A Spot On The Lake (Hotel Bayerischer Hof (Starnberg, Munich))

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Hotel Bayerischer Hof (Starnberg, Munich)
Date:	14/10/06 (240 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Within easy reach of Munich Centre, Friendly welcoming staff

Disadvantages: No credit card facilities

Back at the start of the year I decided, along with my parents, that a trip to the opening weekend of Oktoberfest in Munich was a great idea for a holiday this year. The only problem seemed to be the cost of a hotel in Munich itself for that weekend. The majority of places were booked up and those that weren't wanted anywhere from £100 + per person per night. It was for this reason that we ended up staying in Starnberg, about half an hour to the south of central Munich. When my dad told me about it, it seemed a little excessive, we would spend half an hour each way on a train.

The more I thought about it though, the more the Hotel Bayerischer Hof seemed to be quite appealing. It's located on the edge of lake Starnberg, about half an hour south of Munich towards the Austrian border. If it had been in Britain you could guarantee getting to and from Munich would have been a nightmare. The German rail system however is far in advance of our own and for about €11 (£7.70) all three of us managed to travel in and around Munich on the railway and underground for the whole day.

As for location the hotel is about a 2 minute walk from the railway station and is quite easy to find. The hotels traditional Bavarian look adds to the view of the Alps across Lake Starnberg and instantly it seems hard to believe you are so close to Munich. From the outside the hotel looks very traditional and as soon as you walk through the front door the traditional feel really hits you. If I were to guess I would say the Hotel was probably built in the 1800's and even comes complete with squeaking floorboards and a grand entrance hall and staircase.

From the moment you walk through the door you are greeted by the incredibly friendly staff, first in German then in English. We were checked in incredibly quickly and within 5 minutes of arriving had put our bags in our rooms and were on our way back out again. Their friendliness is one of the things the Bavarian's are best known for and the staff here are no exception. The girl on the front desk always said hello and spoke to us as we left for the day and the lady serving breakfast the same. It's quite a well run family establishment and the staff certainly go out of their way to make you feel welcome and presumably hoping you'll remember them if your ever going back.

The hotel itself consist of two grand suites (€130 / £91) on the top floor, 5 triple rooms (€120 / £84), 9 doubles (€90 / £63) and dotted in between all of those are separate single rooms (€60 / £42). Even though this is quite a peak time for the area the prices of the rooms stayed the same and for a single and a double it cost us €150 (£105) per night for us to stay there. Compared to the centre of Munich this was around the price the hotels were charging per person, never mind per room.

All the rooms have pretty much the same facilities. Dependant on the size they obviously have the appropriate size bed. In the corner of every room is a small TV showing a number of German channels, a telephone just in case and what I assumed was a German holy book, it wasn't thick enough to be a bible. Each room also comes complete with its own en-suite bathrooms. There is a toilet, sink and shower in all of them, however the hotel's website also states a few of the rooms also have baths.

As well as just a room for the night you also get a Buffet breakfast included within the price. This is served between 7 and 10 in the main dinning room and includes cereal, cold meet, cheese and various other bits and pieces that set you up for the day. The staff in the breakfast area also ensure there is plenty of fresh food on the buffet tables and that everyone gets a hot drink, either Tea or Coffee when they decide upon a table.

The hotel staff are fantastic and while you are down at Breakfast they normally go in and make up your room for you. The first day they did this I actually had a shower after I'd gone back up from Breakfast and thought I'd missed getting my towels changed. This simply wasn't the case and when I came back in the evening the bathroom had been redone and all my towels changed. This showed a very dedicated level of customer service and something I've never experienced before.

Another feature the hotel has to its favour is a small Café that opens during the day serving Beer, Tea and coffee and even lunch. In the evening although the hotel itself shuts and your given a key to get back in there is a small pub on the opposite corner that seemed to be open 24 hours a day, except Sundays. In there again you could sample a number of traditional Bavarian beers and they also serve evening meals well into the night.

The facilities around the hotel are exactly what you need. The village of Starnberg is a very beautiful setting and the hotel overlooks the lake and is within easy reach of the station. All in all it is the ideal location for a visit to Munich or more specifically Bavaria. The only complaint would be that in this day and age of technology you can't pay for your room by credit card or in advance. All payments have to be made in cash when you check out and this can result in you having to carry large amounts of cash around with you when it comes time to check out. While payment can't be taken through credit cards, bookings can be done by e-mail from either the hotels official site, listed below or www.hotel.de.

Overall this is a very nice hotel. It may not be the most convenient location for Munich centre but there are direct trains every 20 minutes into the centre and the journey never seems that long. The hotel is incredibly comfortable, with very friendly staff and is kept incredibly clean. Starnberg is an idyllic destination for both Bavaria and Munich and will offer you exactly what you need for a lot less than any of the central Munich hotels. I can certainly recommend staying there and certainly will myself sometime in the future.

Hotel Bayerischer Hof Starnberg
Rudi Gaugg
Bahnhofplatz 12
D-82319 Starnberg

Fon +49 8151 275-0
Fax +49 8151 12190
Info@Hotel-Bayerischer-Hof-Starnberg.de

http://www.hotel-bayerischer-hof-starnberg.de/eng lisch/index.html

Summary: A Decent Hotel in an Outer Munich suburb