Had a similar stay here to Sunshine State in August. Many more pics
here on my personal blog.
I had a few open days in Europe before meeting my parents in Greece, and by chance Liverpool FC was playing a match against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich. I was looking for a city center place to crash and decided to cash in some points for a stay at the Aloft Munich.
Check-In: I landed in Munich at 16:10, and hopped on the train into Munich HBF which took about an hour. The Aloft is right around the corner from the main station which makes the location really convenient. Check-in was pretty painless and took about five minutes. The Aloft employee was efficient, though not overly friendly. He didn't mention anything about Platinum benefits, so I asked. I had the choice of breakfast in the lobby or points; I went with the breakfast. Lastly, he mentioned that I had been upgraded to a "Sweet Suite" which sounded pretty awesome.
The Room: The room looked like the standard Aloft room around the world. It had a large, comfortable bed, a few bean bags, a couch, a desk and a TV in the "living area", with the bathroom, sink and closet on the other side of a divider closer to the entry door.
The room was spacious, but "Sweet Suite" might have been an over the top name. There were two windows that looked out on the train station, but were really good at keeping the noise out. I love the Bliss Spa toiletries at Aloft hotels and think they're pretty nice for a mid-market brand. Near the closet, there was also a Nespresso machine which is definitely a classy touch.
The only minor drawback was that even in the day time with the blinds open, the room stayed pretty dark.
The Property: Opened in August 2015, the property feels brand spanking new. The fittings in the room don't look run down at all yet and the lobby still feels modern. Past the check-in desk is a bar equipped with a pool table and a few bean bags. There is a also a small courtyard with colorful chairs that patrons can take their drinks out to.
It feels like an up-scale hostel, but not in a bad way. Past the check-in desk on the other side is the food shop / breakfast area called "Re:fuel" which has a continental breakfast in the morning and snacks for sale the rest of the day.
The Gym in the hotel is really nice and has all the essentials: treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, free weights up to 25 kg and a few benches. The machines were all working and there were only two other guests in the gym in my 3 visits. There was plenty of natural light and it was always kept at a comfortable temperature.
Breakfast was basically a spread of cold cuts, cereals, yogurt, coffee, tea, hard boiled eggs, juice and fruit. There were one or two hot items daily like bacon or eggs. It was a nice way to start the day and exactly what I was expecting
The Service: Overall, service was satisfactory, though slightly cold. One day I left my hotel room around 2 PM and hoped they could clean it at that time, but apparently they had already gone home for the day which seemed early. My only other main issue was during checkout I had noticed that I was charged for two breakfast, even though I chose free breakfast as my platinum amenity. This happens at a lot of properties and is usually a quick fix, but this time the person working the front desk refused to take the charge off and said to wait for her manager. Her manager wasn't returning for another hour, which was frustrating, but luckily I had some time to kill before heading to the airport.
I decided to grab lunch at one of the many amazing middle eastern restaurants nearby, before returning to speak with the manager. Eventually he took the charge off, but it just felt like an unnecessary charade.
Tsunami Says: The Aloft Munich is a perfectly serviceable property in the heart of Munich, though not a "destination" property by any means. It was easy to walk to many of the main sights around town, and a 45 minute train ride to the Allianz Arena. I had seen rates over $300 USD which didn't seem like good value, though a redemption of 10,000 SPG points seemed reasonable to me. I'd definitely consider staying here again for a business trip or a short personal stay.