Waldhotel am Notschreipass

The story

Waldhotel am Notschreipass: Baden Dining on the Black Forest Ridge

The Kitchen and Regional Focus

Perched at 1,121 metres above Freiburg’s hinterland, the Waldhotel am Notschreipass grounds its Badische cuisine in local Black Forest produce. The kitchen treats meal preparation as landscape conservation, translating seasonal harvests into substantial plates that honour regional traditions. Guests can navigate the menu with equal ease between classic meat preparations and fully plant-based alternatives, which appear across every course and service period. This careful sourcing earned two spoons from the Schlemmer Atlas, acknowledging how traditional dishes and structured vegan menus coexist without diluting either standard.

Mountain Setting and Heritage

Adolf Asal originally raised the building on this pass summit in 1900, establishing a stopover for horse-drawn mail coaches before the First World War halted travel. The property survived economic downturns and wartime requisition, eventually passing to the Albiez family in 1993 after a major fire required complete reconstruction. Recent expansions added twenty-six modern guest rooms alongside a new lobby, preserving the original structure while upgrading the interior to four-star superior standards. The enduring presence of the family keeps the operational rhythm grounded rather than corporate.

Dining Rooms and Service Style

Meals unfold across several intimate dining rooms that separate larger gatherings while maintaining a consistently relaxed pace. The table setting remains straightforward, allowing the aroma of locally sourced herbs and freshly prepared ingredients to define the environment instead of heavy decoration. Visitors arriving from nearby ski lifts or highland trails often pause here to reset before returning to the surrounding ridge paths. The steady rhythm of service matches the unpretentious character of the mountain pass itself, where every regional Badische fare reflects the altitude and isolation of the ridge.