Mandarin Oriental, Munich

An intimately scaled Mandarin housed in an 1880 former dance hall a block off Maximilianstraße — only 73 rooms, which is what makes the service work the way it does. The rooftop terrace with its heated outdoor pool and Alps view is the most photographed in Munich, and Matsuhisa Munich brought Nobu's Japanese-Peruvian cooking to the city. The newer Munich Sushi Club and Mahjong Roof Garden extend the rooftop into a small empire of seasonal terraces. Quieter than the Bayerischer Hof, more rooted than the Rosewood, with the Mandarin Oriental fan-bell service ritual intact.