The Bavarian Alps and their spa houses
Luxury hotels in Bavarian Alps
8 hotels
The Bavarian Alps are the wall of peaks along Germany's southern edge, an hour or two south of Munich. The range runs from the Allgäu in the west to Berchtesgaden in the east, and so do the houses, from the castle in the Elmau valley and the Tegernsee shore to the Obersalzberg and the Allgäu. The hotels here are not palaces of the Swiss kind: they are castles in their own valleys, lakefront houses, English country manors, farms turned retreats and family resorts grown over a century, and nearly every one of them is built around wellness — several pools, a battery of saunas, a spa that takes up half the grounds. Elmau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen sit under the Wetterstein and the Zugspitze; the Tegernsee keeps the lake; Berchtesgaden climbs the Obersalzberg with the Watzmann behind; the Chiemgau runs between the Chiemsee and the Kampenwand, halfway to Salzburg; the Allgäu rolls west toward Oberstdorf. Two seasons, ski from December to March and summer from May to October, and the houses run all year.
Elmau & Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The valleys under the Wetterstein and the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, about an hour and a half from Munich. Here lie the castle in the Elmau valley, the English manor at Kranzbach and the Olympic town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The neighborhoods
Elmau & Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The valleys under the Wetterstein and the Zugspitze, Germany's highest peak, about an hour and a half from Munich. Here lie the castle in the Elmau valley, the English manor at Kranzbach and the Olympic town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Tegernsee
The lake an hour south of Munich, with Rottach-Egern on its southern shore. On the water, the lakefront houses; above, the Wallberg; around them, the breweries and the beer gardens of the Tegernsee valley.
Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden · Berchtesgaden — Kasa Fue · CC BY-SA 4.0Berchtesgaden
The easternmost corner of the Bavarian Alps, closer to Salzburg than to Munich. It holds the Obersalzberg a thousand meters up, the Watzmann, the Königssee and the salt mine.
Gut Steinbach · Chiemgau — © Gut SteinbachChiemgau
The foothills between the Chiemsee, Bavaria's largest lake, and the Kampenwand, halfway between Munich and Salzburg. This is the country of Grassau, of Reit im Winkl on its high plateau, of farms and golf.
Allgäu
The rolling western end of the Bavarian Alps toward Oberstdorf, about two hours from Munich. Ofterschwang sits above the Illertal, in dairy country, with long ridges for skiing and walking.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in the Bavarian Alps?
Two. The five-star houses we list in the Bavarian Alps are Schloss Elmau, the castle of a hotel in its own valley under the Wetterstein with four spas and a concert hall, and Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt, the lakefront house of the Tegernsee at Rottach-Egern. Beside them we keep six four-star addresses, each listed exactly at the standing it holds: Das Kranzbach in the Elmau valley; Parkhotel Egerner Höfe at Rottach-Egern; Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden on the Obersalzberg; Das Achental Resort at Grassau and Gut Steinbach at Reit im Winkl in the Chiemgau; and Sonnenalp Resort at Ofterschwang in the Allgäu.
Where should I stay in the Bavarian Alps: Elmau, the Tegernsee, Berchtesgaden, the Chiemgau or the Allgäu?
Elmau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the highest peaks and the most complete resorts, under the Wetterstein and the Zugspitze, about an hour and a half from Munich; the Tegernsee for the lake, with the houses on its shore at Rottach-Egern about an hour from the city; Berchtesgaden for the Obersalzberg, the Watzmann and the Königssee, closer to Salzburg than to Munich; the Chiemgau for farms, golf and the Chiemsee, halfway between the two cities; and the Allgäu, in the west toward Oberstdorf, for the family resort on the grand scale and the gentlest hills.
When is the best time for the Bavarian Alps?
Two seasons. Ski runs from December to March at Garmisch, Berchtesgaden and in the Allgäu, with the surest snow in January and February; summer runs from May to October on the lakes and the trails, with July and August the warmest and September the clearest. The houses run all year, and the spa season is whichever month you arrive; the houses keep their own calendars on their pages.
How do I get around the Bavarian Alps?
By car, mostly: the zones are an hour or two apart along the foot of the mountains, and the houses sit in their valleys. Munich airport serves every zone in one to two hours; Salzburg is closest to Berchtesgaden and the Chiemgau; Innsbruck is nearest to Elmau. Trains reach Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Tegernsee, Berchtesgaden, Prien am Chiemsee and Oberstdorf from Munich. The houses arrange airport transfers on request.
How do I reserve a stay?
Search your dates on the hotel's page to see reference rates, then send the concierge a request. The concierge confirms exact rates and availability with you before anything is booked, and any payment and its timing are set out before you confirm.
