25 Munich Hotels Built by Kings and Innkeepers
The 1841 Bayerischer Hof that King Ludwig I called for, an old-town inn that claims to go back to 1490, the former Royal Bavarian Post Office, and the mill opposite the Hofbrauhaus.
Munich keeps grand dames the Bavarian kings called for, old-town inns a few families have run for generations, and a post office, a bank and a railway building turned into hotels. This list has the 1841 Bayerischer Hof, built at the wish of King Ludwig I, the Torbrau by the medieval Isartor, which traces itself to 1490, the former Royal Bavarian Post Office behind the Sofitel, and the ducal mill of 1573 that is now the Platzl’s restaurant.
The list is grouped by character, not ranked. Where a hotel’s own site could be confirmed, its name links there; the rest are listed without one.
The Grand Dames
Hotel Bayerischer Hof · Altstadt / Old Town
The Bayerischer Hof opened in 1841, built at the wish of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who wanted a grand hotel for his royal guests. Allied bombing gutted it in 1944, and the Volkhardt family rebuilt it after the war; they still own it. It has hosted the Munich Security Conference since the late 1950s.
Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich · Altstadt / Old Town
The Vier Jahreszeiten was commissioned by King Maximilian II and opened in 1858 on Maximilianstrasse, his showpiece boulevard. It was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt, reopening in the early 1950s. Gustav Mahler was among its early guests.
Koenigshof, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Munich · Altstadt / Old Town
A hotel has stood on this Karlsplatz corner since the 19th century; the post-war Koenigshof, run by the Geisel family, came down in 2019. A new building opened in 2024 as the first Luxury Collection hotel in Germany, the Geisels keeping ownership.
Mandarin Oriental, Munich · Altstadt / Old Town
The Mandarin Oriental fills a neo-Renaissance building of the 1880s that began as a ballroom and concert hall before becoming a hotel. Its rooftop pool and bar look over the Old Town toward the Alps on a clear day. Mandarin Oriental sold the building to the Abu Dhabi developer Eagle Hills in 2025.
The Charles Hotel · Maxvorstadt
The Charles opened in 2007 as Rocco Forte’s first hotel in Germany, on the edge of the Old Botanical Garden, near the Hauptbahnhof and Koenigsplatz.
Landmarks Reborn
Sofitel Munich Bayerpost · Ludwigsvorstadt / near Hauptbahnhof
The Sofitel sits behind the surviving neo-Renaissance facade of the former Royal Bavarian Post Office, built in the 1890s beside the main station. The old stone shell wraps a modern glass-and-steel interior added when it became a hotel.
25hours Hotel The Royal Bavarian · Ludwigsvorstadt / near Hauptbahnhof
The 25hours opened in 2017 in a listed building directly across from the central station, converted by the Munich architects OSA Ochs Schmidhuber. Its name and decor play on the old Royal Bavarian railway that ran from here.
Rosewood Munich · Altstadt / Old Town
The Rosewood spans two linked landmarks, the former Bavarian State Bank and the 18th-century Palais Neuhaus-Preysing, and opened in 2023 as Rosewood’s first hotel in Germany. The old banking halls became its restaurants and bars.
The Flushing Meadows · Isarvorstadt / Glockenbachviertel
The Flushing Meadows was made inside a 1970s commercial building in the Glockenbachviertel, its loft rooms each shaped by a different artist, musician or designer. It takes its name from the New York park, and is known for its rooftop bar.
Old-Town Inns and Taverns
Hotel Torbräu · Altstadt / Old Town
The Torbrau says it has taken guests since 1490, which would make it Munich’s oldest hotel. It stands beside the medieval Isartor, one of the city’s surviving gothic gate towers, and has been run by the same family for generations.
Platzl Hotel · Altstadt / Old Town
The Platzl sits on its square directly opposite the Hofbrauhaus. It takes in the Pfistermuhle, a former ducal mill in a building of 1573, now the hotel’s Bavarian restaurant. It is family-run.
Hotel Schlicker · Altstadt / Old Town
The Schlicker has been run by its family for generations, under the old sign ‘Zum Goldenen Lowen’, the Golden Lion. It stands on the Tal, the medieval street running from Marienplatz down to the Isartor.
