Hotel Jagdschloss Kranichstein

過過週末，可以的

After a long drive I arrived here at 2 p.m. - and the room was not ready yet. What a pity. It was not supposed to be ready until 4 p.m., as advertised. Fortunately, I was offered a room category in the main building (10 euros cheaper) that was supposed to be ready more quickly. It works! The room was very spacious, the furnishings were absolutely fine, a separate toilet in the bathroom would have been nice. Dinner in the bistro: very attentive waiter, limited but tasty menu, everything was good. One note: the walk from the parking lot to reception is really annoying with luggage because the parking lot is paved with gravel. So no "rolling suitcases" - you'll have to carry them. All in all, a bumpy start (not the hotel's fault) and a successful ending.

A perfect place for a family reunion: beautiful rooms, the park, the food, the forest. You can stroll, have brunch on Sunday, relax in the shade of the trees or linger in the small beer garden. We were looking for a place where our small family, who live well spread out across the globe, could meet up again. Where we could talk, eat, enjoy ourselves, walk in the forest, relax in the park, read a book or just get out of each other's way. The proximity to Frankfurt Airport is both a blessing and a curse: there are planes all day, but it's also a short journey for family members who have to travel from other continents. The rooms: beautiful, clean, well equipped. The rooms directly behind the castle are very nice, especially numbers 201 to 206, as 207 and following are at the front, towards the main building, where the kitchen can't be missed if there's a wedding on Saturday evening. All the other rooms: perfect. And if you want even more peace and quiet: in the armoury, a beautiful, huge, solid natural stone building from ancient times, just a few minutes' walk through the forest, you will find the quietest rooms in the middle of the forest. For dog lovers: you can bring them with you. And they are well integrated: when we arrived there were two dog blankets on the floor, two ceramic feeding bowls, and we were not the only ones with dogs. The surrounding forest means you are immediately surrounded by greenery, even at night when a dog needs to go out. For non-dog lovers: the rooms of our dogless family members were spotlessly clean, no dog hair, no smell. The food was excellent. Breakfast is served in the main building and is as extensive as I have rarely seen: not just scrambled eggs and bacon, sausages and eggs, but also Kaiserschmarrn, various types of muesli and cereal, all kinds of bread, honeycomb honey, plus various really good types of tea, a samovar, and all kinds of coffee. I could have spent the day in the breakfast room. On Sunday there was a brunch: a huge buffet, not too much, but everything: fish, meat, vegetables, pasta, salads, desserts. Of really very good quality. There was also pleasant, very beautiful piano music, played live by a friendly pianist, just loud enough to be heard and quiet enough to have a good conversation. In the evening we had reserved a table on the terrace, and here too there was a wonderful meal, from salad with salt marsh lamb to veggie plates to fish or meat. Hotel, food, service, it was wonderful. Were there any less pleasant things? A few minor things: the main road behind the castle can be heard, but not very loudly (if you sit outside on the terrace). You can't hear it in the rooms. I've already mentioned the airplanes, but that didn't bother us at all. The rooms are easy to ventilate, but are not air-conditioned.

We arrived and just wanted to shower before dinner, but unfortunately there was no hot water. The receptionist was very friendly and promised to take care of it quickly! So we could only go to dinner sweaty. This part of the hotel is about 800m from the main building and the rooms on the first floor don't have a lift, so it was difficult to carry our suitcases up!!! The waiter in the restaurant tried hard and tried to ease our frustration a little. My soup was missing the pumpernickel filling and the fish dish that was advertised as two fish fillets and salmon was missing! When we paid, he gave us the drinks as compensation! Unfortunately there was still no hot water and they promised that it wouldn't be long. Then we got a drink on the house at the bar. At 10.30pm we walked down the very dark path to our room. I was very glad that I didn't have to walk the path along the edge of the forest alone. I wouldn't stay there again under these conditions! The staff were very friendly and helpful though. The breakfast was good, but for 19€ per person it should be.

The conference package in Germany typically costs between 50 and 80 euros per day. At the Kranichstein hunting lodge it is 90 euros. Everything else, from accommodation to drinks, is also above average in price. We had a seminar with 14 people. Then the question was how many people there could be at most. Our answer was a maximum of 17. The hunting lodge said: After consulting the kitchen, we have to decide on a number of people because we have to order. If you order fewer people than there will be for lunch, we cannot guarantee that there will be enough. Is that a joke? A restaurant haggles over 3 people, which according to the terms and conditions must be decided a week in advance. And so it goes on. It's nice that there are still alternatives in Darmstadt.

Beautiful property. We had a luxury room that unfortunately had no air conditioning. Fortunately the worst of the heat was over, but it was sweaty. Located beautifully with a spacious garden around it. Good restaurant. It is also a beautiful location for a wedding party and that was not the case for us. The staff was clearly more concerned with that than with us as individual guests. Not much of a welcome. We finally asked for the welcome drink promised when we made the reservation and the response was strange. During the reservation we mentioned that a dog was coming with us. The reservation asked for what type of dog was coming so that a suitable welcome gift would be ready. Apparently they don't like this type of dog because... no gift. In short, a great experience, but it remains a one-off.

This house has many beautiful sides. Its enchanting location in the middle of forests and lakes is particularly worth mentioning, something that Landgrave Georg I of Hesse-Darmstadt already appreciated. The hotel offers its guests relaxing peace and idyllic views. Our room looked out onto the beautiful castle courtyard; if you lay on your bed with the window open you could hear birdsong, nothing else. Our room was tastefully furnished, had a very modern, attractive bathroom, a separate toilet and our dog had also been thought of. Two soft beds of different sizes awaited our four-legged guests - who we were allowed to take everywhere with us, including to the restaurant and the bar area. In the latter we drank our cocktails after dinner, which were of very good quality. The breakfast buffet offered varied, fresh food of good quality. We would also like to highlight the fitness room, which was equipped with a pleasing amount of good equipment, especially for weight training. We had dinner in the "Kavaliersbau" restaurant. What we liked: Our dog got water faster than we got the menu :-) We were also given a quiet, spacious corner table. The vegetarian menu (chicory, carrot, powerade, celeriac, lentils) was finely coordinated and we really enjoyed it. The only thing we weren't impressed with was the wine pairing; we had expected more. Every now and then we took our dog outside the castle walls for a walk. The lake with its many ducks and birds is extraordinarily beautiful; you don't even feel like you're so close to a larger city. We can thoroughly recommend the hotel.