Nature Titisee

“Very nice hotel in a beautiful area”

For those that swear by Rick Steves books, well, he got it wrong for this location. We wanted to explore the black forest and used Steves as a guide. He made it clear how much he disliked the Lake Titisee area and did not understand why the Germans liked it. He also felt that visitors to the b... more

For those that swear by Rick Steves books, well, he got it wrong for this location. We wanted to explore the black forest and used Steves as a guide. He made it clear how much he disliked the Lake Titisee area and did not understand why the Germans liked it. He also felt that visitors to the black forest should adjust their expectations and that it was not scenic. Obviously personal taste but he was wrong on both accounts. This hotel is located on lake titisee which is a small lake in the forest. It makes a nice base to see the black forest. The hotel itself is very heavy in wood inside and out (almost something Disney would create if they were constructing rustic German). Hotel is on a hillside. What is interesting is that while the main building contains hotel rooms, there are many rooms on the hill above the hotel. In fact, it almost seems that these rooms might have originally been designed as apartments. Check in was smooth and easy. Staff very nice. Area very, very beautiful. Lobby and bar area are one and small. Downstairs is the restaurant serving breakfast (included) and other meals. Breakfast was outstanding as was the service. Views of the lake from most of the seating. Dinner menu was good but did not seem to change during our stay. There is a sauna onsite (we did not use). Our room (hill behind the hotel) was very large with two levels (master bedroom below with bathroom and living room above with kitchen). Very comfortable. Had a patio overlooking the lake. Parking is easy and in front of each room. Inside the room you will need to haul your bags up/down the stairs in the room itself. Large windows overlooking lake. While we were there it snowed heavily. Unreal beautiful! Roads were kept constantly plowed and salted (even some of the backwoods roads). The hotel assured their pathways were plowed and salted. Drive to all points in the black forest was very easy even in the snow. Black forest was stunning (Rick Steves is from Washington while we are from S. California so he might be more used to seeing large, pine forests). There is one thing Steves did get right. There is a 'village' not far away on the edge of the lake. It is a real let down. It is wall to wall souvenir shops and restaurants of a low, tour bus grade. If you want to shop for souvenirs try real towns along the roads in the black forest - Cuckoo clocks everywhere, beautiful beer steins, christmas ornaments. I would highly recommend this hotel for visitors to the black forest because it is pictureque in a beautiful area. Keep in mind I was there during shoulder season. We did see a lot of tourist buses but compared with what we saw on YouTube it can get packed.

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