Excellent location, wonderful staff, extensive breakfast, low prices available
Disadvantages:
High rack rates, still 2 stops away from the centre
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Within walking distance of the city center, close to train, tram and underground stations, and barely 2 minutes from Thereseienwiese (location of the Oktoberfest beer festival), the Four Points Munich Central is ideally located for almost anything you could possibly want to do during your stay in the city. I booked because I had decided that everyone should stay at a Sheraton at least once before they turn 21. Dahhling. Four Points is a sub-brand of the Sheraton chain, and as such provides a consistently high level of service worldwide.
The hotel itself is built into a mini shopping center, though it has its own external entrance. Entering, you find yourself in a small lounge area, with views of the breakfast room and bar area. The reception desk, though, is tucked away in a little alcove behind the entrance doors, and not immediately obvious when you arrive. I had reserved with Opodo and had specified a non-smoking room, but when I checked in this was still verified and my room then allocated. The hotel has rooms spread over 5 floors, the top 2 of which are completely non-smoking. Although there was a sign at the desk saying all international guests are supposed to provide passports on arrival, I wasn’t required to do this. Room keys for this place are the credit card style ones, but one thing I was rather taken with was the way we were automatically given two, so we had one each. This is the first hotel I’ve had this happen in without my having to ask for it, and did make things a lot simpler during out stay as my mother and I were not together 24/7.
The hotel has 2 lifts which although nice and modern, both seemed a little cramped. Indeed, if you were a wheelchair user you’d have trouble fitting in anything or anyone other than yourself and one suitcase. Stairs were available though these seemed well hidden. We quickly located the emergency staircases, but not those which ended up inside the hotel rather than in the assembly-in-case-of-fire place.
I had reserved a superior room since Opodo offered these and the standard ones at the same price. I booked with Opodo UK and reserved a queen size bed (their only option), but then saw that Opodo Germany had twin ones available and booked one of these after canceling my first reservation. This is only important because when checking in I was presented with a twin room (as booked through the German site) but details of my home address (as used, but then cancelled, on the UK site – for my final reservation I used my German address). A name like mine isn’t that common over here, and the dates of stay were the same, but this still raised a few data protection questions in my mind. If I had been a different person with the same name, I would have been given access to someone else’s address and credit card details without a second thought.
ROOM
All was soon forgiven, though, when I unlocked the door to our room. In Germany you sell property by square footage rather than number of rooms, and the same is true in hotels, so I knew before I got there the room measured 24m2. It boasted two large beds (each somewhere between normal single and double sized) and a small sitting area with comfy chairs and a table stacked with German and English magazines and brochures. There was a large desk (getting on for 3m across) and various tables and stands. Lighting was good, with working lamps on the desk, and over-bed reading lights as well as the normal room illumination. The television was also on the bigger than average side, and sat on a table that would swivel from sitting area to sleeping area so you could watch it anywhere. Best of all, though, was the balcony, something that hadn’t been included in the room description when I booked. Plus-sized again, it could have fitted a large table with 6 or 8 people sitting around it. No furniture was provided, but the large glass doors slid right across so carrying out furniture from the room would not have been a problem. It was very hot while we were there, and the room had no window, just the sliding doors which I wasn’t happy having open at night. Air conditioning is also not provided, but then for 9 or 10 months of the year I’m sure you’d not need it anyway.
The room managed to have some sort of personality to it, despite being one of more than a hundred in one of a number of hotels in the chain in this city alone. Furnishings and general arrangement of the room gave it a Mediterranean, somewhat nautical feel. While I like the standard rooms you get in places like the Ibis, preferring generic minimalist to dusty and rustic, I do like to be able to remember the places I’ve stayed, and the style of the room certainly helped in this case. It’s an international chain, but it’s in Germany, so you won’t find things like tea and coffee makers in the rooms. The beds are better than usual, however, and the double beds in neighboring rooms were just that, rather than the usual “two single mattresses on a double base” continental style affair. The room was very clean, and lifting up the valance to peek under the beds wouldn’t have induced a sneezing fit - they even vacuum under there, it seems. Freebies on offer in the room were reasonable – writing paper and envelopes, pens and notepads, and we got their version of chocolates-on-the-pillow: mini bags of Haribo left there each day.
The TV included Pay-Per-View with English and Germans films on offer (plus the increasingly required porn) for 11 Euros per day, but if you didn’t want to pay, 30+ English and German channels were available for free, as were 4 radio ones. The room also came with a current TV guide which seemed a nice touch. The minibar was well-stocked and not *too* extortionately priced – soft drinks started at about 1.30 GBP each. There was a clear list of prices for both this and the dry cleaning service available, the latter of which is more than happy to clean a “west” for you, if you can work out what one is (and before you ask, they don’t mean vests). Rooms don’t have safes in them, but you can leave valuables at reception. Trouser presses are provided in the wardrobe, which offers ample shelving and hanging space.
The bathroom was compact without being cramped, and would no doubt have been roomy had it not been for the larger than usual bath at one side. The place was abnormally clean and sparkling, and looked unused, as if it had been installed especially for us, having arrived straight from the manufacturers the day before. The surfaces were marbled making it pleasantly cool, and all the usual suspects were provided, from a hairdryer to free shower caps. One wall was completely mirrored, and if this wasn’t enough, they also had an illuminated make-up mirror than magnifies to a horrible degree. Turning a small knob allowed you to listen to music while you wallowed in the tub. Liquid soap and shower/bath gel were provided in dispensers, so while you could use them during your stay, you couldn’t take them home with you. The problem we encountered was that one was placed halfway along the tub, so if you wanted to run a bath and make it foam properly, you had to squirt into your hands and then transport it to the end where the taps were gushing away. The bath and shower attachment were easy to use (just one knob for your choice between hot and cold, and weak and strong, and a lever to switch between bath and shower). The water pressure when fully turned on was excellent, and whenever we needed it, there was hot water available.
