Waldhotel

Todtnau, Black Forest, Germany

7/10

Last modified: 08/11/2020

I love the mountains but it is quite a drive from Luxembourg to the Alps, so if I want to get away for a relaxing weekend with wellness, good food and some hiking, I do like to drive down to the Black Forest in the south-west of Germany. The region has a very varied landscape, including large forests as well as a mountainous area. It is known for its cultural and architectural traditions and especially for its regional food. A large number of hotels, including sport and spa hotels, can be found in the region and popular activities include hiking, Nordic walking, mountain biking and cycling as well as winter sports. However, it is not easy to find a mordern yet cosy hotel as many hotels were build in the 50s/60s/70s. Newer or renovated hotels are in the minority, so I was very happy to find a hotel which seems to very well combine tradition as well as modernity.

Location

Located about half an hour drive from Freiburg, you can find the Waldhotel (meaning "forest hotel") located on the mountain pass "Notschreipass", at 1120 meters above sea level. The 4-star family-managed hotel has 28 double rooms and flats as well as a restaurant and a wellness area and lies right in the midst of a large network of hiking, cycling and cross-country trails in a natural reserve.

The hotel sits by itself on the mountain pass, however, smaller villages and cities, such as Todtnau can be found close by. Todtnau is a small, traditional city in the Black Forest with a couple of shops, restaurant and cafes. First and foremost, the city is known for its waterfalls, which plunge over five steps a total of 97 meters into the deep and are one of Germany's highest waterfalls.

In front of the hotel you can find a bus stop with connections to Todtnau and Freiburg. This however also means that the hotel is sat right next to a busy road, with many cars and motorcycles passing by. This is a bit unfortunate as traffic can be heard in the rooms with a view towards the road.

Room

This hotel had been on my "to-try" list for quite some time as they have some very beautiful, renovated, modern rooms. This was a last minute girls trip, so we each booked a comfort double room for single use. I actually got lucky and got upgraded to a junior suite with a balcony and street view.

The room was very tastefully decorated with a lot of wood and earthy tones, respecting traditions and materials found in the region. The room came with a wellness bag, which included towels, a robe and slippers for your convenience during your stay. As this was a junior suite it had a separate seating area with a couch and an armchair. A large wardrobe offered a lot of space to hang and store clothes and shoes as well as a safe.

As I had booked just a couple of weeks ahead of the trip and had chosen a renovated double room for single use (as they do not have single rooms), this 4 day trip was not cheap. I really did enjoy my room but it also needs to be considered that I had gotten a free upgrade and that the intended cozy room would not have been so spacious.

The room including the half board came to 830 Euros plus a massage for 89 Euros as well as drinks and snacks, so in total about 1000 Euros. However, the price for the room would have been about the same if occupied by two people, slashing the price almost in half and making the hotel way more affordable. Also, their non-renovated rooms are cheaper.

A nice desk area with information material, a kettle with tea and coffee and a stocked mini bar which offered refreshments and snacks for a surcharge completed the room. A bottle of sparkling water was offered for free upon arrival. One thing to note is that this hotel is part of the Christian hotel association, which is evident in smaller details around the hotel, such as a selection of fiction and non-fiction books in the room which all have a religious theme. The flat screen TV has a large selection of mostly German channels and its position can be conveniently adjusted so you can watch it from the sofa or in bed.

The bathroom with a shower/bathtub combination has not yet been renovated, however, everything was impeccably clean, and I appreciated the large mirror as well as the large placement area for all my bathroom essentials. The only thing I did not enjoy were the complementary bathroom amenities such as shower gel, hand soap and shampoo, which were of cheaper quality. The hotel is very intent on promoting a regional and natural lifestyle, thus would have hoped to find regional and/or organic body products.

The balcony with two chairs and a little table offered a beautiful view into the countryside. However, during the day it could get uncomfortably hot when the sun was shining, with no means of making some shade. Furthermore, it was not very idyllic due to the noisy traffic on the road.

Restaurant and Bar

We had booked the hotel with half-board which included a breakfast buffet in the morning as well as a five-course dinner at night. Each room had a designated table during their stay and the restaurant offers a panoramic view into nature.

The breakfast buffet was more than adequate but more or less the same each day. The buffet offered scrambled eggs and bacon, yogurt with toppings, cereal, breads, charcuterie and cheeses, chocolate and jams, smoothies, juices, coffees and tea. The hotel did not offer the possibility to order fresh pancakes or eggs from the kitchen. However, they did have a vegan corner which I highly appreciate, even if they always put the honey in the vegan section. Most importantly, the filter coffee was good as well as their green smoothie.

Their restaurant and terrace were open the whole day, offering a lunch menu and a smaller menu during the afternoon. We tried a couple of dishes such as cheese spaetzle or their homemade cakes, which were all great. The terrace however is located on the road side of the building, so it can be noisy but it is roofed over so you can sit outside even if the sun is beating down.

The evening menu was served in a short time window, starting at 6 pm, with last orders at 7.30 pm. It included a starter, a soup, a round at the salad buffet, a main and a dessert, excluding drinks. The mains included a meat, fish as well as vegetarian option. A vegan menu can be pre-ordered during booking, which is amazing. The food overall was good, tough I enjoyed some dishes more than others but especially their fish dishes were delicious. Asparagus was in season, so we enjoyed some asparagus salad as well as an asparagus soup.

