Hotel Federwerk

The restaurant staff were wonderful, and the rooms and everything else were good. The front desk, though, was a really bad experience. For three days I dealt with aggressive replies to simple questions from the short-haired woman and the blonde woman with long hair. When I felt unwell and asked for a late checkout, the blonde woman said I couldn't keep my room because it was booked, even though the whole floor looked empty. I had to go back and forth with her before she let me pay for the extra time. I paid $80 to stay three more hours because my stomach was bothering me. It all felt very strange, and after those interactions I won't return.

The hotel puts a lot of effort into sustainability and has tasteful decor throughout, from the lobby to the restaurant and bedrooms. It's about 15 minutes from Triberg. We asked for a crib for our infant and were pleasantly surprised to find several baby products and a diaper pail in the room. That thoughtfulness deserves top marks. The amenities are world class, though the lack of air conditioning was a minor inconvenience during the very hot weather when we visited.

We'd stayed at several places since arriving in Germany, and this was easily our favorite. It's a beautiful, well-kept gem in the black forest, with an awesome view over the surrounding town. You can tell the people who put it together really care. We were greeted kindly at check-in, and everyone we met was welcoming. The rooms were very nice, and breakfast was great.

The location is good, though don't expect it to be like Triberg. I came with my family and kids and left unsatisfied. We stayed three nights, but on the last day there weren't even water bottles in the room. During Easter weekend it was incredibly hard to find one. Breakfast had few choices, and the chef's omelettes and scrambled eggs were pathetic. I had to keep asking for fresh fruit to get juice; with 30-35 people there, they put out one bowl containing a single sliced apple. It seemed like they expected people to eat it with a spoon. The rooftop's hours were unclear and it only stayed open until 20:00. The restaurant had the same sort of issue. The hotel needs major improvements to its service.