BREAKFAST
The large hot and cold continental breakfast buffet is served from 6.30am until 10.30am every day. The breakfast room is nicely furnished with warm red and yellow tones, and terracotta furniture. It seemed a bit cramped at times, but as we reasoned, the number of tables meant you never had to return later to find a place to sit. The breakfast room had 4 or 5 people working every day, and fresh food was constantly being brought out. On offer were different rolls and bread (more than half a dozen varieties), cheese and cold meats (ditto) and a wide range of spreads, jams and so on. There were 8 or 9 different types of cereal and museli, plus a good selection of salad, yogurts and fresh fruit. Cakes, croissants and fancy pastries were also available for those with sweeter tooths. The cooked food included scrambled and boiled eggs, and bacon, and a toaster was available if you didn’t want your bread cold. Bavarian specialties such as white sausage and bread pretzels were also offered. Coffee pots were brought to each table as you arrived, and fruit and traditional teas were also available. The cold drink choice was extensive too, with a wider than normal offering of juices (orange, apple, tomato, multi-vitamin and grapefruit among others), milk and water. The food was fresh and vast quantities were available no matter when you managed to drag yourself out of the super comfy beds.
FACILITIES
The hotel is classed as a “Garni” which means it does not boast a full restaurant. As well as the breakfast room, though, there’s also an American Bar, open from 5pm each day. This offers snacks and drinks, but the copy of the menu provided in our room didn’t look all that appealing – very few vegetarian or healthy options, just meaty pizzas, burgers and so on. Room service is not available at any time.
They offer 4 meeting rooms on the 1st floor which looked well-equipped as we passed by. These can cater for up to 60 people each. Though it has no pool, the hotel does offer a health and fitness area including sauna, steam room and solarium. This is also open to non-residents, but no-one gets in before 5pm unless they’ve begged and pleaded with reception. There are nominal charges for using these, depending on which ones you want.
SURROUNDINGS
The local area was mainly residential, though eateries could be found without too much effort. There’s a takeaway pizza place down the road (heading away from the center) and a few delis and grocery stores, many with ethnic influences. If you want to eat in, the Moroccan-Indian-Greek-Pizzeria across the road offered delicious food at low prices (scarcely 10 GBP for a meal for 2 including drinks) in slightly unusual surroundings. As stated, the hotel is located at the edge of a shopping center, but it’s not a very large one, and offers mainly a branch of Saturn (a chain similar to Dixons, with the motto “Greed is cool”) and a Karstadt Sports (a local department store chain).
The nearest Schnellbahn (“fast train”) stop is Hackerbrücke from which there are regular services to the airport (lines S1 and S8) as well as to the city center. The Ubahn (underground) is round the corner at the back of the hotel complex – the stop Theresienwiese is on the U4 and U5 lines, just one stop away from the main station (Hauptbahnhof, or Hbf) and 2 from the central pedestrian zone (Karlsplatz). When we left we took a taxi to the station since both of us were loaded up with bags. It cost 5 Euros, including the surcharge for luggage, and the trip took barely 5 minutes. Much simpler than public transport which itself would have cost at least 2 Euros for the trip. A taxi rank is located outside the hotel, and we never saw it empty, but if this is the case, reception will happily call one for you. You can find your way to the hotel by putting in the street name and postcode, and selecting Germany at http://uk.maps.yahoo.com
PRICE
We paid 79 Euros per night for the room, which is just over 50 GBP. For 2 people in such a nice hotel, this was rather cheap, and is not the norm. Smaller standard rooms start at 89 Euros, and the ones of our class could cost anything up to 210 Euros per night. Breakfast is included in all prices, and single, double, twin and triple rooms are available. The receptionist said most individuals did pay the rack rates, though rooms are almost always available online at lower prices if you take the trouble to look on Lastminute or Expedia etc. You can book through the Sheraton website, but again, you’ll pay full fare in this case. In our room we had a copy of the Sheraton brochure, though, and it included various money saving offers for the hotels in the cities, had we wanted to return. These included mini-packages, with transport tickets and museum admissions included, and would be a good choice if it was your first time there, and you’re not used to Germany. Payment in the hotel is by cash or credit card, and they accept a few less well known types such as my EC debit card.
VERDICT
There is very little I would wish to change about the hotel. The location is excellent and the staff friendly and efficient. The breakfast is extensive and tasty, and served over a nice long time period. The rooms are comfy and well equipped. Though there are no children’s facilities as such, basics such as cots and highchairs are available, and there’re 2 playgrounds in the parks across the path. The other guests during our stay were mainly there on business or as part of a tour group, but it seemed like a hotel pretty much suited to anyone. It’s a nice hotel in my mind as it manages to offer quality without pretension – some people were in suits, but the vast majority in jeans or shorts. All my niggles (such as the freebies on offer) are minor, and none warrant a down-rating. I don’t suppose the check in detail switch would ever happen normally, and I doubt a chain such as the Sheraton would dare disregard the data protection act for fear of what it would do to their reputation. Definitely 5 stars for 4 Points.
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
