Family-friendly Hotels in Darmstadt

A perfect place for a family reunion: beautiful rooms, the park, the food, the forest. You can stroll, have brunch on Sunday, relax in the shade of the trees or linger in the small beer garden. We were looking for a place where our small family, who live well spread out across the globe, could meet up again. Where we could talk, eat, enjoy ourselves, walk in the forest, relax in the park, read a book or just get out of each other's way. The proximity to Frankfurt Airport is both a blessing and a curse: there are planes all day, but it's also a short journey for family members who have to travel from other continents. The rooms: beautiful, clean, well equipped. The rooms directly behind the castle are very nice, especially numbers 201 to 206, as 207 and following are at the front, towards the main building, where the kitchen can't be missed if there's a wedding on Saturday evening. All the other rooms: perfect. And if you want even more peace and quiet: in the armoury, a beautiful, huge, solid natural stone building from ancient times, just a few minutes' walk through the forest, you will find the quietest rooms in the middle of the forest. For dog lovers: you can bring them with you. And they are well integrated: when we arrived there were two dog blankets on the floor, two ceramic feeding bowls, and we were not the only ones with dogs. The surrounding forest means you are immediately surrounded by greenery, even at night when a dog needs to go out. For non-dog lovers: the rooms of our dogless family members were spotlessly clean, no dog hair, no smell. The food was excellent. Breakfast is served in the main building and is as extensive as I have rarely seen: not just scrambled eggs and bacon, sausages and eggs, but also Kaiserschmarrn, various types of muesli and cereal, all kinds of bread, honeycomb honey, plus various really good types of tea, a samovar, and all kinds of coffee. I could have spent the day in the breakfast room. On Sunday there was a brunch: a huge buffet, not too much, but everything: fish, meat, vegetables, pasta, salads, desserts. Of really very good quality. There was also pleasant, very beautiful piano music, played live by a friendly pianist, just loud enough to be heard and quiet enough to have a good conversation. In the evening we had reserved a table on the terrace, and here too there was a wonderful meal, from salad with salt marsh lamb to veggie plates to fish or meat. Hotel, food, service, it was wonderful. Were there any less pleasant things? A few minor things: the main road behind the castle can be heard, but not very loudly (if you sit outside on the terrace). You can't hear it in the rooms. I've already mentioned the airplanes, but that didn't bother us at all. The rooms are easy to ventilate, but are not air-conditioned.