Lakefront Hotel in Bavaria Suggestions?

If it has to be a steamer, Chiemsee and Ammersee are your only choices in Bavaria, I think.
See http://www.seenschifffahrt.de/en/home/ (they also have information on Königssee, Starnberger See and Tegernsee)

Thank you, will look it up. I think steamers are great for sightseeing without having to walk very much.

Ah, thought you insisted on an old-fashioned steam-engine boat.

For Prien, I would avoid to stay there, it's really a tourist trap, very busy, especially at the lake shore, which is about 2kms away from the village centre. Though there are hotels near the pier of course. Starnberg in contrary is very silent and picturesque and you get there by the Munich S-Bahn, which is a trip of less than 30 minutes from Munich city centre. For Herrsching at Ammersee 50 Minutes from Munich.

My favorites are the towns along the Ammersee. I first traveled there on a student tour in 1968, and I make it a point to go back every trip. There are a number of lovely hotels and restaurants on and very near the lakefront in both Herrsching and Dießen.

Getting there from Munich could not be easier. From the Munich Airport, Marienplatz or Hauptbahnhof, simply take S8 southwestbound to the end of the line at Herrsching. From the S-Bahn stop it's about a 200-meter walk to the lakefront, hotels, restaurants, and the paddle-wheel ship dock. From Herrsching it's a 20-minute ride on the stately ship across the Ammersee to Dießen, an old market town known for its sailing schools and annual pottery market. It's not on the international tourist grid at all, but it is very popular with German weekenders.

From Herrsching you can also take a local bus to Andechs, a hilltop monastery where the Benedictine monks have been brewing great beer since the 15th Century.

Photos of Herrsching and Dießen here; information about the ships on Ammersee here.

In addition to Jeff's suggestions, I'd also recommend Tegernsee. It's only one hour by train (http://www.bayerischeoberlandbahn.de/) from Munich. Since it is a touristy area there is a lot of good infrastructure for visitors (resturant, hotels, pensions, etc) including a great Brewery/Restaurant right on the lake, Bräustüberl Tegernsee. The lake has several small villages surrounding it which are joined by bus (free if you are staying in the area), a foot/cycle path or ferries. While the mountains are not as dramatic as GaP or Austria there is still plenty of good hiking too. One good hike is to take the cable car up to the top of Wallberg and hike to a nearby hut for lunch and a beer.

It's my goto lake in Bavaria.

DJ

Edit to include relevant links:

Tegernsee English website: http://en.tegernsee.com/

Videos and photos (German): http://www.tegernsee.com/panoramen.html

One of my top favorites with a dogleg to the south in Austria is the Achensee. I like the town of Pertisau. No old city but it has everything for tourists. There are gondolas in Pertisau and in the town of Maurach up to the Rofan. No steamer, but boats running on the lake all day in the high season (none in winter). There is a steam train the Achenseebahn. Many hotels some right on the lake and restaurants and even a golf course. Buses run regular routes in the area. Unfortunately I do not think there is a train direct to Achensee, but you can get there by train and bus. You are also right next to the Nationalpark Karwendel.
https://www.achensee.com/tirol/pertisau/
http://www.achenseebahn.at/index.php/fahrplan.html
http://www.rofanseilbahn.at/sommer/
https://www.achensee.com/wetter-webcams/

Not Bavaria, but the beautiful, large Bodensee (Lake Constance).
The Hotel Ochsen is very close to the lake shore and the views are lovely.
Great breakfast buffet with outdoor seating.
Excellent restaurant in the hotel and just steps away from the town (Ueberlingen) center.

Sorry, I should have added that there are are many boats with trips to the islands in the lake.

It's not a lakeside town, as such, but the Riesersee Hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen has it's own private lake.

Thank you, everyone for your suggestions. I'll be spending some time on the computer looking everything up. I'm so glad to find out that there's more out there than Chiemsee. I mean, I know there are other lakes but really wanted the personal recommendations y'all gave me. As to Bodensee - I've actually visited Konstanz and the Insel Mainau and then took the car ferry across. With air fares to Zurich very competitive from Atlanta, I actually thought about it; Konstanz is a very short train ride from there.

Not Bavaria, but the beautiful, large Bodensee (Lake Constance).

To be orthodox, Lindau is in Bavaria and is a nice historical town with several lake front hotels.
Good train connections to Austria (Bregenz, Feldkirch) Switzerland (St. Margarethen, St. Gallen) and even to another less well known foreign country called Baden-Württemberg.

If you can venture a bit farther from Munich to the stunning lakeside villages of Weggis and Vitznau in Switzerland - your dreams could be reality. Beautiful hotels right on a crystal clear lake with lake steamer stops right in front. Fabulous restaurants, snow covered alps in the background. My favorite hotel of all time in Weggis is the SeeHotel am Gotthard:

http://www.gotthard-weggis.ch/en/welcome/

I hope you can get there. It sounds EXACTLY like what you're looking for.

Tim, love your suggestion! The hotel really appeals to me and the location looks fabulous. It's so close to Zuerich, too - I like their airport. It recently was one of the less expensive places to fly into from Atlanta, compared with Frankfurt and Muenchen. Thank you!

One more vote for Tegernsee. It has a nice "Alpine Lake" feel to it, at least to me, that I don't get from looking at photos of some of the other lakes close to Munich. I can still vividly recall my walk around the whole lake one fine summer morning in 1982. Funny, the things you do as a 15 year old. Also, the towns are right along the water.

One more vote for Tegernsee. It has a nice "Alpine Lake" feel to it

This holds for Schliersee as well, which is smaller but less busy. E.g.,
http://www.schlierseerhof.de/en/home.html