October 3, 2007

Europe | Germany | Munich

Cheers to Charles!

By Nicole Cotroneo

From Rocco Forte's new luxury digs you've got two views — botanical gardens and the Alps.

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As the last of the steins clink for Oktoberfest, Sir Rocco Forte is poised to inject Munich with a reviving shot of elegance. Tomorrow, the ambitious hotelier introduces his third German property — following Berlin’s Hotel de Rome and Frankfurt’s Villa Kennedy last year — and right on the heels of his new Geneva outpost. Named after legendary hotel magnate Lord Charles Forte — Rocco’s late father — the $87 million Charles Hotel (pictured), is a custom-built, eight-story gem in the heart of the Bavarian city. Blinged out with original Franz von Lenbach paintings, every guestroom looks onto botanical gardens; while the 5,000-square-foot presidential suite offers a massive terrace from which you can even view the Alps. When Munich’s annual beer fest (which, by the way, isn’t actually called Oktoberfest), finally shuts down the taps Sunday, exhausted revelers can begin recovery at the Charles’ spa, sobering up in the steam room, sauna and 50-foot swimming pool — and not a moment too soon.