: in southern Bavaria interesting points like Neuschwanstein, Garmisch, Eagle's Nest, Deutsche Alpenstrasse, Chiemsee, Rossfeld Panorama Strasse, etc. are all enjoyable with a car and in late April they may be quite scenic depending upon weather of course. Driving in Bavaria is very easy and I did it often in the days before navigation systems. But those could be done on a future visit if they don't want to rent a car this trip. If they do go to Dachau I recommend a guided tour rather than a self tour. It is designed to be a more minimalist experience, so a guide helps explain what happened there.
Thanks for your insights.
I did European delivery of a BMW 335d in April, 2010. I only had a few days but I spent them based in Berchtesgaden and driving along the Deutsche Apenstrasse on a week day with very minimal traffic. It was one of the best trips of my life!
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by bendix »

OnceARunner wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:50 pm
hunoraut wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 11:13 am Lufthansa is a no brainer and the only reason not to use them is if they require transferring in the US and another carrier doesnt. (better to clear US immigration at home airport)

If you want to try boutique hotel brands not available or as known in US, theres the Do&Co and Kempinski.
Hard disagree depending on how routing vs. comfort is favored by the OP.

I've flown trans-atlantic business class on both United and Lufthansa recently (one direction was United, the other way was Lufthansa). United's polaris seats (really pods) are far superior to Lufthansa's current offerings. I think LH is rolling out allegris, but not sure of what planes it has been updated on. It wasn't on mine.

I suggest OP check the particular planes that are flying each route. Food was slightly better on LH, but service was equal and the seat wasn't even close. Big advantage to United.
I am not a LH fan even though I flew them a lot in all classes for a couple of years on transatlantic routes. They get a bad rep as their business class is two seats next to each other in one row and some people find that awkward. I think it´s actually preferable to pretty much anything else out there if you travel with others, e.g. your wife and/or kids. I find it annoying to reach my head over some wall or door and angle my head 180 degrees or something to try to talk to my wife while flying business class. The LH business class is alright for that and I would do it as a direct over connecting unless there´s a huge difference in price.

As far as hotels are concerned, I think you can pretty much stay in any Hilton or Holiday Inn in Munich. The ones I`ve sampled were all same and overall there´s less variance in hotels there then e.g. in the US. I`d go by convenience and price.
Last edited by bendix on Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by InvisibleAerobar »

stan1 wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:16 pm
InvisibleAerobar wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 5:59 pm

Thanks for your insights.
I did European delivery of a BMW 335d in April, 2010. I only had a few days but I spent them based in Berchtesgaden and driving along the Deutsche Apenstrasse on a week day with very minimal traffic. It was one of the best trips of my life!
That sounds lovely. Too bad the German automakers stopped their respective overseas delivery programs.

Other than München itself, I'm half thinking of sneaking in a stop to Nürnberg to fill up on goodies.
Last edited by InvisibleAerobar on Mon Feb 03, 2025 9:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
hunoraut
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by hunoraut »

Theres a cozy family-owned italian restaurant here thats a bit of a local secret. Its name is literally "no name". Before google maps was popular basically you'd only know it by word of mouth. Its located out of the city, next to a horse stable, and you'd never guess the restaurant was there.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/tP5uV7QTXziZe7GH7
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by eddot98 »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 9:00 am So, DW and I are 95% likely to go to Munich around the end of April; dates are somewhat open, duration around 5 days. We expect our son, probably with his GF, to visit us for a weekend (he’s based in London, so relatively easy) and perhaps longer.

We won’t have a car. We don’t mind walking and I assume public transportation is pretty good.

I think Altstadt is the preferred location for a hotel, but I’m open to change. Son and I LOVE German food, DW tolerates it. Cost isn’t a factor, unless it’s a clear ripoff. I speak German with a small accent to match my small vocabulary (I spoke it as a child :D ), well enough to convince Germans that my heart’s in the right place.

Any hotel, restaurant, things to do suggestions?

We intend to fly business class. Has Lufthansa lost the plot? Should we fly another airline? Recommendations?

TIA. :beer
We visited the Munich area several years ago for a week and had a great time. We are a 2.5 hour drive from both Newark and Logan, but DW has status on United, so we mostly fly nonstop in Economy Plus from there when we go to Europe, so we can’t help you with that.
We stayed at the Munich Marriott, which is a short train ride to the center of the city. It was nice enough then and with DW’s Marriott status, we were treated very well. Looking at their website, it appears that they have undergone a renovation since we were there. We did rent a car, so besides getting on the train to get to the center, we took day trips to the Nymphenberg Palace, Dachau, Innsbruck, Salzburg, and the Neuschwanstein Palace.
OnceARunner
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Re: Late April Munich trip - hotel, airline?

Post by OnceARunner »

bendix wrote: Sun Feb 02, 2025 6:34 pm
OnceARunner wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 12:50 pm

Hard disagree depending on how routing vs. comfort is favored by the OP.

I've flown trans-atlantic business class on both United and Lufthansa recently (one direction was United, the other way was Lufthansa). United's polaris seats (really pods) are far superior to Lufthansa's current offerings. I think LH is rolling out allegris, but not sure of what planes it has been updated on. It wasn't on mine.

I suggest OP check the particular planes that are flying each route. Food was slightly better on LH, but service was equal and the seat wasn't even close. Big advantage to United.
I am not a LH fan even though I flew them a lot in all classes for a couple of years on transatlantic routes. They get a bad rep as their business class is two seats next to each other in one row and some people find that awkward. I think it´s actually preferable to pretty much anything else out there if you travel with others, e.g. your wife and/or kids. I find it annoying to reach my head over some wall or door and angle my head 180 degrees or something to try to talk to my wife while flying business class. The LH business class is alright for that and I would do it as a direct over connecting unless there´s a huge difference in price.

As far as hotels are concerned, I think you can pretty much stay in any Hilton or Holiday Inn in Munich. The ones I`ve sampled were all same and overall there´s less variance in hotels there then e.g. in the US. I`d go by convenience and price.
FWIW, the wall lowers between the middle seats in Polaris. All the benefits of sitting next to each other, but both still have aisle access and privacy.
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