Palmenwald Schwarzwaldhof

The hotel is well located, 5 minutes on foot from the city, it is very quiet, the rooms are comfortable, the only downside is that the bathrooms are small and the shower trays are slippery. The staff is perfect, friendly, and attentive to the clients. The meals are good and very generous.

I booked the Palmenwald Hotel in Freudenstadt for 2 people in May 2026. Even upon arrival, it was noted that the photos provided for the hotel no longer corresponded to reality. The exterior of the hotel already looked quite worn out. On the day of arrival, a four-course meal was included in the price. When we were taken to our table, bread and butter were already on it; the butter was already very warm. We had to notice that on all the other tables, the butter was also there without any guests sitting at the table. HACCP? For the appetizer, there was a salad that was carelessly slapped onto the plate with pre-made potato salad, 2 pieces of cucumber, bell pepper, and zucchini; one could taste that it was not fresh but from a jar, and the dressing was also a pre-made dressing from a bottle (if one knows a bit about gastronomy, one can taste that); there were no onions included either. Then there was soup, which was very salty. For the main course, there were pork medallions with a potato crust, spaetzle, and vegetables. The medallions were 10 cm thick and very dry, the vegetables had no flavor, and the spaetzle were from a package. To make matters worse, the food was almost cold. We told the server that the food was almost cold, and the plates were taken away without a word. About 10 minutes later, the food came again and was placed down. Another server came shortly after and asked, "Is it warm now?" Then came the dessert, chocolate cake with fruit salad. The cake was dry, and the fruit salad consisted of a slice of orange and three teaspoons of extremely small diced kiwi, melon, and pineapple; oh yes, there was also a quarter of a strawberry on top. We were not asked during the meal if we would like anything to drink, even though the glasses were empty. We then told the server that we were going to our room; she replied that we needed to sign the bill (for the drinks, as the food was included in the price). The server walked away, cleared all the surrounding tables, got the bill, brought the bill to all the other tables, and finally to us. When I then addressed her about how it was possible that all the other tables were cleared in peace and received their bills first, and how we were last even though we wanted to leave, I was only looked at without a word. I then brought it up at the reception regarding the food, stating that I had been to many hotels but had never experienced anything like this. With the staff, one gets the impression of a motto that says, do not talk to me; there is no eye contact or a smile. One does not feel comfortable or welcome. The beds are so hard that I had back pain every day. At the reception, we were given a voucher for two free drinks with the words, this should not be the case; she will clarify it and let us know. We redeemed the vouchers at the bar; that was not our concern at all. The server said, ah, you are the ones with the vouchers; the drinks came, here you go. At the neighboring table sat regular guests who have been coming for years; they were served nuts with their drinks and chatted sporadically. From inside, one could hear them say to other people, yes, when I say last round, then you can still order something, but then drink up quickly, at most half an hour, because we also want to finish our shift. And that is simply unacceptable. At checkout, we were asked how it was; we told the lady everything that her other colleague had been informed about two days prior; when she asked if she knew anything from the colleague, she said she would get back to us, she only knew that it was taken care of. So I know that this was the first and last time I stayed at this hotel. Very unfortunate and disappointing.

Very beautiful nostalgic hotel - the ambiance fits. The beach bags are quite outdated (seams torn, holes, ...) the "wellness area" is very small, loud, and not inviting at all. I also enjoyed the breakfast buffet and the friendliness of the staff in the restaurant. The staff seems disinterested, and the atmosphere is not inviting or hospitable. There is a strangely unfriendly mood, even among the guests. However, whether a parking fee should be charged to hotel guests is questionable in my view. All in all, I cannot recommend it.