Hotel Erbprinz

The Erbprinz is best known as the recipient of the first MICHELIN Star outside of France, and while the restaurant is still its chief attraction, the hotel attached to it is worth a visit in its own right. Just across the street from Ettlingen Castle in Germany’s Black Forest, this elegant 18th-century building first served as a stagecoach station; more than two centuries later, hotelier Bernhard Zepf turned it into a five-star hotel. The place still has an air of old-world glamour, with several open-to-the-public venues — a cozy wine bar, a cigar lounge, and Café Erbprinz, overseen by pastry chef Jasmina Knevel, wife of the restaurant’s chef, Ralph Knebel — adding to the convivial, special-occasion atmosphere.

Guest rooms are refined and mostly classic in style, with dark wood flooring, richly colored carpets, and delicate linen curtains framing floor-to-ceiling windows. Newly renovated rooms are more modern, with speckled marble bathrooms, striped rugs, and wall-sized botanical murals, and suites have a vintage twist, with midcentury modern furnishings and antique details. The hotel’s crowning glory is the Sky Suite, featuring a soaking tub with views of the forest and a private terrace with an outdoor sauna. Downstairs, the hotel’s beautiful spa has an ethereal indoor pool, a snow room, and Japanese-style relaxation rooms with built-in wooden daybeds, perfect for unwinding after sightseeing — or a multi-course meal with wine pairings.