Hotel Gasthof zum Hirsche in Ehingen

Our new favourite five-star guest + chef house. They make amazing food and have incredible design touches in every square meter. Bring hiking sticks, your credit card and and empty stomach.

We stayed for two nights. Booking, from friday to sunday, a double room for myself and my wife, and a single for my mom. In the booking we included their special 5 course dinner for saturday. It was simply unbelievable. Staff is kind and caring. They always welcome you with a smile and are eager to explain what the meals are made of and what inspired the menu (which changes every day!). The food itself is out of this world, their almost magical use of alpine herbs and local grown products is superb. When Mirko, the owner, welcomed us we could clearly see he is very proud of what he does. He made us feel absolutely pampered. Never once he was "too busy", even in hectic hours. He was always kind on answering all our questions about the food and the surroundings. The rooms are an exquisite minimalist design, comfortable and clean. The first night was so relaxing that we didn't even felt falling asleep. We just woke up the next moring after feeling great. The location itself is, to simply put it, amazing. Thanks to Mirko's vision the transition from the hotel to the woods around is seamless. Everything is quiet, and time seemed to slow down just for us. We also brought our dog and, again, not even once we felt unwelcomed. They were kind, and even when our pup started exploring the hotel (our mistake, we forgot our room door open), they didn't freak out or reacted badly. On the contrary they were laughing with us. Definitely a place where we would go again, and will with absolutely no doubt advise everyone I know to go there.

Overall, we loved Zum Hirschen. We went for a weekend package which included stay and food, and brought the dog along. The hotel is family owned and run, and they work hard - we saw Mirko there at 9PM at night checking on our dinner and again at 8AM at breakfast! The rooms are minimalist-style with an Austrian feel to them. Ours had a beautiful view of the town church. The automated skylight window was a real plus to get fresh air at night and some great morning light. The shower and bathroom were spotless, and loved the lemon grass scented soaps. I'm picky about bedsheets and they did good - jersey cotton fitted sheets and basic natural cotton comforter sheets and pillows. There is no TV in the room and cell reception is poor - but honestly, I appreciated the forced stop from the outside world. I mean, you don't come to the mountains to watch TV or check email. The food at the hotel was exceptional. They didn't hit the mark on every dish, but I really loved their dedication to local food and their creativity. For a small hotel, it's properly impressive. The breakfast was a proper multi course meal! It included homemade bread, jams, local range eggs, local smoked meats and cheese, cake and yogurt. The two dinners we had were also incredible. We had the pre-fix menu one night and the al a carte the other. The pre-fix was overall good - chicken infused with herbs was a stand out for it's simplicity and the depth of marination. The risotto was the only dish overall we didn't like, as it was quite strong on the radicchio which overpowered it, but honestly it was well prepared, just not our taste. The bar served a sacher cake which was one of the best I ever had. Seriously worth the stop just for coffee and cake on the terrace. The overall location is good. The town was small, so not much to do within walking distance, but a lot of activities within 20 minutes of driving. We saw the waterfall which was incredible! We also went to the Novella canyon walk which Is definì super unique experience, but would recommend that you go without dogs or people who fear heights (we had both with us so needless to say we will come back next time on our own). Nevertheless, there's enough around the hotel to keep one busy with nature related activities for 4/5 days. Overall we will definitely come again, if just for the food and tranquility!

Wonderful. Understated elegance. Perfect marriage of history and modern design. Warm hospitality. Outstanding kitchen. Innovative cooking with excellent ingredients locally sourced.