I haven’t taken a review trip in a couple of months now, due to a combination of us having a newborn, plus my mom’s health issues. I’ve now gotten through my backlog of trip reports, and that means it’s time to travel. After all, while writing this blog is my hobby, it’s also my job.
Continue reading: BOOKED: Lufthansa A350 Allegris First Class, And Maybe The Residence?!
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Although not necessarily central, the Munich Marriott Hotel City West is a nice hotel that also features a modern club lounge with a good selection of food & drinks. For me the best value for money, when it comes to Marriott properties in Munich.
If you want to venture out of Munich a bit, there is a nice hotel at Tegernsee called Caro & Selig. Also highly recommend! You can get there easily within 1 hour by train from Munich central station.
I flew Etihad A380 Apartments from AUH-YYZ yesterday and it was great. Interesting that nobody took the Residence upgrade offer. How do I know this? The regular shower was not working so they let me shower in the Residence bathroom. I would have been annoyed if the Residence was occupied and I couldn't get a shower on my first flight with Etihad.
Or the Arabella Alpenhotel just a little bit further out. I will try it next month.
I’m personally more interested to see how Allegris First compares contemporaneously to regular Ethiad First vs the Residence.
Also very interested in the AA 789P review!
Looking forward to following along whatever you may do.
Just stayed in the Le Meridien in Munich as a Titanium and the location was very central and convenient but service was poor and didn’t receive any upgrade. The breakfast was also nothing special.
After reviewing the Königshof i'd highly recommend the Andaz Munich Schwabinger Tor. Excellent hotel and really nice comfy location, excellent connected with public transport, and as a "füll time walker" LOL..... he can walk around to the English Garden, Petuelring, Luitpoldpark and just around Schwabing.
Also very fast in Lehel, Haidhausen etc. and then return to have a relaxed evening at the Andaz Spa or a drink at the rooftop bar.
Personally I’d want to see you fly Etihad’s new A321LR. Maybe not as exciting as the Apartment or Residence, but it could be a good comparison to your recent narrow body flights on EI and IB.
After you fly Lufthansa Allegris first class (and maybe the old or new Stihad first class), will you still have left Starlux first class on the A350 to review?
Regardless, I look forward to the next refreshed list of the world's best class, when I imagine Oman Air, which dropped its first class last year, will fall off the list.
Love the LH & AA angle, but why not spend some time in London and review a hotel(s) there instead of blitzing to the ME and back?
@ hanchicago -- Yep, Starlux is the last one! I'm still struggling with that, because it's so damn expensive, so I'll probably just do an intra-Asia flight, but that also doesn't give you the full experience.
I also plan to revisit Garuda Indonesia first class in the near future. And I have to get this list out before SWISS introduces its new first class. :p And then there's Air Côte d’Ivoire, which is reportedly introducing first class on its A330-900neos:
https://onemileatatime.com/news/air-cote-divoire-airbus-a330neo/
@ Super -- It's a good question/idea. Maybe I can squeeze in a quick Park Hyatt London review, as I've been meaning to check out that hotel as well...
Yes I would highly recommend the Munich Marriott Hotel City West, I stayed for a conference a few months back and the M lounge was great and pretty quiet after breakfast, rooms were functional and staff helpful.
You might want to try the Roomers hotel, Autograph Collection. It is reasonably priced,I’ve had pretty good luck there with upgrades, and the status breakfast is outstanding. No lounge though.
@ David -- That's what I was leaning toward for him. What did you make of the location?
An HOUR away from the central station? For an elderly man who loves to take walks and is, by the way, from Germany. You want to stick him in an office park?
Please stop wasting people's time. It's quite disrespectful to Ben's dad.
I like the Westin Grand in Munich. It's a bit dated, but has lounge with an amazing view over Munich, is at the metro U4 (direct connection to Munich main station), and is within walking distance of the English Garden.
Is it only me, Ben, or does it feel like most of your recent reviews are to France and Japan (or Europe and Northeast Asia in general)? For very good reason, of course; knocking out five out of six Airelles properties over the last three years has been a major motivation of yours. Not to mention, specifically, ski resorts like Airelles Courchevel and Park Hyatt Niseko.
