Originally Posted by
djohannw
In terms of location: The Courtyard is two stations away on the underground to the fairground, yet the other two Marriott properties are not that much farther away as well. The Renaissance also sits right above a subway-station, and the Marriott is also pretty close to one. Not sure how many stations to Theresienwiese, however, and if you may have to change subway-trains.
The Courtyard is near the main train station (Hauptbahnhof) which is one stop from the Oktoberfest site (Theresienwiese) on lines U-4 and U-5. It is also near the Karlsplatz (Stachus) stop on the same two lines which would require going two stops (Hauptbahnhof and Theresienwiese).
The Renaissance and the Marriott are near the Nordfriedhof (Northern Cemetery) stop on line U-6. (Technically, the Renaissance isn't on top of the subway stop, but the "back entrance" to the Ren is about 50 meters from the stop; the Marriott is two blocks further on from the Renaissance.) To get to the Theresienwiese from there, take line U-6 toward town and get off at the 5th stop (Odeonsplatz) and change to U-4 or U-5 going in the direction of the Hauptbahnhof. You do this without coming to the surface. Once on U-4 or U-5 going in the correct direction, get off at the 3rd stop (Theresienwiese). It's about a 15 minute trip all told.
As
djohannw mentioned, rooms can be rather dear during Oktoberfest; best advice is to reserve well in advance or try to get an award rather than paying cash.