My two college aged children and I had spent the day in Munich, and were planning on going to…read moreBerchtesgaden the next day, so this was a well placed stop for us (it is a little over an hours drive from Munich). As you approach this area, you start to see much more mountainous terrain, which is just beautiful. The area immediately surrounding this village is filled with farms and pastures which was also very scenic and relaxing. We arrived shortly after dinner, and when we walked in there was no one at the reception desk. We looked around, and finally someone came out of the kitchen to help us. They spoke no English at all, but with some gesturing we figured out what they needed. They had us fill out a form (name, address, etc) that was all in German. Parts of the form I didn't understand (since I don't know German) and they were somewhat frustrated with me because I didn't know what to write down, yet, since they didn't speak English they couldn't tell me what to write down. So that was a little challenging. But finally we were given a key to our room on the second floor.
Our room slept three, but believe me, there wasn't a spare square inch. We were okay with that, as long as we were together that was all that mattered. Funny thing was - the bathroom was immense in German standards! We laughed that it actually looked like the bathroom square footage might have been bigger than our bedroom! But at the end of the day, a nice clean room, a nice comfortable bed, and a clean and updated bathroom all filled the bill so we were happy.
Breakfast was in the main dining room, and they had quite a nice display. Several different fresh breads, cheeses, meats, delicious fruits (they actually had fresh strawberries which was the first we had seen at any of our hotels and it was strawberry season!). They do assign you your dining table, which is nice in that you are guaranteed a seat without waiting, but then again sometimes it is nice to pick where you want to sit.
We didn't get to stay to explore the town, but it certainly looked inviting. This was a delightful stop overall, and I would recommend it! And one tip - from here to Berchtesgaden requires driving through Austria. You need to stop at a gas station near the autobahn and buy a vignette first. This is like a toll sticker for your window, and if you don't have it in Austria they levy a large fine (like 125 euro). The gas station closest to the hotel did not sell them, but they said that the ones along the autobahn did and we were able to find one closer to the autobahn. Once in Austria, at every exit there was a police checkpoint where they stopped every car to look for the vignette so make sure you get one!
