Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten am Schluchsee

“Vier Jahreszeiten”or four seasons - we visited this house in late February, which can be described as late winter. We don’t regret it. A quick summery to get started: - It’s a family hotel, there are kids everywhere and kids are rarely silent. You just have to consider that fact. - The hardware of house delivers what is promised. Swimming, wellness, beautiful views. - The stuff is very friendly and always present. - Breakfast and dinner is enjoyable. Now to some details: The house is huge and stretches itself on the hillside like a mace. The location is just breathtaking overlooking the beautiful black forest and “Schluchsee”. The whole ground with its many stairways and floors can be a little confusing, but you will find your destination eventually. In this huge area the house offers what one can expect from a four-star hotel. The facilities are good in general though a little worn. The age of the hotel can´t be hidden. But don´t get me wrong; everything is clean and well maintained. There is a lot of very friendly stuff always willing to guide you through the labyrinth 😉 or help you in any other way. The stuff is not always fluent in German, but English is fine. I value good service in general and I am totally satisfied with my experience in the four seasons. The kitchen is on the level that can be expected. Not overwhelming but definitely no real complains either. What you need to consider is the fact, that the four seasons is a family hotel. Consequently, there are kids scurrying around everywhere. If you are looking for a tranquil retreat, you might better look somewhere else. If you travel with your little ones, you hardly can do any better. So I have given the “Vier Jahreszeiten” a solid four out of five points. Thanks to the lovely stuff, we gladly will return in the future.

Stayed here in Aug 2022 and there are lots of good things about the hotel. It is large. Huge indoor play area for kids with bouncy castle, table tennis tables, football etc, but it has an echoey conference facility feel to get to that area, past an abandoned restaurant and down a maze of corridors. The pool is good and rooms are fine. Now for the *******…. We were a family of 5 and were jammed into a 4 person table for 10 days of half board. Relative to other German and Austrian hotels, this one is very impersonal and is big big big. Lots of snaking corridors. But my biggest gripe is the smallest of issues but such a ******. We paid a very significant amount per night for half board for 5 people for 10 days…..but they still charged us €5 per day to park our car - in the middle of practically nowhere. What exactly is the purpose of this? I actually still can’t get over it and it is the one single issue that will stop me ever returning. It is so absolutely petty (that and the few Euros charge per 1/2 hour to use the pool table) that I can’t get over it. Sorry, but I won’t be back because of this.

One of the great family hotels in Germany. We have stayed here multiple times with our family with three kids and have truly enjoyed the team, the friendly service, the delicious food and the wines. The hotel offers 206 rooms and has multiple restaurants that offer fine dining to family buffet. The food is always tasty and you are getting lots of options. Since the hotel touts itself as one of the best family hotels in Germany, lots is offered to keep parents, grandparents and kids happy. Beside offering a multiple course dinner for the grown ups, there are always great food options for the kids. And if the kids want something else, just ask. They are very accommodating. The offering for the kids is expansive. From kids club from 3 years old to teenagers, massive indoor play areas with multiple bouncy houses and tennis courts and soccer fields, the restaurant offers a separate kids section where the young ones can play before and after dinner, giving the older folks time to enjoy their meal and wine. The wine and restaurant manager Sebastian Straßburg often has great ideas and options what to pair with your meals and a nice selection of wines from around the world. The spa and sauna area is luxurious, with lots of options to choose from and there are multiple indoor and outdoor pools and jacuzzi to choose from as well as a kids pool with a slide. We will certainly come here again to enjoy time with the family, without missing out on the adult fun.

Arrived on Friday early afternoon for a 2 night stay and upon checkin in to our family apar**ent we went out to explore the town after which we treated ourselves on a relaxing swim in the good size swimming pool (which can become busy at times, especially in the weekend). The room was clean, breakfast buffet had everything that one generally would expect and overal service was good and friendly. The 6-course dinner on Saturday evening took quite a while (and is in fact a starter, soup, main and desert while you can try out the diverse salad bar (5th course) and if you like a cheese platter (6th course). Was not overly impressed so next time we will probably order a-la-carte or go out to for example the 100m away located Italian restaurant. Overal impressions of the hotel are good, it has a great ambiance, welcoming staff so overal very positive about our stay for a relaxing weekend.

I had the best SPA experience ever. I booked 4 nights and enjoyed the Basen Trea**ent which I didn’t really know what to expect. I just wanted to detox my body and got surprised by amazing knowledge and trea**ent from all of the employees at the hotel. The hotel also provided a great variety of food and I even could enjoy a 3 course menu ever night with my Baden trea**ent. If you like to do something good for yourself, book a couple of days in this beautiful hotel. I will be back for sure next January.

Pictures are always better looking then in reality. If you want to visit the sauna area bring your own towels from the room as in the sauna there are none. In front of our roomdoor there is a pile of forniture. Massages and trea**ents completely sold out days in advance. Infrastructure quite old and would need a rewamp.

I visited hotel early of November for a coffee and a massage trea**ent. IFirst of all the hotel needs a good renovation . Everything looks too used. I had for company my friend who is on wheelchair. There were stairs in the entrance and was not considered for how to enter someone with wheelchair. No one came to help us from the staff but a client who saw us trying to enter. Not even someone opened the glass door . This seemed to us very unprofessional and rude. After we had a coffee , I left my friend in the lobby and I went for the massage trea**ent . The spa was fine nothing special or giving the feeling that you are in a 5 * hotel . The massage room was really small and not as I expected to be for 145 euros / 50 mins . Generally and after visiting many 5* hotels I found the services of the hotel poor .

We looked for a replacement break at short notice after cancelling a week on the Isle of Arran (stratospheric Covid-incidence in Scotland) Most hotels in the upper Black Forest were already full, so on the recommendation of a neighbour (who stayed here in August 2021) we booked 4JZ Maybe we were spoiled by the König Ludwig Hotel, Schwangau - where we spent 6 days a year ago. At similar prices, perhaps our expectations were too high. But the König Ludwig experience left the 4JZ standing in many respects. The latter accepts young children, not a problem at breakfast, but when they drown out the lounge pianist at 20.15h, it messes up the experience (KL accepts only 14 years upward) . The breakfast buffet offered a wide variety - once one found one's way through the milling mass of undistancing guests (the KL buffet is far better organized) - but we found the cheeses and horse-radish sauce rather lacking in taste. Moreover the history of the hotel, and the linking of two separate complexes, has turned it, logistically into a labyrinth, so that to reach restaurant, swimming pool, wellness/ fitness facilities from many rooms - ne must ascend or descend at least one flight of stairs, and often descend or ascend another. In general, standards are good - and there are many organized activities - but IMHO not sufficiently so to warrant the price difference compared with more intimate establishments in Tod**oos or Bernau. In sum, good premium economy comfort at business class tariffs.