Hotel Restaurant Kniebishöhe

“Greeting the New Year in Style”

A couple of years ago, in mid - December, my wife Ann and I decided to visit Germany’s Black Forest region for a few days, staying at the Kniebishöhe Hotel Restaurant, in the little village of Kniebis, 11km up the road from Freudenstadt. We had such a lovely time, the area was so beautiful and our … more

A couple of years ago, in mid - December, my wife Ann and I decided to visit Germany’s Black Forest region for a few days, staying at the Kniebishöhe Hotel Restaurant, in the little village of Kniebis, 11km up the road from Freudenstadt. We had such a lovely time, the area was so beautiful and our hosts so welcoming and kind, we decided we’d spend New Year’s Eve there in 2019. It’s quite possible to use public transport to reach the hotel, using a combination of trains, trams and finally a short bus trip, indeed, when you’re a guest in the region, you’re given a Tourist card which along with various discounts, entitles you to free public transport in the region. We made excellent use of this card, it’s genuine value for money, however if you wish to visit various other attractions and towns in the region, it’s best to have a vehicle. For us in future, we’ve decided we’ll use public transport to Freudenstadt, then hire a car. Kniebishöhe is a typical Black Forest hotel, picture postcard perfect from the outside with a charming German interior – as a foreign visitor, it’s wonderfully authentic, not just another bland four star hotel. I don’t mean it’s old fashioned, rather you feel privileged to be off the overseas tourist track and staying at a genuine home based German / Austrian / Swiss tourist destination, for during the winter months, this is a skiing destination and in the summer months, a hiking destination. Make no mistake, you will have to book in advance! The hotel has three floors of accommodation, some rooms have balconies and some rooms have a second bedroom. They also have family accommodation units close by. The rooms are not large, but they’re beautifully presented with plenty of power points and excellent hot, pressured showers. We’ve now stayed in both a Balcony single bedroom and a two bedroom unit. We found the two bedroom unit more practical in terms of luggage space and my wife said it was very handy if I snored! The rooms are serviced daily. Our only compliant would be the absence of Wi-Fi in the bedrooms. There is Wi-Fi (free) downstairs in the lobby, the fireside seating area and the dining room, but what that leads to, is everybody sitting down to meals looking at their phones – the last thing you want to do. Which does rather segue into the meals. The hotel is dog friendly – yes, you can bring your dog to stay, although whether we’ll ever bring our dog Zoey from Perth, Western Australia, is problematic! Oh, in case you're wondering -loaded with luggage and skis etc, yes, the hotel has a lift. The food is fantastic, one of the reasons we’d vowed to return. The hotel does a traditional German breakfast every morning and diner every night, however they don’t offer lunches, which is utterly practical, as guests are out exploring, hiking, or skiing and there are cafes around the area, although be warned, the little village of Kniebis has nothing open, other than the roadhouse, if you needed to stock up on things, you do need to pop down to Freudenstadt, easy enough during the working week, but more difficult on weekends (if you’re relying on public transport). Silke Marti and her husband Daniel Schnell own and run the hotel – they took it over around three years ago. Silke runs the office and Daniel the kitchen, they are the loveliest hosts and can’t do enough for you, we were treated like old friends when we arrived. This was a special New Year’s Eve package, offering (on New Year’s Eve, champers on arrival along with appetisers, before sitting down for a six course meal, followed by fireworks at midnight. We started around 6.30pm, with host David running through the proceedings for the night, as we enjoyed the champagne, then we sat down to enjoy the stunning menu. Wine is available by the glass, which is important when you have several differing courses, however we were fortunate to meet another couple , James and Ingrid and we shared bottles. Around 11.45pm, we all rugged up to go outside for the hotel fireworks display. I should add there was no snow this New Year’s Eve, but it was still cold and crisp. We’d brought our won fireworks just in case, but there was no need, Silkie and David had organised everything. After seeing the New Year in, guests were invited into the kitchen, to meet the staff, relax and enjoy freshly cooked German Sausages and mustard. Wunderbar. Breakfast was set for later in the morning, for obvious reasons and treated as Brunch, starting at 10.00am. Like us, most guests left the following morning. Kniebishöhe has various dinner events throughout each year from Whisky Nights through to Cheese Fondue nights and New Year’s Eve extravaganzas, the rates are excellent, the food is superb and the owners are lovely people to be with. If you want to visit the Black Forest, whether to ski in the winter, or hike, (summer or winter), I can’t recommend this hotel enough. We’ll be back. Greg Ross

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“Good option but a bit far from Freudenstadt”

We stayed at Hotel Restaurant Kniebishöhe for one night on our journey through the Black Forest. We had a prior reservation, and the check-in process was not the traditional one as it was late when we arrived, but we encountered no issues. The room was comfortable, with an old-fashioned style but … more

We stayed at Hotel Restaurant Kniebishöhe for one night on our journey through the Black Forest. We had a prior reservation, and the check-in process was not the traditional one as it was late when we arrived, but we encountered no issues. The room was comfortable, with an old-fashioned style but a renovated and attractive bathroom. The hotel offers free parking with ample space available. The hotel is located in a very remote area (it was a bit challenging to find) and approximately 10 kilometers from the city center of Freudenstadt (Marktplatz Freudenstadt) via the road. The highlight was the typical German breakfast served in a charming and traditional setting, attended by an extremely friendly lady willing to provide everything at her disposal. It was included in the rate. If you don't mind the distance to the city, it's an affordable option in Freudenstadt.

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“Polite and clean for a stop-over.”

Location of Kniebis: About 10km west of Freudenstadt the nearest rail station. Buses to Kniebis from Freudenstadt every hour weekdays or two on Sundays during day. Ideal hiking country with Kniebis at the top of a mountain pass. The town was once a holiday Mecca but lost our to cheep package holida… more

Location of Kniebis: About 10km west of Freudenstadt the nearest rail station. Buses to Kniebis from Freudenstadt every hour weekdays or two on Sundays during day. Ideal hiking country with Kniebis at the top of a mountain pass. The town was once a holiday Mecca but lost our to cheep package holidays in 1970/80s and most hotels closed. No shops except petrol station on Black Forest highway which now bisects the village. Hotel Kniebishohe: Functional, polite and clean. Note sign there states booking.com rates do not include breakfast contrary to their site. Excellent evening meals of high quality with side salad, main and ice cream with soft drinks averaging around 50euros per person excluding beer or wine. Note external dining is in tarmac area shared with car parking(attached image). Internal dining area dated but clean and with polite service. Mostly German guests but host speaks English. ‘Breakfast’ is Continental style only. Lunch packs available for extra charge. Rooms with small en-suite are sufficient but for non Germans be aware there are no in room coffee/tea facilities. Also that our double room turned out to be a twin bed room (all they are here). No air conditioning, in room safe or mini fridge. Dogs present in guest rooms, breakfast and evening dinings areas. One major failing was a pre declared potentially fatal allergy which was not picked up from the booking. Constant reminders at mealtimes were required. Even checking prior to ordering a meal resulted in an unsuitable selection being delivered of which some then needed to be set aside. Suitable options were limited and reduced desert selection only to ice cream. At one stage the allergy vs meal contents was challenged by host.

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