Feriendorf Schwarzholz

Really great.

What a great holiday village!

The setting is a real plus: right in the Bavarian Forest, with lots to do less than 20 minutes away, and there's plenty of room for kids to play. We spent 10 days there in summer, though we left early feeling tired and disappointed. For what we got, it felt rather expensive. Our attic accommodation had the basics and was functional, but it stayed very warm at night. Being beside a horse stable also meant flies swarmed into the rooms every day, and there were no mosquito screens, so we couldn't sleep through the night. Several advertised features didn't live up to what we expected. Breakfast was listed online as an add-on, but it was served separately in a small restaurant only when enough people had booked in advance. We effectively got breakfast just 4 times in our 10 days, and once we arrived early to find the doors locked. The so-called petting zoo was a few goats you weren't allowed to touch and a couple of rabbits we saw only once. We tried the childcare once. The staff seemed unmotivated, and the children didn't really warm to them. The supervisor barely spoke and didn't even introduce himself by name.

The complex is lovely, and our apartment was modern, clean, and very well equipped for a family stay. The hallway, though, was really dirty and could do with a daily sweep by the cleaning staff. We took off two stars because the pool is badly outdated. Its liner isn't fitted properly, the drains and coping are completely yellowed, and I can only wonder what caused that. A place advertising a wellness area should bring it up to standard. We didn't use the sauna, so can't comment on it.