This was our first stop on our recent trip to Europe. We caught the Lufthansa bus from the airport. It was modern, comfortable and clean. When the bus arrived at Hauptbahnhof we couldn’t see the hotel but the bus driver was very helpful giving us directions. A few minutes later, after a very short walk through the railway station, we arrived at the hotel. We were so happy with the bus service we used it for the return journey.

Check in: Because our flight arrived at 5am I booked the prior night and emailed the hotel to make sure they held the room and it would be ready for our early arrival. It was. Thankfully everything was well organised, after the very long haul from Australia all we could think of was a long, hot shower. Staff were friendly and efficient. Amenity points posted promptly.

The room: I booked a Deluxe room for 3 nights using BRG. The Deluxe room has a courtyard view and we were upgraded to what I would describe as a one room Junior Suite with courtyard view. From photos on the website I’m pretty sure it was not one of the newly renovated rooms but it didn’t look tired or worn, in fact everything looked in really good condition except for some pretty obvious stains on one end of the lounge. We particularly liked the huge dressing room with plenty of storage areas. In short I’d describe the room as large and comfortable. Better to look at a few pics, than me give a long description http://www.flickr.com/photos/3063128...279357/detail/
If considering this hotel I’d definitely recommend booking a room with a courtyard view. The hotel has done an excellent job with this courtyard, creating a lovely view in a not so pretty area of town. We also found the room quiet at night.

The location: Before choosing this hotel I’d read reports this wasn’t the nicest area in town, with sex shops etc. As two females we felt perfectly safe walking around and I’ve walked through areas of Sydney with a higher sleaze factor. If anything struck me it was that it was not as clean as other parts of the city but having the Hauptbahnhof opposite the hotel means getting from the airport couldn’t be simpler and it’s perfectly situated for taking trains for sightseeing outside the city.

The hotel isn’t smack bang in the middle of the tourist sites but we walked to Marienplatz several times and to the English Gardens so it isn’t far either.

Would I stay here again? Please bear in mind this was our first stay in Munich, it was only for a couple of days, and we did not check out the other Starwood offerings. Value for money, this hotel was excellent as we paid just under 100 EU per night, end of August. The public areas are lovely and the courtyard is a wonderful place to sit and have drink on a sunny day. Good service and room, absolutely no complaints, so the short answer is yes. Le Meridien has a lot going for it but no Club Lounge and that would sway my decision depending on the rates.

To conclude I have to say Munich is a beautiful city with some of the most gracious and helpful people I’ve met anywhere. I know this isn’t the place to go into details about this, but if you get a chance to visit, do it.