I currently have a hotel reservation on the south side of the Munich central train station. I’m not 100% sure it’s the best choice for me and my 4 children. I’ve stayed here before when traveling on my own and the area definitely was a little sketchy especially at night time.
Would it be a better choice to stay near Au Haidhausen?
or elsewhere??
Has anyone ever stayed at the Novotel Munchen City near Au Haidhausen?
Unless you're going to be making a lot of day trips by train or you have an enormous amount of luggage, I don't see any need to stay by the train station. I don't understand why folks often want to stay close to the station, especially since train station areas can be a little sketchy as you noted.
It's been years since I've been to Munich, so I can't make any hotel recommendations, but I would suggest looking for something that's farther from the station and that would be more enjoyable for you and especially your children. Haidhausen would be a good choice as it's a little bit more family friendly than the Altstadt, which can get somewhat congested.
the area around the Munich Hbf is a huge construction zone at the moment as the station is kept open while being rebuilt along with the surrounding area.
I will be making a couple day trips from Munich by train. But I suppose it would be just as easy to get to the main station even if I were to stay just outside the city center.
Especially now knowing there is a lot of construction going on.
Find a place north of the Residence, west of the English Gardens, near a S or U bahn stop. Something like this: https://www.siegestor.de/ That's the University district and there's good food cheap and it's only a couple minutes train ride to the center of the old town.
"Would it be a better choice to stay near Au Haidhausen?"
Generally speaking, it is a good strategy to stay near the main station (Hbf) in most cities, especially if you'll be doing multiple outings by train; outings from the Hbf are typically the most direct, and if you're within easy walking distance, you'll avoid the time and hassle of using a bus or tram both before and after your outing. And usually, the Hbf is the main target for rail connections from a given city's airport, which simplifies your transport on arrival and departure days. Nuremberg's Hbf comes to mind as a really good hotel location if outings are a big part of your stay.
Another general advantage of being near the Hbf is the availability of retail groceries, sundries, etc. on Sundays, when shopping options elswhere are nil.
The Hbf in Munich is a good place to start just about any day outing you have in mind. But it's not the only option in this particular city, and if - like Frankfurt Hbf - it's become a bit sketchy, then the München Ost station may in fact be equally convenient or more convenient for a given outing, depending on the outings you plan to take, and perhaps your Au Haidhausen hotel options put you close enough for a quick and easy escape from Munich. München Ost also offers direct rail access to/from MUC Airport. Just don't expect Sundays (or any other day) at the München Ost station to be full of shopping options, eateries, etc.
I think anywhere that is close to U or S Bahn station is fine
