Louis Hotel, Munich

© Louis Hotel

From the July Hideaway Report Online

Needless to say, there is much more to Munich than Oktoberfest. Residents of this well-heeled city celebrate the good life year-round, particularly during the magnificent summer months. Having most recently stayed at Sir Rocco Forte’s pleasant Charles Hotel, we decided on the new 72-room Louis Hotel, which has received some good notices in the European travel press. It is the sister property of the Cortiina, which is very popular with the art-and-design crowd. We were very happy with our choice.

Located in the heart of Munich and overlooking the lively Viktualienmarkt, a popular open-air food market, the Louis is a pleasant, attractive and well-run property. It’s the best address in town for boutique hotel fans, and a worthy challenger to the city’s classics. It also offers solid comfort and excellent service for reasonable rates.

While checking on our room, the receptionist offered us an espresso, and returned two minutes later to give us the code for the hotel’s complimentary Internet service. The genial porter suggested a variety of restaurants that were open on Sunday night, expressed a desire to visit a cousin in Brooklyn and emphasized the fact that daily papers and shoe shines are complimentary. In other words, check-in was a delight, and we were so immediately comfortable that it barely occurred to us that we were a few years older than most of the other visitors.

This is one of those well-conceived boutique hotels that can also work for those of us just a shade over 40. Our room was a study in understated modern design: dark oak floors, retro armchairs and spare white walls. Wrought-iron lamps with linen shades cast subdued, relaxing light. A sleek Danish telephone sat on a leather-topped teak desk. Closet space was provided by a clever sliding armoire, and a large upright steamer trunk contained the minibar, television and room safe. The compact but well-designed bath featured a spacious stall shower, excellent lighting and ample shelving. The Louis also has an indoor gym, sauna and rooftop terrace that are open 24 hours a day, as well as an excellent Eurasian restaurant.