The Munich Marriott Hotel City West is the most important hotel opening of 2023 in the city.
This is because of the large room and event space capacity. The hotel, with 398 rooms and 2440 sqm of event space spread across 20 event spaces, can accommodate large events.
The Munich Marriott Hotel City West hosted the Grand Opening to celebrate this big milestone for the Marriott brand. It showed what it’s capable of. And it was GRAND!
It took place on 8 February 2024. Over 600 guests attended, among them were event agency owners and in-house event planners from the major corporations based in the region.
A little bit of background of the Munich Marriott Hotel City West
Munich West is centrally located and offers excellent accessibility from both the train station and the airport. This region holds significant historical importance in Munich.
Notably, two local landmarks, the Hackerbrücke metal bridge and the Augustiner Brewery, are located just a few minutes walk from the hotel. Studio Lux Berlin who designed the hotel took the inspiration from these two Westend district’s landmarks and incorporated them into the design through the use of metal and brick elements in the lobby. These reflect the area’s industrial heritage and Bavarian charm.
I visited the hotel first in August, during its final stages of construction, and again in October to see the finished guest rooms and event spaces. This time, I returned for the Grand Opening to experience the hotel during an event and see how they utilise the event space.
Grand Opening Event Highlights
On the opening night, the atmosphere was buzzing! Seeing it during an event was like nothing I could have imagined. Almost all the event spaces were utilised to showcase what the hotel is able to deliver.
The event opened with a welcome talk by René Mooren, General Manager at the Munich Marriott Hotel City West, Satya Anand, President Europe, Africa & Middle East at Marriott International, and Benedikt Brandmeier, Head of Tourism, Events, and Hospitality of the City of Munich.
After the ribbon-cutting, the guests were invited to explore the different areas that were set up for the event.
Assoluto Ristorante offered a rich buffet of antipasti, warm dishes, and oven-made pizza, followed by delicious desserts. The Vineria served wines, and the bar provided cocktails and soft drinks throughout the night.
During dinner, guests were surprised with an acrobatic performance, live music, and a DJ, creating a welcoming and festive atmosphere.
The big highlight was The Great Ballroom experience
The hotel is unique in Munich because it has hydraulic platforms in the Great Ballroom. In addition its large capacity for up to 616 guests and the large 12-meter-long screen make it the top choice for large events.
During the Grand Opening Guests were invited to experience this.
Cars were waiting outside the hotel to take guests to the parking lot for a surprise experience in the Great Ballroom. Stepping onto the hydraulic lifting platforms, we were transported into the middle of the Great Ballroom to experience how the Great Ballroom can be set up for different purposes.
But that was not the only surprise! The information was presented with a hologram of René Mooren, the General Manager, and beamed interactively on different walls to talk about rooms functionalities.
For conference: using the 12-meter-long screen provides excellent visibility for all event delegates to ensure that all attendees can see the content displayed on the screen very well.
For a car launch: the hydraulic platforms have space for up to two cars, and these can be presented either on the platform or in the Ballroom, as was the case at the Grand Opening. This presentation can be enhanced with interactive presentations on the screens and lighting. René Mooren the General Manager also introduced the exclusive partnership between SIXT, Europe’s leading car rental company, and Marriott Bonvoy where members can benefit from quicker rental processes and collecting points for other Marriott Bonvoy benefits.
For a wedding: another corner of the room was beautifully arranged for a wedding. This setup could also be used for a gala dinner.
For a party: a stage was set up along with a bar. This could also be perfectly combined with the wedding or a gala dinner.
The hologram of René Mooren the General Manager was an extra highlight. Using a hologram for virtual presentations is a great alternative to a video. It can be projected onto different sides of the room and will keep participants highly engaged with the content.
Winter Garden
Another highlight during the Grand Opening was the Winter Garden. The Terrace, exclusively designed for events, was set up for the Grand Opening with a dance floor and DJ, Glühwein, live ice sculpting featuring the Marriott logo (which can also be customised with your company’s logo), and even a snow machine. There was no limit to creativity at the event!
The Lounge and bar
The lounge and bar served as the central meeting point for guests to network over signature cocktails and music. It marked both the beginning and end of the event, with late-night drinks rounding off the experience.
What Sets the Munich Marriott Hotel City West Apart
- Flexibility in space utilisation: there’s great flexibility in using the 20 event spaces for your events. As the Grand Opening demonstrated, a space can be used for a conference as well as for a gala dinner. What’s even more unique is the speed at which the room can be transformed from a conference setup to a gala dinner setup. This transformation is made possible thanks to the hydraulic platforms exclusively available at the Munich Marriott Hotel City West. While attendees are at the conference, preparations for the gala dinner are underway, and within two hours, the rooms will be transformed into a spectacular gala dinner setting.
- Hotel Buyout: A buyout is the exclusive booking of the entire hotel for an event, which includes all rooms, facilities, and amenities for their exclusive use. The Grand Opening was an example of this where delegates could move between the event spaces and experience different things at the hotel. Each event rooms offered something unique – food, entertainment or space for networking. There was a perfect flow and a chance to see and do different things. Staying at the hotel added to the convenience and the hotel has 398 rooms.
- Conference hotel: The Munich Marriott Hotel City West was built as a conference hotel, so every detail was well thought out to ensure a seamless event experience. The hotel also has an experienced event and conference team who will be by your side to support you with event specifications and design.
Conclusion
In just six months since its opening, the hotel successfully demonstrated its capability to host large events in Munich. At the Grand Opening, attended by over 600 guests, the hotel was exclusively set up to showcase its potential. Senior people from the events industry were present.
Following the pre-opening process closely was unique as I watched the hotel come to life and experienced its full operational capabilities firsthand.
If you are looking for a large conference hotel in Munich that offers large space capacity, flexibility in space configuration, advanced technological capabilities, spacious guest rooms, excellent catering, and the opportunity to make your event truly memorable, the Munich Marriott Hotel City West is the top choice.
Header photo: Satya Anand (President Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International), Gitta Brückmann (Vice President Corporate Social Responsibility EMEA, Government Affairs Europe), René Mooren (General Manager, München Marriott Hotel City West), Pankaj Birla (Area Vice President, DACH & Eastern Europe, Marriott International), photo by BrauerPhotos / G.Nitschke
No Comments