bruceb229
Google
My spouse and I just spent three nights here and had an overall wonderful time! We used all the facilities other than the various saunas (only because I am not interested in saunas) and the "Lady Spa: (because we enjoyed being together).||||There are already several terrific general reviews her on TripAdvisor, so I'm going to focus also on tips for visitors who may be unfamiliar with this style of resort. This is going to be my longest review to date, simply because there is so much to review!||-----||Location: The Wellnesshotel is on the outskirts of the town, overlooking ether the countryside or the garden area. It is near the crest of a large hill, so the country view extends quite a distance. Some of the neighboring properties are visible, but most of the grounds are screened to create privacy. There are lounge chairs, beds, swings, hammocks, in groups or in private nooks throughout the grounds, including sheltered quiet areas and around the indoor pool area.||||A church is nearby, but the bells are only audible if you are outdoors or your room windows or balcony doors are open. Our room overlooked the garden side and faced the church tower. Other than the church bells the only sound is generally the gentle waterfall feeding the Naturbadsee, a 750 square meter lake open for swimming in chemical-free, filtered water.||||Hotel: The building is quite large, with several wings and levels. Free underground parking is available and you may choose to have a valet park your car if you prefer. The hotel has all the amenities you would expect: The lobby is mainly an open floor plan with multiple lounge areas, a large bar with seating, a stage and dance area, and the restaurant entrance. A short hallway leads to the spa area, then continues past a gift shop to another wing with the fitness center, fitness studio, and a small gaming area for ping-pong and such. The decor is a bit eclectic, the best description I can think of is "refined rural with modern art touches." Lots of wood, but sculptural surprises. Very nice! The staff uniforms are traditional Bavarian Dirndl (think of the Oktoberfest) for the ladies, which adds a nice feeling to the ambiance. We were immediately invited to enjoy two complimentary drinks on the terrace, including the local sparking wine (Sekt). There is live music in the dance area each evening.||-----||Rooms: Summary - In short the room was highly satisfactory! |||| We ordered the "cuddle" (Kuschel) suite for our romantic getaway. Unfortunately, we discovered on our arrival that there are two floor plans for this suite and we did NOT get the one shown on the website. Our room was nice enough, but not what we expected and not quite as well laid out as the other floor plan. Tip: If you want this suite, ask for room 408 for the "advertised" floor plan on the garden side, and 403 on the outside.|||| Our room was very clean, with a greeting bottle of water, fresh fruit and candies. There were plenty of towels, two TV, Wi-Fi, mini-bar, toiletries, everything one could ask for. Most of all of the fixtures were made by Villeroy & Boch, which impressed my wife. Maid service was very efficient throughout our stay. The large bed was very comfortable, and there were many choices of pillow and bedding available. All rooms are non-smoking, but smoking is permitted on the balcony if desired. There was no air conditioning as is usually the case, but opening the doors and window allowed cooler outside air to keep the room quite comfortable. ||||Caution: The Wi-Fi connection is to a completely open and unsecured network. I do not recommend checking e-mail or connecting a smart phone, or in generally doing anything that could compromise your login or password anywhere. I also could not access any https site. This did not affect us as we were there to relax, we simply turned off our electronics and put them in the room safe for our entire stay!||-----||Restaurant: We selected the all-inclusive meal option for our stay. We had a reserved table for breakfast and supper throughout and could therefore arrive whenever we desired within the serving time without worrying about having a table. The reserved table can be in one of five differently decorated areas, all of which looked very comfortable. We also always had the option of eating outside on the terrace. The service was always thoughtful, attentive and impeccable.||||Breakfast included a large buffet including eggs to order, sausages, bacon, pancakes and a very large selection of cereals, fruits, breads, meats, cheeses, pastries, juices, coffee, teas, and I probably forgot more items! They offered sugar-free jams, and our waiters were wonderful about finding some Stevia for me when I asked for a sugar substitute with my coffee. Dress is casual.||||Lunch is a large buffet served for three hours in the early afternoon. The offerings are similar to breakfast, with different hot dishes and a large selection of cakes in addition to the pastries. Wearing bathrobe and slippers is perfectly acceptable at the afternoon buffet.||||Supper is five or six courses depending upon the day of the week, with the five-course menu changing each night and with at least two soups and two main dishes available each meal. Note: There is one exception (besides tips) to the "all-inclusive" package - Unlike at breakfast and lunch, at supper all drinks are billed separately. Every dish was delicious! Each course was stylishly presented, and the following course was only delivered when we wished so we could pause (or not) as desired. Dress is again casual, although many men wore slacks and open collar long-sleeved shirts, some jackets, and many women wore nice dresses and jewelry. Others showed up in t-shirts, jeans and athletic shoes, so there is no pressure!||-----||Swimming Pools! Summary: Absolutely marvelous.||||In addition to the Naturbadsee mentioned above, there is a very large swimming pool divided into four areas and a large hot tub. Three of the pool areas are indoors, the fourth is outdoors and connected by an automatic door. All are chemically sanitized, but with an odorless, non-irritating solution (perhaps Bromine). The pool areas are all the same depth, approximately one and a third meters or four feet.||||Area one is a rectangular swimming area. It merges with a large rounded section to one side where one can swim or float. Area three is a relaxation area with various water and air jet massage options and waterfalls, area four (outdoors) is a large rectangle with both swimming and a massage bed. We especially enjoyed the massage bed, the two standing back and leg massage stations, and the intense shoulder waterfall massage. There are three other gentler waterfalls available. ||||I found the water too warm and the depth too shallow for energetic swimming or exercise, or even for treading water. For relaxing, it was perfect! We spent several hours each day.||||Caution! The indoor tiles around the pool can be very slippery when wet. Bare feet are NOT recommended. The hotel provides sandals which work well. Caution 2: There is no dedicated lifeguard on duty.||||Tip: Look just below the waterline for buttons to activate the massage stations, and waterfalls in area two, the massage bed in the outdoor section, and a small fountain in the rounded area two.||||The hot tub is separated from the pools. It can comfortably seat over a dozen adults on the perimeter benches alone. Four buttons (see above) activate the three benches and a center fountain.||-----||Finally, the main spa. A full range of services are available a la carte, but they also offer several packages. We both enjoyed a full body exfoliation with sea salt and aromatic oil (three choices available) on our first day. We then had a wonderful couples' hot stone massage the next day, which I highly recommend! Finally, we had a romantic bath for two in a copper tub with whirlpool jets, with a choice of oil (two options) and body lotion (three). The bath experience was marred when we discovered a loose drain cover had fallen into the tub, revealing a lot of bad-smelling slime, but I expect the spa has already fixed this by now! :)||-----||All in all, this was a wonderful chance to get away from work and relax. I recommend it to anyone without hesitation, and will try to answer additional questions.
