The Black Forest and its country hotels
Luxury hotels in Black Forest
4 hotels
The Black Forest is not black so much as green: ancient forest and emerald grassland along Germany's south-western edge. From the Rhine valley to the source of the Danube, from the two great houses of Baiersbronn to the golf plateau of the Baar and the foothills above Freiburg, the range has been curing people since time immemorial. Its hotels are the German country hotel at its most complete — spa first, then the table, then the trails — and two of them, at Baiersbronn in the Murg valley, have grown over generations into estates that hold their own against any resort in the Alps. Baiersbronn keeps the two great houses; the Baar plateau at Donaueschingen, where the Danube begins, keeps the golf courses and a two-star table; the foothills above Freiburg, just over the Rhine from France, keep the panoramas and the light. Green from April to October, quiet and snow-dusted from December to February, and the houses run all year.
Baiersbronn
The Murg valley in the northern Black Forest, home to the two great family houses and the deepest forest. It takes in the Tonbach and Mitteltal side valleys and the cross-country trails, about an hour and a half from Stuttgart.
The neighborhoods
Baiersbronn
The Murg valley in the northern Black Forest, home to the two great family houses and the deepest forest. It takes in the Tonbach and Mitteltal side valleys and the cross-country trails, about an hour and a half from Stuttgart.
Donaueschingen & the Baar
The open plateau where the Danube begins, with Donaueschingen and its golf courses. It lies between the Black Forest and the Swabian Jura, with the source of the river in the palace park, about an hour and a half from Zurich.
Horben & Freiburg
The south-western foothills above Freiburg, with Horben on its sunny slope. They lie just over the Rhine from France and take in the Schauinsland cable car and the cathedral city twenty minutes below, about an hour and a half from Basel.
Good to know
Which are the five-star hotels in the Black Forest?
Two, both at Baiersbronn. The five-star houses we list in the Black Forest are Hotel Traube Tonbach, the modernist country lodge of the Tonbach valley with its five restaurants and three pools, and Hotel Bareiss, the storybook estate three generations of one family grew in the Murg valley. Beside them we keep two four-star addresses, each listed exactly at the standing it holds: Der Öschberghof at Donaueschingen on the Baar, with its three golf courses and the two-star Ösch Noir, and Luisenhöhe at Horben above Freiburg.
Where should I stay in the Black Forest: Baiersbronn, the Baar or above Freiburg?
Baiersbronn for the two great houses and the deepest forest, in the Murg valley of the northern Black Forest about an hour and a half from Stuttgart; Donaueschingen and the Baar for golf and the open plateau where the Danube begins, about an hour and a half from Zurich; and Horben above Freiburg, in the south-west just over the Rhine from France, for the foothill panoramas, the light and the city of Freiburg twenty minutes below.
When is the best time for the Black Forest?
The green season, April to October, with the clearest light in September and October and the spa terraces at their best; July and August are the warmest. Winter is quiet and snow-dusted, with cross-country skiing around Baiersbronn from December to February and the spas at their fullest. The houses run all year, and each keeps its own calendar on its page.
How do I get around the Black Forest?
By car: the three zones are an hour to an hour and a half apart along the range, and the houses sit in their valleys or on their plateaus. Stuttgart airport serves Baiersbronn in about an hour and a half; Zurich and Basel serve Donaueschingen and Horben in about an hour and a half; Freiburg is the nearest city to Horben, with trains from Basel and Karlsruhe. 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.
