For families seeking space, comfort, and a touch of luxury amid Munich’s vibrant energy, The Charles gives grand hotel vibes, but with a playful nod to its youngest guests.
Tucked beside Munich’s Old Botanical Garden, The Charles Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel offers more than urban elegance – it’s a surprisingly welcoming space for families, blending calm sophistication with playful touches that make young children feel at home (from a little step ladder to Rocco Forte passports that they can get stamped). The leafy façade, with its gentle curves and broad windows, hints at both the city’s cultural heartbeat and the quiet refuge within.
The Vibe
When you push through the heavy doors into the wide and light lobby, The Charles Hotel gives off a calm, quiet elegance. The floors are marble, the reception desk a deep burl wood, and art hangs from the walls. While it’s not an historic building, the architecture was inspired by some of the grand hotels on the Côte d‘Azur. But it is far from stuffy. Receptionists are warm and helpful and children are made to feel more than welcome. In fact, they roll out a bespoke stepladder for the littlest of guests, so they can reach the check in desk, receive their special Rocco Forte passport and get it stamped, and feel part of the process.
The Rooms
The benefit of the property being a modern building, albeit designed to look timeless, is that it has extra large rooms. Out of the total 160 rooms in the hotel, 24 are suites, but even the standard-sized rooms are at least 430 square feet. Most have floor to ceiling windows that flood the room with light, and many have French balconies: the best rooms look out over the Old Botanical Gardens. The decor throughout features soft creams and gentle greens, reflecting the park outside, and all are soundproofed – which along with supremely comfortable, enormous beds, ensures the perfect night’s sleep.
For those travelling with children, interconnected family rooms, or family suites get decked out with a tipi, toys, mini robes and slippers and welcome treats. For those in a standard room, a cot or extra bed is complimentary for children up to 12 years old. Grown ups with feel treated with the Irene Forte Skincare range products available to use; children have their own line of toiletries (and rubber ducks for the bath). At turndown, kids also get a plate of cookies, and a little toy lion – the hotel’s mascot – on their pillow.
The Food + Drink
The hotel’s main restaurant, Florio, is the main spot for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and it’s a magnificent room to luxuriate in. With vast ceiling height, floor to ceiling windows providing views over the Old Botanical Garden, murals on the walls and potted olive trees dotted around, it recreates a holiday in an Italian village. Breakfast is a huge buffet affair, with almost anything you can think of from pancakes to eggs and omelettes, pastries and yoghurts, and runs until 11am on weekends (allowing you a lie in – if your children permit one). For lunch and dinner it serves classic Italian cuisine such as seabass tartare, or spaghetti with hand-plucked Costoluto tomatoes, or Milanese-style chicken served with a crispy saffron risotto. The almond semi fredo dessert would warrant a second visit on its own. It prides itself on seasonal ingredients, cooked to perfection, all created by chef Fulvio Pierangelini. The menu was child friendly – the restaurant was happy and babies are provided with complimentary meals. The Florio bar, meanwhile, is an excellent place for a nightcap: the mixologists can make anything you desire.
The Spa
The Charles spa, down on the subterranean level, is large and spacious with a Finnish sauna and steam room and hot and cold foot baths, along with treatment rooms and generous changing rooms. But it’s the 15ft x 8ft marble-lined swimming indoor pool that really stands out: a pool long enough to do proper lengths is rare to find in a city hotel.
The Child’s Play
The Charles has lots of family-friendly extras, from the concierge arranging a stroller-friendly route through the city, to babysitting services and small touches like mini robes in the rooms, colouring sheets at dinner, and a general positive attitude to little guests. The concierge team are excellent at suggesting age-appropriate ideas for children and teens to enjoy, from trips to the zoo to amusement parks, and can even arrange private tours at museums.
The To Do List
The Charles is located incredibly near the city’s museum district. Best for children is the brilliant and interactive Kindermuseum München, or the Paläontologisches Museum München which features prehistoric fossils and dinosaurs. Also worth a stop is the Lenbachhaus, home to a major permanent exhibition of the Blue Rider artist group.
Along with the Old Botanical Gardens directly opposite the hotel (which has a small play area), the English Gardens are a short taxi hop (or 40 minutes walk) away. Bigger than Central Park there is a stunning heritage carouse, a 1913, wood-carved ride designed by Joseph Erlacher and August Julier, located near the Chinese Tower, which will fascinate children (warning: you need to take cash to pay for it). Conveniently, it is right next to a beer garden serving traditional Baravian food from sausages to apple pie. Further south in the park runs The Eisbach River, which attracts inner city surfers to the permanent, man-made, 0.5-meter-high, standing wave – and is fascinating to watch.
Very close to the hotel, the 19th-century Justice Building marks the start of the shopping areas and the heart of the Altstadt.
We may earn a commission if you buy something from any affiliate links on our site.
Any Questions or Tips to add?