Do & Co Hotel Munich Boutique Hotel at the Frauenkirche

Ever thought about a holiday in your own city? But not in your own garden or on a balcony, and certainly not with an overnight stay in your own home. But in a hotel, as a chic getaway without a long journey.

A friend of mine has been doing this for years, booking herself into a hotel close to the venue during the Berlin Film Festival - and discovering new facets of her hometown every time. We at Ella Fogg and Creme Guides have also done it several times - and it's great.

But now it's not Berlin, but the Bavarian capital. So the 1.47 million people of Munich have it good. And everyone else? It's not that far to travel from all over Germany.

A long weekend, or even just a regular weekend, is plenty of time to succumb to Munich's charm. Even without the Oktoberfest, simply with relaxed sightseeing, visits to beer gardens and fine restaurants, great shopping and maybe even a little excursion into the lakes and mountains of the surrounding countryside.

1 | 9

For football fans, the most essential Munich must-see is FC Bayern Munich, which has just won the German championship (again). A time-out with a FCB home game, what more do you need? The ideal hotel for this is Do & Co, the newly opened boutique hotel in FC Bayern World, a 3,500-square-metre building complex that opened in 2020 and offers much more than football.

Do & Co may be a household name to many. The Austrian catering company based in Vienna is now broadly positioned, still operates restaurants as a premium brand and also hotels. Or both together. The Munich Hotel hideaway is a design gem, very modern, minimalist, luxurious, and very cosy, with 31 individually designed rooms, suites, and two restaurants.

The bistro focuses on Mediterranean cuisine, the casual dining restaurant with a large terrace on modern Asian cuisine. The guests are involved in the action. There is an open kitchen, and the algae-fish-rice bites are freshly prepared at the sushi counter.

If you want to get to know Munich's nightlife, you're in exactly the right place. In the evening, the restaurant turns into one of the hip hotspots (DJs, cocktails, party mood) in the centre of Munich. Moreover, it's open daily, which is not always the case everywhere.

We fell in love with the penthouse loft suite. 130 square metres plus a private roof terrace of 70 square metres and a great view of the Frauenkirche, an open fireplace, in-room wine and cocktail bar, and - finally thought through to the end - a foosball table.

For football enthusiasts, there is also the official flagship store of FC Bayern Munich. For those who don't share this passion, the hotel is centrally located, with Marienplatz right next door, the Bavarian State Opera and the Munich Residenz within easy walking distance.

What is true for Munich in general, is true for the Do & Co Hotel in particular: International flair and Bavarian stubbornness (nicely meant!) form a charming coexistence that you can't resist and shouldn't resist at all - for a night, a weekend or longer, as a holiday in your own city or, and quite different from the usual, as a time-out in Germany.

Manuela Blisse

Author Berlin