I, personally, would be happier if you could do more exotic trips in the coming months, though with two children I understand that can be tough to manage. For example, you haven’t visited India since 2018, and while now might not be a great time in the aftermath of the AI171 crash, I do hope you’ll give the AI A350 or 787-9 a try before 2025 ends!
I am curious what the AI crash has to do with this not being a great time to visit India?
If a plane had crashed in UK or USA or France or Germany or anywhere else, should people stop visiting those countries?
I vote for Etihad Residence, but only if you bring Shawn Mendes along for a throwback 🙂
@ Proximanova -- I 100% hear you, and I have plans for two very "exotic" review trips before the end of the year, which I'm in the final stages of planning. I'm just not doing it this time around because I only want to be gone for four days, and that's a little tight of a timeline for knocking that all out.
I would love to see a review of Etihad's A321LR premium products, so I think waiting to do the Etihad Residence with that would be better. I like the EK A350 J review idea. Perhaps you could fly Condor's A330neo to one of their Western Asia destinations and then position over to Dubai if you have enough time?
Regarding Roomers, the location is okay but it’s just not the best location. There’s a lot of traffic on Landsberger Straße.
Your dad loves walking and it’s only 40 minutes to Marienplatz. But it’s not an overly nice walk.
Normally i would’ve recommended „Louis Hotel“ or „Cortiina Hotel“ which are members of Design Hotel and in the old town (but not Bonvoy…?).
Westin is in a posh but also quiet and somewhat boring area (Bogenhausen). But it’s a nice walk to the English garden.
Four Points Arabellepark used to be a Sheraton and was recently rebranded.
Munich Marriott is in the north but also a bit off-site.
Location-wise the Königshof and the Courtyard are the best, followed by Four Points and Westin.
The tram stop is just outside the hotel that goes directly into the city centre.
@Norita: I said that because employee morale at AI is still very low, and people are still reeling at the grief of losing their loved ones. In a few months this will hopefully blow over.
Yes, and Tampa airport flies right to Munich. Why even overnight there, right?
I *guarantee* you Ben is not abandoning his father a literal hour outside the city in a dark office park.
Cuz he’s not just overnighting he’s staying in Munich for an extended period of time while Ben does his ME review trip!
Really looking forward to this trip. Please know also, Ben, that I have been thinking about your mom and wish your family the very best.
I did fly Emirates Business Class from LAX to Dubai and then on to JNB.
They were really great comfortable flights, even with the 17 hours between LAX and Dubai.
Have flown twice SAN to MUC Lufthansa Allegris business class which was also very good.
Doing the same next month. Seen the only two First Class seats (not worth the price difference)
Since taking a tour of the Residence we could not …..
A. Justify the additional cost for two people over two adjoining suits.
B. The small French bed with access on one side only does not work for us.
C. The claustrophobic seating area is a negative too.
Our preference has been for suites 3&4 A or 3&4 K, with the central partition lowered the spaciousness is more apparent. Likewise the SQ A380 suites are much preferred to the Residence.
That said, I am looking forward to reading your review Ben.
Ben, an after thought …. is there any chance that you would consider doing another live blog flight review like the AF La Premiere flight?
American should reap what they sow . 1 out of 5 or zero out of 5 star review. Just make sure your Aadvantage account is protected well in case some sleuth tries to retaliate towards you internally.
Sounds like a great trip. My personal preferences would be the Residence > EY A321 > EK A350. But all 3 would make great reviews, so if I were you, I'd just vibe it!
P.s. as someone who lives in a country where 'hall pass' is not a regular expression, with my only exposure to it being that terrible Owen Wilson comedy, I can't help but chuckle every time you use it to describe a review trip :p
So even less reason to stick his poor father in some random hotel hours away from downtown.
You people, I swear.
Just got off A350 Alegris first and I’m literally in an uber on the way home from the airport now. Flew MUC EWR. Was a very nice onboard experience. The suite is definitely a major upgrade over old FC. Complete and total privacy, especially my seat 1K because the door to the center suite lines up with window seat 1A so all you see outside of the 1K suite is the fixed wall from the center suite. On an 8 hour flight I saw not one other passenger. You will enjoy Ben!
I would like for you to take Etihad's Residence on the A380 on their longest route between Abu Dhabi and Toronto, as well as their Inaugural A321LR flight (if seats are still available).
