Ritter Durbach Hotel

Great hotel with lots of savings! Saunas are fantastic!!

Beautifully situated, the view of the vineyards is breathtaking. The service is attentive and friendly. The room was attractive, but it got quite hot due to the large glass front.

I deliberately chose this hotel for my birthday on March 5th because I wanted to treat myself to a few relaxing and enjoyable days. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The reception was unpleasant from the start. Instead of greeting me, the receptionist immediately asked for my ID – almost like being checked at a border crossing. When I asked what time dinner was, I received only the curt reply, "6 p.m." When I said I'd prefer to eat a little later, the response was simply, "Then come later." A welcome drink was supposed to be waiting for me at the bar. There was no Crodino, no Campari, and apparently, they were out of Aperol. In the end, I was only offered water – which wasn't even supposed to be a welcome drink and which I then had to pay for myself. My room was small, stuffy, and had only one window overlooking a roof, so hardly any natural light came in. I had a facial and décolleté massage for €60. Unfortunately, the entire massage was performed with rubber gloves, supposedly for hygienic reasons. Since I have neither skin diseases nor irritations, this surprised me greatly. For me, this completely negated the relaxation effect, as the massage felt more clinical than pleasant. With a spa treatment, I would have expected this to be communicated beforehand, or at least for the staff to ask if it was acceptable to the customer. Dinner on the first evening was also disappointing. The service seemed inexperienced and disorganized, as if trainees were working unsupervised. The food was served cold. The low point was the cheese platter at the end – the edges of the cheese were already curling upwards and didn't look fresh. On the second evening, the situation was significantly better. Two experienced staff members organized the service very well, and the quality of the food was also much improved. I booked two nights with half-board. Unfortunately, the stay as a whole did not meet my expectations – especially disappointing since I wanted to celebrate my birthday there. I will not book this hotel again.