Schloss Elmau

I can't say enough nice things about this vacation. The property is beautiful with a backdrop of the Alps; The numerous restaurants and eating options were all fantastic; Our room was perfect; Walks on the trails were spectacular; and the staff, the staff were always smiling and happy to answer any question or accommodate any request. The jazz concert celebrating Christmas music was wonderful and added to the magic of the entire experience. The pools, saunas and yoga were wonderful and perfectly matched to the experience. I have a few more places on my bucket list but I really hope to return here one day to enjoy the wonderful experience (and the elephants, you'll understand when you go!). Many thanks to all of the staff who did so many nice things to make this experience so memorable.

What a gorgeous hotel, located right next to the German Alps. We got lucky and they were covered in snow, which we could admire from the many outdoor infinity pools at the hotel. The spa was also fabulous, and I had the BEST MASSAGE OF MY LIFE from Michaela. My parents also tried the Hamman and the hot stone massages and raved about both experiences. They have so many options to choose from; you could get a new treatment every day for a week and never get bored (although you might be broke by the end). I also adored the candied almonds and chocolate they left for us in the rooms. One thing that also pleasantly surprised me was how little crowds there were. More often than not, we had entire pools to ourselves, or shared with at most 1-2 other couples. It made the entire experience feel very serene. I also was very impressed by the fact that this hotel hosted the G7 conference twice, and even displayed pictures of Merkel and Obama having a discussion on the hotel grounds! My one complaint was the sleep quality. The rooms were HOT, even after leaving the windows wide open in the middle of December. The pillows also sucked. Okay, I lied. Two complaints. While the food was very good at both restaurants we tried (Ikigai and Tutto Mundo), the service was painfully slow. Our dinners were 4 hours and 3 hours respectively. And, the waitress at Ikigai was a little rude, although the service in general at this resort was top-notch. For anyone looking to relax for a few days with gorgeous views from pools you get entirely to yourself, look no further!

We first went to Schloss Elmau in September 23 to take part in their cultural program to see Ludovico Einaudi. We were privileged to see 2 concerts whilst there and loved the intimate atmosphere. What also impressed us were the 7 pools, spas, saunas, relaxation areas, tea rooms and the incredible and exhilarating fresh water stream. This is probably one of the best spa places in Europe! Rooms are beautifully decorated in wood and gorgeous furnishings which carry the hotel's elephant motif and bars are elegant and dreamy. Food was exceptional with so many restaurants to chosoe from and the staff were truly a joy as they really made us feel welcome and part of the hotel family. Last year, the owner also made it a point to welcome us personally! The grounds are magnificent, the valley is stupendous and the scenery beyond magical! So we came back in September 2024 and stayed for a week. Although it snowed on our first morning and rained for a few days, we still made use of the wet areas and just relaxed in our room. After all, we came all the way from Australia just to stay here, so that is saying something. I think we will be back because as soon as we left the peace and serenity, we missed it. So, do put this on your list. You will not be disappointed.

To start with the positives, the Michelin star restaurant is extraordinary and the staff there are brilliant. The room was comfortable and as described and the whole family enjoyed the breakfasts. The la salle restaurant was excellent for a buffet arrangement. However, the rest of the stay was marred by poor communication. We were promised to receive via text the activities program but it never arrived, even after chasing up for two days (the texts were “broken”) and asking daily for a paper print out. On day 4 of our stay I finally found a paper version sitting on the front desk. We called for water for the room and each time waited over an hour (this is calling every 20 minutes to ask on its progress!) . Every staff member we interacted with at reception said “I’m new I don’t know”. I looked in vain for some sort of conceirge who could help plan our outings but again only found very young and inexperienced staff (eg: “I’ve never been to the Zugspitze, I don’t know anything about it”). Of course there is the excellent sports concierge team but they finish at 4pm every day (and we only found them on day 2!!!). Usually at a hotel of this calibre there is a seasoned staff member available at reception who can smooth things over and help out. On day four when I expressed my disappointment that we did not know what the activities were and felt we weren't making the most of the facilities, the young staff looked as us blankly and shrugged: no offer to put us in touch with a manager or ask how they could help. On our final day, we found the badehouse spa. This huge building and amazing adult-only facilities had not been pointed out to us on our tour on our first day and as we did not have a hotel map we did not know it existed. To echo previous posters here, filtered house water is charged, with tax, at €10 a bottle. Our son has a medical condition and needs to drink a lot of water with his meals. Yes he was eating for free but every meal we would spend €40 on water for the family, being told that it was not possible to get tap water, we had to pay for the Elmau filtered water. All in all we paid an absolute fortune and experienced a tiny fraction of what was on offer. Really disappointing, especially since we are unlikely to ever be able to afford to travel there as a family again.

Schloss Elmar is just incredible. The nature, the views, the rooms, and the service. Just unreal. We stayed in the Retreat in a suite with our children. It was huge and so comfortable. The views were amazing and we couldn't wait to wake up every morning to go explore the area. Heaven on Earth