Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Location, Location, Location. This is it! The Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl is both charming and elegant but with a cozy ambience. Although some of the furniture is reminiscent of perhaps your grand parents house in old Baveria, it is easy to settle in and feel right at home.

The origin of Grand Hotel Sonnenbichl goes back to the beginning of the 19th century. Around 1800 a scythe smithy of the Tyrolean Bader was built where the hotel now stands . Tourists started trickling in to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area and soon, the scythe smithy was turned into a guesthouse. The guests came to town in horse drawn coaches and by 1890, the need for greater accommodations became pronounced and the guesthouse was expanded to the Palast Hotel.

Up until the World War I, the hotel was mainly visited by the national and international aristocracy with Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau palaces about 60km away. The hotel was designed accordingly - spacious rooms on the south for the "lordship" and vis-à-vis rooms for the servants. Fortunately the hotel wasn't damaged during both World Wars.

All rooms pretty much have an alpine or mountain view and have huge windows for letting in that fresh mountain air. There are three restaurants or pubs to dine in and the food is excellent Bavarian fair. The cost of the rooms hover between 130 and 500 Euros so if you have some extra cha-ching in your pocket, consider staying here and living up a bit. I did and it really made me feel like a king for a few days!