They seem to be very conscious about diets and food allergies, however, I had one very disappointing situation. The soups on the menu were always vegetarian and there was a large vegetarian salad selection at the buffet, so for the starter I always asked for a vegetarian alternative, which was either a salad or some goat cheese. One evening however, I had requested a vegetarian alternative and was still given a plate with meat. After pointing this out, the waiter argued that there was no vegetarian alternative available. I was very perplexed and I did eat the food to not let it go to waste but I tried to bring up the issue again with the waiter, and he was unfortunately very defensive and unapologetic and simply not very professional. This should not have happened in a hotel which is very clearly aware of different eating habits.

This however, was the only situation where staff did not react or conduct themselves as I would have expected them to, and for the rest of our stay the service was excellent, from the people in the restaurant, to cleaning staff, reception personal and the people working in the spa; everybody was always very friendly and forthcoming.

The hotel also has a very nice bar, which has been renovated, but they were able to preserve the traditional, cosy charm of the place. They serve nice cocktails during the evening and the beer they are serving in the restaurant and bar throughout the day and night is local and great as well. However, I found their selection of open red wines rather mediocre, the Italian as well as Spanish wine they offered were not very deep in flavor and rather bitter. A quarter liter carafe came to about 8 to 9 Euros. There are definitely better wines out there for the same price.

Wellness Area and Spa

The hotel presents itself as a wellness and sport hotel and one of the main reasons for coming to the black forest and choosing the hotel was the wellness area which looked great in their pictures online. It is important to note, that this is not an adults-only hotel and during our stay there were a few families with children of all ages as well as dogs vacationing in the hotel.

The hotel has a nicely sized indoor swimming pool with a nice view. This pool is accessible to everybody, however, the hotel offers an adult-only relaxation area, which I highly appreciated. Unfortunately, the relax-sauna, the infrared-sauna as well as the steam-sauna are all located within the pool area, which can be noisy when there are kids around. As one of the main reasons to come to the hotel was to relax and get some quiet time it was a bit disappointing that not the whole sauna area was separate from the pool area.

This is not at all to criticize that families were using the pool area or that the children were having fun, but more that the room layout is not ideal for a wellness hotel. Having the whole sauna area clearly separated from the pool area would have been a qualitative improvement to the wellness factor. Other hotels have done exactly this and/or solved this issue by setting fixed times for children to use the pool area.

The adult-only relaxation area was however very nice but not very big, with sunbeds as well as swings, where you could lay back, relax and also grab a glass of refreshing mountain water. The adult-only area also includes two nude saunas in a small chalet outside, a Finnish sauna (90°C) and an herbal sauna (65°C), as well as an outdoor terrace with some sunbeds.

One thing I was very much looking forward to, was the wellness garden of the hotel, which, according to the description has a barefoot path as well as a water trough which you can walk through to refresh yourself. The wellness garden, hidden behind the sauna chalet was disappointing, as it has a lot of potential to be a nice, relaxing space. A couple of randomly placed sunbeds without covers and only one parasol at the other end of the garden; it was not very inviting, lacked charm and was simply not the relaxing oasis I was hoping for.

We had also booked some massages at the hotel spa. My birch wood themed massage was great, with a relaxing whole body massage with birch wood oil, punctual massages with birch wood sticks as well as a face mask. This was one of the best treatments I have had in a hotel, and I was very relaxed afterwards. The spa staff was very friendly and always made sure that I was comfortable.

Nature

Sitting right in an extensive network of hiking and mountain bike trails as well as cross-country slopes, the outdoors at the Notschreipass has a lot to offer no matter what season you are visiting. The hotel offers a large number of outdoor activities, such as guided hikes, and storage facilities for sport equipment to its guests. Right across the street, there are many marked hiking and Nordic walking paths and around the hotel you will see a lot of mountainbikers, with or without e-bikes, enjoying the trails. There is also a downhill mountain bike track. For those looking for a fun activity, one of Germany's longest tobbogga runs is not far away.

During the winter, the hotel is ideally located right next to the Nordic Center Notschrei, which includes a shop as well as school for Nordic skiing activities. One of the most renowned cross-country skiing trails in Germany is actually located right at the Notschreipass and the region is known for being quite reliable with regards to snow probability in winter. The Feldberg, one of the highest mountains in the Black Forest is only half an hour away and offers skiing slopes for those looking for some downhill action.

Waldhotel am Notschreipass, Black Forest

vegetarian and vegan food options available for breakfast, lunch and dinner
modern, renovated rooms available
friendly and competent staff
great location for winter sport enthusiasts as well as hikers and mountain bikers
bus stop in front of the hotel and free public transport ticket

OUT

located on a busy road with noisy traffic
restaurant terrace facing the busy road
wellness area can be noisy
wellness garden needs some improvements
no single rooms available

Though being disappointed by the wellness factor of the hotel, it really is not a bad place to stay if you are looking for a sport hotel with a great location and some wellness facilities, also counting in the good but not exceptional kitchen, the nicely renovated rooms and friendly staff. I would also recommend double occupancy of the rooms, if possible, as it is way cheaper than single occupancy. If you only consider the wellness factor, it unfortunately falls short with regards to the saunas in the pool area, the unappealing wellness garden and the restaurant terrace facing the busy road. A shaded terrace with some chairs and sunbeds as well as restaurant service in the back of the hotel would have been great. As wellness was the purpose of this trip, the experience plus the high price left me a bit unsatisfied, nonetheless, I would still recommend this quality hotel for sport enthusiasts.

Waldhotel am Notschreipass, Black Forest

vegetarian and vegan food options available for breakfast, lunch and dinner
modern, renovated rooms available
friendly and competent staff
great location for winter sport enthusiasts as well as hikers and mountain bikers
bus stop in front of the hotel and free public transport ticket

OUT

located on a busy road with noisy traffic
restaurant terrace facing the busy road
wellness area can be noisy
wellness garden needs some improvements
no single rooms available