The city of Munich is often associated with beer halls and lederhosen, but that’s very much doing the city an injustice. Beneath this postcard version lies a far richer creative personality, and it’s this lesser-known Munich that The Dean has gone looking for with its latest opening. The Irish bor, lifestyle brand, has landed in the Westend with 281 rooms, its largest to date and second to open in Germany after Berlin in February.
Interiors come from Tatjana von Stein, the internationally recognised designer who grew up in the city and has built the hotel’s social spaces around two moments in Munich’s cultural past: its Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau, heritage, and the hedonistic energy of its 1980s nightlife. That pairing runs through curved lines, tactile finishes and crafted detailing set against glossy lacquered surfaces and theatrical lighting, with custom furniture and lighting from von Stein’s own studio sitting alongside vintage pieces sourced through Cologne’s Studio Kuhlmann and a bespoke sound system by Friendly Pressure.
Guestrooms are pared back and calm, working a soothing palette of gentle greens with subtle Jugendstil curves and discreet nods to the 1980s. Categories run from Standard Rooms up to The Dean Suite and a Penthouse Suite, and all come with the brand’s bespoke DS & Durga fragrances, created to evoke Ireland’s landscape. The lobby strikes with its cream lacquer walls, soft upholstery, and a recurring eye motif that gestures towards post-modern mysticism.
The hotel opens with a site-specific art programme, ‘The City Beneath the City’, curated by Christian Ganzenberg, author, curator, and director of Munich’s international art festival, Various Others. Taking its influence from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, the collection gathers Munich-based contemporary artists to trace the imagined and remembered layers of a city better known for its traditional art scene. The works appear throughout the building rather than only on the walls, from sculptural pieces by Ju Young Kim that fold Art Nouveau motifs into everyday infrastructure, to paintings by Veronika Hilger that sit between memory and the surreal, a commission by Jieun Park in the public spaces, interactive works by Sebastian Quast in the hallways, photography from Der Greif Studio in the guest rooms and a commission by Ossian Fraser made using material taken from the hotel site itself.
Ibasho, a modern Japanese restaurant making its debut at the hotel. The menu has been developed by consultant chef Alex Craciun, the Romanian-born cook who made his name running the kitchen at Jason Atherton’s Sosharu and now heads his own Fitzrovia restaurant, Aces Foodcraft. His signature pressed sushi leads the menu, from yellowtail with avocado and truffle to wagyu with Oscietra caviar, alongside sashimi, a robata section turning out grilled steaks and seafood, and a caviar list for pairing. Sake and cocktails match the food, with the house Seijaku Martini, a crisp mix of sake, Haku vodka, and saline finished with pickled ginger and cucumber, pitched as the way in.
Elsewhere, wellness comes under Power, The Dean’s fitness and recovery concept, which pairs an indoor pool, sauna, steam room, and treatment room with a thermal suite and contrast therapy. Group classes range from high-energy MetCon sessions to slower Restore and Flow formats built around mobility and balance, all set to music.
The Dean Munich sits on Landsberger Straße, a short walk from Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt and the Isar, in the Westend, and is now open for bookings.
