[MÜNCHEN] — The Louis Hotel, a fabulous boutique hotel in the perfect Munich location, is my new favorite hotel. And I think the best boutique hotel in Munich. Understated and elegant, the insides are just as calming as a Japanese onsen.  Warm woods welcome you in the lobby, with brown-on-brown-on-brown colors covering almost everywhere except for the windows and a stunning painting of the sky.

I had no idea this hotel opened in 2009 — when I was last there in 2022 it felt like it had just opened. Everything was sparkling clean, felt brand new and the style, timeless cool.

They have 72 rooms, which surprised me because I rarely ran into other guests — probably because the nondescript elevator from a short cove off the Viktualienmarkt can whisk you straight to your floor.

I first found out about the LOUIS from a listing in the always-reliable TabletHotels site, where it has a 19.2/20 rating. I came here once for two nights before flying back home. Then booked a week long stay over Christmas the next year, giddily rebooking the hotel for the whole time. Even writing this, I’m wondering when I can come back and stay here.

I stayed at The LOUIS for a couple of nights one July and loved it so much I came back for a week.

I can take all the pictures I want, but the one thing I can’t capture is how incredible and warm the people that work here are. It’s a small hotel, but feels like impressive service of a much larger, fancier hotel.

The understate elegance is also hard to depict. The soundproof-ness of the rooms — I never heard another soul during both stays. Nor the HVAC. Nor maid carts clanging down the hall — in fact, I don’t ever remember even seeing room service, but every time I returned, my room had been straightened up.

The Louis Hotel is about as perfectly located as you want. Right across from Munich’s biggest outdoor market, with your rooms overlooking all the buzz below. You’re just a block from Eataly and a block from the Marienplatz subway station. Everything in Munich is walkable. You can take a train straight from the airport and skip the taxi.

I loved working on my computer, the morning sun streaming in, a great cup of espresso from my in-room machine, staring out the window or leaving the windows open for the church bells.

The understated elegance is also hard to depict. The super nice and friendly front desk staff, willing to book reservations anywhere. Even the soundproofness of the rooms — I never heard another soul during both stays. Nor the HVAC fans. Nor maid carts clanging down the hall.

Here are some pull-quotes from other reviews:

• “It has arguably the best location in the city.” — The Telegraph

• “If hotels had attitudes, we’d pin this one as an older sibling’s hot, but approachable, friend. Who offers you Haribo, obviously.” — Suitcase magazine

• “It has a refined cool, with nothing overdone – simply well thought out modern designs...” — The Telegraph

The LOUIS Grillroom

I just loved the muted vibe of this restaurant so much, I ate here several times. And I am the opposite of “let’s just eat at the hotel” person. I think this used to be a Japanese restaurant before pivoting to a high-end steak-loving place. You call tell that in the zen design.

They specialize in different cuts of steak from different countries and raising methods, which I found fascinating. So you could do side-by-side comparisons.

It’s on the fancy side, with many people wearing sport coats and people celebrating special occasions, so don’t come in schwetty. Build a special night around coming here.

This isn’t your typical hotel restaurant. It’s amazing.

The best thing about the Grillroom is it is in a hotel, so on Sundays or holidays when nearly everything in Munich is closed, you can depend on finding a good meal here. I was here over both Christmas and Boxing Day and the weekend, so the restaurant was a godsend, but not a compromise. “Nothings open? Oooooh, I can go back to the Louis grill!”

The Fantastic Rooms at The Louis

Have you ever experienced walking around and enjoying a city, but the hotel is no nice you can’t wait to go back to your room? That’s what the Louis is to me. If it is raining cats out or turns freezing cold you get to come back to the warmth of this cocoon.

There’s a travel trunk theme throughout all the rooms, with bureaus and closets designed to look like fine felt vessels. Hiding their insides, but making the whole room feel good. Even the trim molding continues the theme. I can’t image the cost just to fabricate that subtle touch. That’s somebody who cares about design.

PRO TIP: Skip the taxi or Uber from the airport and take the clean S-Bahn train right into Marienplatz station, it is literally a 1/4 block away from the hotel. Takes about 30 mins.

— Last Visited July 2019, December 2022; Post Created August 2024 —

More Information on The LOUIS Hotel

Here’s a great 9/10 review from The Telegraph. Here’s a review from the NYTimes, which sounds like it might have been right after it opened. And a 19.2/20 rating from The Michelin Guide. And from CNTraveler. A great review from Suitcase magazine.