Five star deluxe: These are the top hotels in Germany

Guests want to be “surprised”

Over the past few years and decades, the expectations of hotel guests have changed. Instead of an excellent location and magnificent interior, other criteria are now in the foreground in high-end hotels. In addition to top-notch equipment and first-class service, the focus is on modern wellness concepts, the lifestyle factor for successful social media posts and a “surprise effect.” The well-known hotel tester and driving force behind the “101 best hotels in Germany”, Carsten K. Rath, explains what it means: “When I travel, I don't want to experience the same as at home, I want to be surprised and inspired, discover new things.” The mental attitude of hotel staff towards guests also plays a decisive role, says Rath: “I can find friendliness in many places, because it can be bought. Not cordiality. Big difference! Cordiality cannot be trained; it is a prerequisite, an attitude. When I strive for the well-being of my guests, it is always about a connection between people. The key question is: Is it unique, special, warm-hearted, honest, authentic, credible? Or just sober, satisfying, maybe friendly?”

In addition to new requirements for the “soft skills” of personnel, the industry is observing a A trend away from large, often internationally standardized luxury hotels to smaller and individually designed houses and resorts. Instead of pomp and show off, peace, closeness to nature and sustainability are on the wish list of many guests.

Germany's top hotels — and newcomers

An objective assessment of the environment, equipment, service and hospitality is a challenge in the hotel sector. This also applies when compiling the “101 best” ranking. That is why, before the first edition in 2020, the initiators spent a long time talking about Principles of ranking thought about it.

These include:

• Service Excellence
• independence
• objective
• transparency
• No influence on the part of the hotel
• dialogue
• Input
• registered trademark
• Latest publication of results

The board of trustees of the 101 best consists of experienced experts, such as Annegret Wittmann-Wurzer, Professor of Hospitality, Tourism and Events at the IU International University. She explains how to compile the ranking: “We combine guest feedback, quality assessments from experts and international rankings and thus rely on multidimensionality in our approach.” Michael Raschke from Handelsblatt, Wybcke Meier from TUI Cruises and founder Carsten K. Rath himself also sit on the committee.

In the end, by including a variety of data sources and also through the use of statistical methods, a result is achieved which enables an evaluation of Germany's top hotels as objectively as possible.

The best hotels in Germany

Defending champion “Hotel of the Year”: Four Seasons Hamburg

For the fourth time in a row and thus since the first edition of the ranking of “101 best hotels in Germany”-The jury named the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in the Hanseatic city “Hotel of the Year”. Its philosophy is: Service excellence — employees are the heart and soul of the hotel. Hotel founder Friedrich Härlin said to his wife: “It's like at home when we invite guests over. We don't do anything else at the hotel - just that everything is a bit bigger.”

The Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten on Neuer Jungfernstieg in Hamburg has a long history. It was opened as early as 1897 as a small, inconspicuous house with just eleven rooms and three bathrooms on the Inner Alster and converted into a luxury hotel by owner Friedrich Härlin. With the acquisition of further neighboring properties in 1909, the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten expanded by a further 140 living rooms and bedrooms. In 1928, all hotel buildings were uniformly extended and provided with a long viewing balcony facing the Alster on the 5th floor and crowned with the distinctive green copper roof. Despite several modernizations and changes of ownership, one thing has always remained the same at Vier Jahreszeiten Hamburg: the founder's motto “Service, Service, Service”.

Best Grand Hotel: Breidenbacher Hof, Düsseldorf

As a Düsseldorf institution, the Breidenbacher Hof for over 200 years his guests on Königsallee. The turn-of-the-century architecture and elegant interiors ensure a luxurious style of the highest level. In 1806, entrepreneur Wilhelm Breidenbach had the vision of reaching a grand hotel in the metropolis of Düsseldorf and bought a plot of land at auction. However, the classicist building burned down almost completely during the Second World War and was rebuilt by 1950. However, the hotel had to be demolished in 2005 due to the poor structure and only made a proud comeback in 2008. Since then, the Breidenbacher Hof has won numerous awards and has repeatedly hosted world stars such as George Clooney or Harry Styles.

Newcomer of the year: Hotel Engel Obertal

In the Newcomer of the Year category, the winner was Hotel Engel Obertal in Baiersbronn. The wellness and pleasure resort in the Black Forest was the life's work of Herbert Möhrle's owner family until 2017. The hotel was then taken over by the Fährhaus Hotel Collection, which was also privately run, and a new era began. The 5-star superior resort delights visitors with its fantastic “WOLKE 7” wellness and spa area, exquisite gourmet cuisine and tastefully furnished rooms, suites and chalets.

Newcomer of the year: Bachmair Weissach Spa & Resort

The newcomer of the year 2023 was Bachmair Weissach am Tegernsee. The former mill was converted between 1862 and 1863 into an inn on the river “Weissach” by mill owner Lorenz Bachmair and his wife Maria. Over the decades, a retreat of rooms, apartments, a spa, restaurant and even a world of experiences that is second to none has been created. Today, Bachmair Weissach embodies discreet luxury, with the diversity of a grand hotel and the privacy of a boutique hotel.