A Classic Revisited: Wald & Schlosshotel Friedrichsruhe

Ideally located between Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Heidelberg, the Wald & Schlosshotel Friedrichsruhe is set amid manicured gardens and is surrounded by wooded parkland. Since my previous visit, this 43-room hideaway has added guest rooms in several new and historic buildings, expanded its golf course and built a 47,000-square-foot spa. The resort’s restaurants have maintained their high standards, most notably the Gourmet-Restaurant under the helm of Boris Benecke. There, the crispy-skinned sea bass with lobster foam and a succulent scallop was memorably delicious. We also feasted on a hearty ragout of braised oxtail in the Jägerstube, and enjoyed a casual dinner of bratwurst with sauerkraut in the cabin-like Waldschänke. Service in each of these restaurants was unfailingly gracious and professional.

Accommodations are divided among several buildings. The contemporary suites in the Spa Haus look tempting, as do the more traditional suites in the half-timbered Torhaus (gate house), but I still prefer a suite in the noble Jagdschloss, the early 18th-century hunting lodge. Our bright, high-ceilinged lodgings had resolutely traditional furniture and décor, including a maroon-upholstered Victorian-style sofa, a tall antique writing desk of inlaid wood, and Romantic landscape paintings.

I could easily have spent a week at this distinguished resort, taking a day or two to enjoy the spa and golf, and using the rest of the time to make excursions into the surrounding Hohenlohe, an idyllic region of groomed pastures, green mountains, steep vineyards and picturesque villages. Nearby, the town of Schwäbisch Hall and its two excellent art museums, the Kunsthalle Würth and the Johanniterkirche, also warrant a daylong excursion. Most foreign tourists have yet to discover this tract of exquisite countryside, making it an ideal break between crowded Heidelberg and the occasionally kitschy Romantic Road.