7 Best Hotels in The Black Forest, Germany

A much-loved luxury hotel founded by Hermine Bareiss in 1951 (and now presided over by his grandson, Hannes), this is one of the top hotels in Europe and one of the very best in Germany. With a three-star gourmet restaurant inside, the Bareiss helped put Baiersbronn on the map as a gourmet village and has made an art of what they call the half-pension "culinary vacation." Rooms are the size of suites, and the buildings center around the spa and sauna area with multiple indoor and outdoor pools. Families are especially well catered to, with a circus wagon, treehouse, petting zoo, and playgrounds, activity programs, and childcare.

In the northern Black Forest a few miles from Calw (accessible by car or bus in about 15 minutes), this modern hotel connected to thermal baths is a somewhat isolated getaway with all amenities in-house, including a restaurant serving local Badische cuisine and a hiking hut a few kilometers away serving some meals. The pretty spa includes heated indoor and outdoor pools, plus a relaxing sauna cabin. Don't miss the lovely forest hikes, complete with waterfall, directly behind the hotel. 

One of the best hotels in Baiersbronn (and Germany), the Traube Tonbach offers a relaxing atmosphere with sweeping views of the Black Forest from each of its comfortable and stylish rooms, not to mention an outstanding spa and swimming pool, along with on-site child care. There has been a hotel at this location since 1789, and you'll find the more traditional rooms in the original building and the more contemporary rooms in the Haus Kohlwald building across the street; both are elegant, with cozy seating areas and wonderful vistas. A large choice of excellent restaurants includes the modernized Swadian-Badish cuisine of the Schatzhauser; the classic French cuisine of the three-Michelin-starred Schwarzwaldstube; the Asian-inflected international fare of 1789; and breakfast and gourmet classics at the Silberberg.

Right on the lake, this hotel has the best location in town, and most rooms have a balcony with great views. A spa and pool area makes for a great escape from both the summer heat and the winter doldrums (the outdoor infinity pool is heated); special packages in winter include skates and snowshoes for rent.

This appealing hotel has paintings of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's illustrations for his 1943 French children's classic, Le Petit Prince, charmingly adorning the rooms, each done in its own unique decor. The Rademacher family opened this hotel using patriarch Norbert's experience as a veteran of New York's Waldorf-Astoria and his wife Edeltraud's interior design skills to combine two elegant city mansions into a unique, antiques-filled lodging.

This handy hotel, with a waterfall and a statue of a "friendly dragon" in the lobby, is just across the road from the entrance to Europa-Park; the newest rooms, while simple, are contemporary and inviting and come in a range of sizes, including a family room with bunk beds. It's also only 300 yards from a nature preserve and swimming area, and guests can park there free. Though there are no formal restaurants on-site, the Street Food Market offers food and drinks all day long.

This small guesthouse on the road between Titisee and Neustadt offers a unique charm just a few kilometers away from the crowded lakeshore. The modern rooms come with a balcony overlooking the rural landscape, a kitchenette for your private use, and a friendly husband-and-wife team happy to meet all your needs. Family-friendly and quiet, the hotel serves as a nice practical base and only takes bookings via email directly, not using an online portal. A stay of at least two nights includes use of the Hochschwarzwald card, offering discounted and free admission to a number of sights around the area.