Hotel Am Markt · Altstadt / Old Town
Hotel Am Markt is tucked beside the Viktualienmarkt and St. Peter’s church, in the heart of the Old Town. It has long drawn artists and performers from the nearby theatres, with their signed photos on the walls.
Louis Hotel · Altstadt / Old Town
The Louis opened in 2008 over the Viktualienmarkt, Munich’s old open-air food market, with natural materials and oak-screen loggias facing the stalls.
Design and Character Houses
Cortiina Hotel · Altstadt / Old Town
The Cortiina was one of Munich’s first design hotels when it opened, a short walk from Marienplatz. It fills buildings on Ledererstrasse in the Old Town and runs its own cocktail bar.
BEYOND by Geisel · Altstadt / Old Town
BEYOND sits above Marienplatz, with direct views of the New Town Hall and its Glockenspiel. It is styled as a members’-club townhouse, with only a handful of rooms and suites.
Hotel Deutsche Eiche · Isarvorstadt / Glockenbachviertel
An inn has run under the name Deutsche Eiche near Gartnerplatz since the 1860s. It is a landmark of Munich’s gay scene and was a favourite haunt of the filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Rebuilt in the 1990s, it is known for the large bath-house above the hotel.
Hotel Mariandl · Ludwigsvorstadt
The Mariandl is set in a neo-gothic Jugendstil building of around 1900 on Goethestrasse. Downstairs is the Cafe am Beethovenplatz, said to be Munich’s oldest concert cafe, with live music most evenings.
Villas and Garden Hideaways
Hotel Gaestehaus Englischer Garten · Schwabing
The Gaestehaus Englischer Garten fills a former mill building, around two centuries old, on the edge of the English Garden in Schwabing, away from the traffic.
Hotel Laimer Hof · Neuhausen-Nymphenburg
The Laimer Hof is a townhouse hotel a few steps from Schloss Nymphenburg, the Wittelsbachs’ old summer palace, family-run in a restored turn-of-the-century villa.
Hotel Uhland · Ludwigsvorstadt
The Uhland fills an early-20th-century villa near the Theresienwiese, the field where Oktoberfest is held. The same family has owned and run it for generations.
Hotel Opera · Lehel
Hotel Opera is a quiet townhouse hotel in Lehel, near Maximilianstrasse and the National Theatre opera house, its rooms opening onto a plant-filled Italianate courtyard.
Traditional Houses with a Past
Hotel Marienbad · Maxvorstadt
The Marienbad, in Maxvorstadt, tells that its early guests included the writers Rainer Maria Rilke and Frank Wedekind. It claims to have been among the first hotels in Munich with central heating and electric light.
Eden Hotel Wolff · Ludwigsvorstadt / near Hauptbahnhof
The Eden Hotel Wolff faces the main station and has traded since the early 20th century. It keeps a wood-panelled Bavarian restaurant and a classic look.
Excelsior by Geisel · Ludwigsvorstadt / near Hauptbahnhof
The Excelsior is a long-running hotel near the Hauptbahnhof, run by Munich’s Geisel family. It is built around Geisels Vinothek, a wine restaurant with a deep cellar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these hotels ranked?
No. The groups sort them by character, and the order within each group carries no meaning.
What made a hotel interesting enough for this list?
A story. Every entry was a royal grand dame, an old-town inn, a landmark building reborn, or a family house with a past. Comfort alone did not qualify.
Why are there no prices?
Rates change daily and a priced list goes stale in a month. Where a hotel runs its own site, its name links there, so you see the current rate and book direct.
Which hotel puts me closest to the day trips on this site?
Most day trips from Munich run out to Neuschwanstein and the Alpine lakes, to Salzburg across the Austrian border, or to Nuremberg and the Romantic Road. The Old Town hotels sit closest to Marienplatz and the stations.
Do the small hotels book out faster than the grand ones?
Usually. The small old-town and family hotels, Schlicker, Hotel am Markt, the Laimer Hof, hold few rooms and fill first, Oktoberfest above all. Book those well ahead.