Garmish, Germany: Forsthaus Graseck

One of the most knowledgeable firms selling travel to Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as elsewhere in Europe is called Gemutlichkeit (with an umlaut over the "u" that I don't know how to create).  The firm offers rental cars at favorable prices, airfare, rail passes and entire tours.  I've used the company to rent cars while shooting my PBS series in Europe, and the father/son team that runs the West Coast-based agency is extremely knowledgeable about the territory they cover. 

       Which is why I paid particular attention to a recent item in Gemutlichkeit's privately circulated newsletter that warned travelers away from a once-lovely hotel near Garmish, Germany.  Here's how Bob Bestor, the editor of the newsletter, reported it beneath the headline, "Unreliable Offer From a Reliable Source":

       Last month, a promotional e-mail funded jointly by four Alpine countries--Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy--contained the following item:

       The charming mountain hotel Forsthaus Graseck--which boasts its own cable car--offers double rooms from 52 to 86 euros per person/per night, single rooms from 29 to 56 euro. Very reasonably priced apartments are also available.  Forsthaus Graseck's three-night "Mountain and Wellness" package includes a gondola excursion to Mt. Eckbauer. Price for three nights: 259 euros per person. The hiking tour contained in the package is followed by a health spa treatment and massage, as well as body-wrapping with fango or hay.

       The Forsthaus Graseck is well-known to this writer. We first stayed there in 1979, after seeing it's red roof-peak symbol in the 1979 Michelin Red Guide for Germany. The hotel is remote, reached only by the two persons-plus-luggage cable car that rises out of a tiny enclave at the end of an unpaved road, not far from the old Olympic ski stadium in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We loaded our luggage into the cramped cable car and ascended to the hotel's Bergbahn station part way up the mountain. Dangling hundreds of feet above the rugged Partnach gorge, while brushing rocky outcrops in a rickety, swinging capsule about the size of an elevator in a very small hotel, is not a ride for the acrophobic.
       The Forsthaus turned out to be an almost fairy-tale Bavarian mountain chalet. A shaggy St. Bernard patrolled the reception area, an open fire warmed a cozy Stube, and the guestrooms, each with balcony, faced the dominating view of the magnificently craggy Wetterstein range.

       For a few years we returned annually. Then, in about 1990, we stopped going when the hotel began a slide from which it has not recovered. Since then, in the hope of finding some sign of rejuvenation, we've made several trips up the mountain. Our most recent was in December, just four months ago. The upper cable car station is now in such a state of disrepair that one becomes uneasy about the condition of the cars and cables one's life depends on. Employees and a few visitors simply stepped over and around a pile of dog droppings a few feet from the main entrance. Inside, we found an indifferent staff and a run-down, dirty, near-vacant hotel. In its present state, we could not recommend this sad place to anyone at any price.

       That's Bob Bestor's take on the place.  I haven't ever visited this hotel, so I can't weigh in with an opinion, but my high regard for the expertise of Bob as well as his son Andrew and their West Coast-based company leads me to suggest you steer clear of Forsthaus Graseck until further notice.

       By the way, if you have an interest in all things German, Swiss or Italian, consider subscribing to the Gemutlichkeit newsletter that is published 11 times a year.  It's $59 a year, but if you tell them Rudy sent you, they'll knock $10 off the price.  (Call 800-521-6722.)  You can be sure the recommendations in the newsletter have been personally viewed and tested by the Bestors. 

        P.S. Bob Bestor sent an e-mail to the Alpine Tourist Commission--a normally trustworthy and reputable marketing alliance of tourist officials from Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria--to ask how they could recommend the Forsthaus Graseck with a straight face.  As of this writing, he hasn't received a reply.

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