After “roughing it” in a guest room without ensuite facilities for a few days, it was lovely to arrive at the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor and enjoy a spacious residence suite.
Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor Residence Suite Review
This property has not changed much since my 2019 review, which is a great sign.
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Booking + Suite Upgrade
We booked the hotel for 269€/night, which still reflected a bit of a pandemic discount. I used one of my World of Hyatt Globalist suite upgrades to confirm an upgrade to an Andaz Suite, though we were ultimately upgraded to a Residence Suite (about the same size as an Andaz Suite, but the room had a kitchen area).
Parking
I was driving and we utilized the hotel’s car park, which cost 30€/night, but was much more convenient than trying to find street parking (and having to deal with parking meters or misreading signs and receiving a pricey ticket which doubles once the rental car company adds on its “administrative” fee).
Check-In + Happy Hour
Upon checking in, we were offered a complimentary beverage, with my kid’s choosing apple juice, my wife coffee, and I had an Aperol Spritz. A man was making his rounds in the lobby, greeting each table. Turns out it was Frank Heckelmann, the General Manager (formerly the GM at the Hyatt Regency Mainz and before that a manger at the Grand Hyatt Berlin and Hyatt Regency Köln – I love how Hyatt promotes from within). He sat down with us for a few moments and we had a nice conversation – the hotel was at near full occupancy (July 2021), which marked the first time since the pandemic the hotel was full.
Residence Suite
Our suite, in room 702, included a living room with desk, L-shaped couch, and circular dining table. In the same room was a kitchen with oven, refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher. This was perfect for the kids, allowing us to walk to the grocery store (Netto was just a block away) and make our own dinners. Pates, glasses, utensils, and cookware were also present.
The bedroom included a king-sized bed, with the bathroom behind it. There was a window seat large enough for Augustine to sleep on, but he slept on the couch in the other room and Claire Marie slept in a crib, also in the living room.
The bathroom included a large bathtub with a great city view, shower, and dual sink. The toilet was made by Geberit, a Swiss toilet maker, and included a bidet. Shower products were by Silver Saskia Diez and in large (reusable) bottles without any sort of security features…we used them anyway.
There was also guest restroom near the front door:
The room featured a walk-in closet as well.
One feature of every Andaz is a complimentary non-alcoholic mini-bar. Here, the choices were pretty weak: one package of potato chips and three soft drinks by Eizbach (apparently a local competitor to Coca-Cola). There was also an illy espresso machine with capsules.
Augustine was enthralled with a magnetic globe on the desk that would not tip over, no matter how hard you tried.
Our view out the window of the bedroom and living room was of a grass-covered roof, that featured beehives…
Room Service
One night we cooked a pizza for Augustine (yes, once in awhile we’ll let him enjoy some junk food) and put the kids to bed early…in the bedroom.
Then my wife and I had a “date night” in the living room. We ordered room service: salmon for me and a filet mignon for my wife, with sides of truffle mashed potatoes and broccoli. The food was very delicious and I found the cedar plank salmon particularly flavorful.
Breakfast @ The Lonely Broccoli & Terrace
A German breakfast is always a treat and the hotel offers a lovely spread in The Lonely Broccoli & Terrace. During our visit, the buffet was still behind plexiglass, though I’d imagine now it is back to self-serve. In addition to the buffet with hot and cold items, an a la carte menu allows you to offer hot dishes like eggs cooked to order, pancakes, waffles, and French Toast.
The orange juice is freshly-squeezed and I strongly recommend you request coffee “from the lobby bar” (the machine is far superior to the one in the restaurant and so if the coffee).
The children were proactively offered “baby-cinos” (just the foamed milk, no coffee).
M’Uniqo Rooftop Bar & Terrace
Heidi doesn’t drink alcohol at all and I don’t drink much alcohol, but I wanted to dress up and take her up to the trendy rooftop bar for some coffee or sparkling water (lol) on our “date” night after the kids went to bed. While she did not veto the deal, I could see she wasn’t happy about leaving the kids alone and so I deferred to her better judgment.
