From the moment we stepped into the lobby, we felt as if we had entered a five-star hotel! It seems like a very new hotel and is in excellent condition. We liked the room, the bathroom, the furnishings, the art work, the atmosphere in the dining room, the bar -- virtually everything. The beds and linens are great, the towels soft, and among the amenities are apples for the taking and the 4 bottles in the minibar are complimentary and replenished daily. If I had to try to say anything negative about the hotel, it would be that I couldn't tell what country I was in from the facility itself. It was by far the most comfortable stay we had in 5 weeks in Germany and Austria. The only thing lacking that you would find in a 5-star establishment is evening turndown service, but who needs it with curtains that whisk closed and I would have missed the sunsets!

Dining was more of a problem. Breakfasts were good, but I found the coffee weak. Then we figured out that we could ask for espressos. We ate once at Oliv's but the choice of main courses is so limited that we didn't eat there again. But we had good service and it's elegant and comfortable.

This is a business hotel and billed as such. Because it's located in a town without major sites to visit, there are no tour groups. And people at conferences eat breakfast separately and quietly, so there's no noise and commotion from large groups. We liked the location because we wanted to be in a small city and we liked the space around, the pleasant town, and the walk to the lake in less than 15 minutes. The hotel is located on a major thoroughfare, but with double glazing and the the building set at an angle to the road and protected by the buildings around it, we had no noise at night. (I am puzzled by the critic who was bothered by noise.)

This may not be the place to stay if where you really want to be is Munich, but you can reach it by S-bahn in about half an hour. And the town is convenient for visiting other places in southern Bavaria by train. And if you want what is basically a luxury hotel at bargain prices compared to what you pay in Munich, this is a great choice!

I chose this hotel based on the fact that it was a "Vier Jahreszeiten" (Four Seasons in English, though I have no idea if it is the same company), and it was in Starnberg, which I knew was a nice suburb of Munich with a lake. I was familiar with the Vier Jahreszeiten in Munich on Maximilianstraße, and figured it would be a similar experience. Prices were not cheap, but not out of this world, so I figured I would give it a shot.

To be fair, the hotel is pretty nice, once you are inside, the rooms especially. I did not find my room especially dated, and it had a nice bathtub and was clean. Service at the reception was fairly good. Service at breakfast was less than optimal--as noted elsewhere, someone came and notified us that we had to leave at the time the kitchen closed; normally in any hotel when the kitchen closes you can not get more food, but this is the first time I have ever been told to leave when the kitchen closed in any hotel anywhere, and I've been to a lot. I am happy I didn't show up just before breakfast was finished hoping to grab some food and have a leisurely chomp as I have many times elsewhere...

But the real tragedy here is the location. Little did I know looking at the map that Münchnerstraße was the main thoroughfare through Starnberg. The noise from the considerable amount of traffic outside was constantly disturbing, and in general the hotel was surrounded by what seemed to be office buildings -- zero gemütlichkeit.

Starnberg itself, once you are in the village or on the lake, is lovely, but outside of the dorfkern there is tons of traffic and ugly buildings. Once I figured out how to get back and forth to the lake from the hotel most efficiently (there is a bit of an odd street you need to go down, then go right to catch the street which goes tot he lake) I was quite enamored of the waterfront there, and felt a bit better than when I first arrived at the hotel and was horrified by the location but all in all they should have picked a better place for the Vier Jahreszeiten--I will never again trust the brand name.

This is the second time I stay on this hotel when I go visiting one of my customer in Starnberg and I am always happy to get there. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The rooms are really good, clean and of a good size. The bed is good and the hotel is quiet, you are not awaken in the middle of the night with strange noises.

The only regret I have (and the reason why I did not rate it "Excellent") is that there is no Sport TV channel, you only have the usual TV channels but nothing broadcasting the Champions League ;)

-Olivier