Hotel Ritschlay

Quiet and peaceful, with helpful staff. The furniture is old fashioned, and Wi-Fi is only available in the lounge.

The hotel is well placed for walks, and the room was clean with good beds. Breakfast was fine. We were the only guests for one night, with no security, and the owner had gone home. There was no reception in the evening or overnight. The night before, another couple was doing BJJ, but there was still no reception, security or owner. It felt very strange. We wanted to use the advertised facilities, but the “spa” wasn’t available, the small pool was dry, and the gym was just two bikes. There was no massage, and the massage table is in the gym, separated from the bikes only by a room divider. I don’t know about the sauna, as it was switched off, which makes sense if we were the only guests. The packed lunch was one sandwich, a carton of drink, a banana and some kind of muesli bar.

The owner was so helpful and shared lots of information about possible walks. Nothing was too much trouble. We enjoyed a different, very tasty dinner every evening, so kudos to the chef. Breakfast had plenty of choice too. The room was in good order, and the hotel has a lovely panorama from its quiet location. Just be aware that the climb from the village is very steep.

We spent a week here and had a wonderful time. It’s a cozy, very German Waldhotel, with charming but not modern furniture. Our room was enormous, and breakfast was simple but perfectly fine and enough for us. We ate dinner there one evening. You get whatever they’re serving that day, so just ask what it is. It was delicious and more than enough. The owner is exceptionally friendly, gives fantastic hiking tips, and lends out hiking maps. One tip: put VIA ALTSTRASSE in your navigation, or you may have to climb an almost vertical hill ;-)