First, more basic info:

Website: www.hotel-amba.de

Email: info@hotel-amba.de

Rates as of November, 2004:

My Favorite Hotel in Munich

This hotel is within easy walking distance from the Munich Hauptbanhof, the city’s central train and subway station. That by itself gives you excellent mobility getting to and from the airport, arriving in Munich by train, and for moving around the city. There is even a subway entrance just a few doors down from the hotel, on the same side of the street. The Amba is several blocks on foot from Marienplatz, the city’s main tourist attraction.

The front desk speaks English and is extremely accommodating. Be advised...their standard room is very plain and very spare, but it does the job.

Whatever the Amba lacks in a charming standard room, it more than makes up for in the included breakfast. It's not the usual coffee-and-croissants daily starter found in Paris, but a hearty meal of eggs, cheeses, and meats. And ohhh, those German meats! A nutritional travesty, to be sure, but what a way to go! Good, strong coffee, as well as tea and hot chocolate roud out the treats.

My wife and I were in Munich in October 2002, just as Octoberfest was winding down. Winter was edging in; it was chilly and cold outside. We got hooked on those breakfasts, eating leisurely and not getting out of the hotel until well past 10am. One morning, we had a delightful chat with two American girls up from Italy, taking a weekend in Munich. There is a beer hall a few doors away from the hotel, with a full Bavarian menu. We got hooked on that food also.

I don’t get to Munich very often, but I stay at the Amba every time. It was first recommended to me 20 years ago by British businessmen who stay there each time they visit. I recommended it to a friend who also loved it.