Munich Airport; a stopover hotel with a difference.

Munich airport is a fine place, and as such, I try to use it as my primary connection point in Europe. For a variety of reasons, I have spent more nights in hotel rooms by airports in the past couple of years that I would normally choose, and the offers from airport to airport vary tremendously, and Munich is no exception.

There are often convenient, but hideously expensive on-airport properties, and then there is the option of travelling into town. This can vary in complexity and cost from Narita airport which lies some 90 kms from Tokyo to London’s Heathrow airport, only 15 minutes (and an eye-watering £20) from the center of the city.

A couple of days ago I needed to overnight in Munich, and unwilling to pay the €300 requested by the Kempinski or head into the city, I looked for a close-by option. It is a lovely hotel, and I have enjoyed staying there in the past, but €300 is a touch steep.

The small town of Neufarhnis only thirteen kms from the airport, and much of that seemed to be spent driving around the runways, and some seven minutes later, with the taxi hitting speeds of 150 km, and the meter whizzing around at a considerable speed, we screeched to a halt by the Gasthaus Gumberger; shaking from the experience and €27 poorer I checked into the property and absolutely loved it.

It was a fairly substantial hotel, and bed & breakfast (a single room) was €99. A comfortable room, an ample dinner at their convivial restaurant and friendly staff were exactly what I wanted. The following morning, however, with more time to spend returning to the airport, I decided to take the train, an option that had eluded me on the previous evening.

The station was a fifteen minute walk from the property, and from there the S1 runs every twenty minutes to the airport for a mere €1.30; I noticed that there was, in fact, another hotel, the Hotel Maisberger adjacent to the station, and at €65 - 85 per night, a fine option, and one that I shall try on my next overnight in Munich.

There are many options like this for spending the night at airports, and many comfortable properties that are completely unlike the soulless airport chain hotels. There are even chain-hotels that are so spectacularly well placed (The Premier Inn at Gatwick), that one can overlook their lack of charm.

It is, however, worth doing a little research before charging on-line to take booking.com’s  lowest priced airport option.