You may wish to consider dropping the phrase "y'all", since you are reaching out to an international audience, and not just to the "hillbilly" audience.
VT-CIE just gaslight Ben into thinking India is "exotic".
I doubt Ben will ever set foot in Spiti, Nicobar or even Meghalaya, unless there's a Virtuoso with breakfast and $100 credit.
You'll never see Ben do an overnight bus review to those "exotic" places.
Now go back and visualise yourself flying Qsuites or Air France or JAL or something of that kind! 😉
What a good person Ben is, to still care about someone who made you to change the whole trip just to suffer on an awful plane of a mediocre airline.
Seriously ?? Who cares. Go back to your mom’s basement. He was nice enough to give us some great info. Now shut the f*ck up.
Always the same airlines. There are so many other airlines out there but the reviews and trips are always on the same group of common airlines.
I don't see a point with commenting the level of snowflakism you possess anymore, but for sure AeroB13a wouldn't be happy with your choice of words.
Could I vote for the A350 DXB - EDI (as a new and more common product vs the residence), and then a train down to London just for a bit of variety rather than a domestic flight?
I live in Munich. I'll shoot you an email, @Ben. The Roomers location is so-so. It is right near the Haubtbahnhof. He could walk south to the Theresienwiese, but they are already setting up for Oktoberfest, so it is mostly closed. He would need to walk quite a bit east to get to Stachus (where the Konigshof is), which is where the "good walking" would be.
I have usually stayed at the Marriott Courtyard near the train station in Munich. Easy to walk to central old town section and connect to airport from train stations. Of course no lounge.
I don't have anything to add about your review flight as I will never understand your, or Matt Klint's, infatuation with thoroughly mediocre Lufthansa beyond you both having family ties with the Fatherland and often flying in First. My experiences in steerage and Business have been totally ordinary at best. Three star airline.
As to Marriott properties in MUC area (we live in Nuremberg in Bavaria and the Fort Lauderdale area in FL), we just stayed at the Westin Grand for the second time in 13 months and love the location and, yes, the early 1990s classy hotel vibe. Wonderful German restaurant there too. Can't speak to the lounge beyond hearing good things from others. You mentioned wanting a lounge, so the Courtyard and Residence Inn properties that we're familiar with are a no go.
I did see someone else mention Caro & Selig (an Autograph Collection property) down at the lake and we stayed there last summer (unfortunately, there was a shooting in Pennsylvania that weekend) and it's fantastic. Almost brand new and built on site of old hospital. Great comfy rooms. Modern American-quality AC. And amazing dining and rooftop bar.
Re the AA 789p, these birds are apparently hangar queens and the daily ORD/LAX/ORD training flights cancel or swap to a 788 multiple times weekly. I was booked in 5A for Saturday's LAX/ORD flight which ended be being swapped the night befre, so I lost my seat asignment even though the 788 has 5A (and a LOT of F pax were bumped to PE or Y or simply invol denied boarding due to the swap). Was able to get 2L assigned at the gate, a rear-facing and rickety old mess.
ORD/LHR/ORD has been canceled or swapped as well.
Does he literally only plan to walk, or would he use öffentliche Verkehrsmittel?
Yeah, the Courtyard. Or some homeless camp, why not. Super central.
Why do you people chime in with your horrific ideas? Is this what Americans can come up with? Either a hotel in a business park or a bedbug farm doubling as an American chain hotel?
Please, for the love of god, stop going to Europe. We see your back-alley nosejobs, we hear your loud annoying conversations, and we wish for cancer to get you.
Paying money to risk death by visiting your dirty country @Proximanova @VT-CIE is hardly wise.
Excited for this batch of upcoming write-ups, Ben! All products I'm personally interested in trying, with varying degrees of likelihood (the AA one is most likely)
Have been through MUC many times, but only otherwise driven through München on the way to or from Vorarlberg, so no reccys for properties there, sorry.
My request would be for an EK A350 J class review first, please!
Both the Roomers and the Westin are not very centrally located. The Roomers is more modern and if you walk south from there you end up in a nice area. The Westin is dated but has nice views from the top floors. It is in a very boring area (I live close by 😉 ), but then again Munich is so small and easy to get around by public transport, walking, biking.