I did check it out to see if we could get a table and my goodness…this is where all the young and beautiful people hang out on a Saturday night. Germans dress up so nicely when they go out – I love it compared to at home in Los Angeles. But in the end, we had a beautiful night just staying inside our room and sipping our bottled water.
Bicicletta & Terrace
Bicicletta also offers great coffee as well as pastries. Augustine had a treat here one morning.
Service
Put simply, the service was great here. Staff was kind and engaging and don’t worry if you do not speak German, for everyone speaks English with ease. Our suite was not ready and we were placed in a regular room at first, which greatly beat sitting in the lobby.
At breakfast, the staff behind the buffet was very friendly and the wait staff was quick to clear away used dishes or offer refills on coffee.
I feel compelled to offer reflections on a specific (very positive) aspect of service in a follow-up post. Stay tuned for that, tomorrow.
Swimming Pool
My son loves to go swimming and we spent quite a bit of time in the pool. One thing I loved: the hotel even brought him a small robe so he could wear one too. The indoor pool was warm, never crowded, and we had a lot of fun each day.
Wellness Area
One level below the pool is a beautiful wellness area with a lounge, two saunas (60ºC and 90ºC), and a steam room (which was closed due to the pandemic). German saunas include a lot nudity and it is a cultural faux faux to wear a bathing suit inside: you’ve been warned!
Location
I mentioned the grocery store nearby. There’s also a playground right around the corner if you have young children. It was a nice diversion from, “Daddy, can we go back to the pool?”
CONCLUSION
Munich is not my favorite German city – in terms of large cities, I prefer Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, and Hamburg over München. Yet Bavaria is a beautiful part of Germany and after a pair of great stays at this posh hotel, I look forward to returning next time. The Andaz Munich does just about everything right: great service, great food, and great amenities make this worth the splurge versus a more economical hotel. Thanks for reading my Andaz Munich suite review.
This is part of my summer in Germany trip report.
Matt,
We have begun traveling pretty frequently with our daughter. We had a crib in our room as well, along with a teddy bear on the bed. Do you consider these gifts from the hotel to the little one and take them home, or what is customary in this case? I won’t say what we did with the bear or where we stayed, only that it was London :).
I would say the Andaz Liverpool wanted you to take the bear. 😉
No seriously, they are meant to be taken.
I had the same exact suite last August 🙂 Though the service at the hotel was pretty bleak at the time, we still enjoyed ourselves.
Dumb question but as you’re something of a sauna expert I’ll ask anyway: Aren’t you literally cooking yourself at 90 degrees C?
You are – which is why you are advised not to sit longer than 15 minutes. I go 20! 😉
We had the exact same suite on the 5th floor. I agree in every respect about your impressions. I was with my 30 y.o. daughter and she insisted on checking out the bar. It was crowded and since we were there in late September, chose not to linger (B/C Covid). Breakfast service was self serve for our stay, and they appeared to have seating spaced a bit more than usual possibly. I enjoyed Munchen more this time than when I last visited 40+ years ago! Driving in the city was a bit stressful because of the need to avoid resident only streets. Only after we turned in our car at MUC airport did we discover that the car had the requisite city pass that would have allowed us to drive freely throughout the city! And RE: German saunas, no body covering of any kind is permitted, I was scolded by the attendant at a spa in Baden-Baden once for wearing a light silk robe into the sauna, (the largest sauna I have ever been in, it was huge)
We often leave the kids asleep in the room and go to the hotel bar for a drink or two. We bring along a Wi-Fi monitor that sends sound and/or movement alerts to my phone. If for some reason we can’t get it connected to the Wi-Fi, we set up an iPad facing the kids, FaceTime my (muted) phone, and leave the FaceTime on while we are “out.” Really makes staying in a nice hotel more worth it when you can enjoy a nightcap at the bar. New York Bar at PH Tokyo was our best nightcap with this system!
Question: If staying at the Andaz Schwabinger Tor, as a Globalist on award nights, is the parking fee included/waived? Or is the parking situation a separate company and billed separately than the hotel bill?
Headed there in a week and can’t find any info on this, and don’t speak German.
Thanks!
Parking is free on Awards or you can park on the street for 6 Euro a day