Munich
Germany


The Experience

Set directly on Munich's Fifth Avenue-like Maximilianstrasse, the Vier Jahreszeiten has long sparred with the nearby Bayerischer Hof for poshest palace hotel status. Smaller and certainly better located than its competitor, the Vier Jahreszeiten -- which first opened in 1852 -- wins this 150-year-old rivalry for its luxe setting and elegant restaurant, despite now being part of Germany's Kempinski hotel chain. While its ownership may have gone corporate, the hotel still lures an exceedingly well-heeled clientele ranging from American culture-vultures to Russian oligarchs (and their retail-frenzied spouses) to Bavaria's old guard elite who check in before Christmas for a spot of luxe holiday shopping, along with numerous execs with well-padded expense accounts.

The Rooms

While still fronted by an imposing, arched-filled facade, the hotel displays evidence of numerous renovations. The rooms, for instance, have been updated with a clubby, modern-Deco feel, defined by off-white fabrics and furnishings, cream-colored walls, dark wooden desks and chairs along with rich marble baths. Suites include contemporary touches such as oversize flat-screen TVs, as well as retro flourishes like original Deco furniture. With their varied styles, the rooms lack a single aesthetic vernacular, and you might very well feel you're staying at different hotels on different visits. One way to keep things constant is to opt for a top-floor room, especially during winter, which has the same endlessly romantic views of the nearby snow-covered Opera House.

The Service

The Vier Jahreszeiten is a serious German-style hotel for well-heeled visitors and locals -- and service is taken seriously as well. Expect prompt check-in, friendly-yet-focused waitstaff and rooms cleaned like clockwork. The staff in the gym/pool are equally attentive, but can feel a bit stern for those used to more fawning attendants.

The Highlights

Although the Vier Jahreszeiten is primarily a business traveler hotel, it still retains a strong see-and-be-seen vibe. Such scene-making takes place mostly in its mirror-and-marble-filled lobby -- topped by an exquisite amber-colored stained-glass roof -- or in the chic adjacent lobby lounge, where even more marble meets highly polished dark wooden walls. Upstairs, there is a small, clubby fitness area with pool, sauna and "mini" spa -- all with an Old World, typically German, almost clinical feel that is the antithesis of the slick, hip hotel gyms/spas typical of most big cities. The Vue Maximilian restaurant is suitably grand, with a menu of modern Bavarian dishes, and the Jahreszeiten Bar makes a perfect pit stop for a mid-shopping spree glass of champagne. Best of all, however, is the hotel's elegant buffet breakfast, an overindulgence of fine meats, cheeses, yogurts and endless juices in the splendid Vue restaurant, with its walls of windows pouring onto the grand street scene just outside.

-- David Kaufman

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