Kempinski Hotel Falkenstein – city life, nature and sport

What a positive surprise!

I knew that the Kempinski Hotel Falkenstein near Frankfurt city in Germany is not a Wellness Hotel but rather offers MICE facilities. It is actually a great wedding venue!
Yet I was positively surprised how easily you can spend a few very active and relaxing days combining city life, nature and sport.

German Emperor Wilhelm II owned the grand building from year 1875, which houses the 5* hotel, and opened a sanatorium for his officers in 1909. It also served as a hospital, military sanatorium and hospital for invalids before being closed in 1991.

A lot has happened since, and in 1999 the Kempinski chain took over. (By the way, their contract is ending in 2020.)

Until today one can feel the grandness and opulence of the glorious past. Not only in the main building, but also in the neighbouring villas, particularly in the Villa Rothschild, yes the very one…

The Taunus Area – nature

Falkenstein, after which the hotel is named, is a little and exclusive community in the forest covered Taunus area. The Taunus is a low mountain range known for its geothermal springs and mineral waters. Those water used to be attractive to members of the European Aristocracy, who would visit the spa towns regularly.

Visiting the hot springs in the neighbourhood, especially the Kaiser Wilhelm Bad in Bad Homburg is on the list for my next stay!

Within a short walk of only a couple of minutes from the hotel, one can reach the ruins of Falkenstein castle.

My Hotel Room

I was fortunate to catch one of the Deluxe Rooms facing South to the park. The spacious room on the 3rd floor had a large balcony, from which I had majestic views over the valley and Frankfurt City skyline at night.

Wellness Area: Sauna and Pool

The Wellness area is rather small and outdated, still offers 2 Saunas, an indoor Jacuzzi, a relax area and a heated outdoor lap pool.
Unfortunately the pool water was too cold for me. I read somewhere that the pool had apparently 29 Celcius water temperature, yet that can’t have been true.
I later found out that the outdoor pool is not covered at night, which explains the massive cooling down of the water in winter.

Hence I enjoyed the sauna instead and wished to have been able to include the beautiful surrounding park into my experience for cooling down. Yet again, too cold in winter for me.

Health Club Ascara – sport

My biggest surprise! This is one serious health club!

I attended a couple of group exercise classes that I liked much. The health club, that is located in a neighbouring building and accessible via an underground tunnel to hotel guests, has their own little sauna and relax area. Again, both a little outdated, yet sufficient for a quick session after workout.

As said before, I attended a couple of group exercise classes, that are offered daily throughout the week, at several times of the day.

The club is health club to local residents and well patronised. All staff members that I have met were very accommodating, friendly and well trained.

The surrounding smooth rounded mountains invite guests for hiking and biking with an outstanding and unique air quality, a so called ‘healing climate’.

I see great potential for a focus on health and wellbeing, including the local healing aspect into a strong wellbeing hotel concept. I wonder if future management is going to look into this?

The Park

The park behind the hotel is stunning and well worth mentioning. Old grandness!

Large old trees provide shade in summer, an outside deck invites for afternoon teas and sun soaking. A lovely playground is available for the young ones. Walk your dog or go for a morning run, enjoy one of the offered picnics… the options are plenty fold.

I pictured myself lying on my yoga mat in summer under one of the majestic sycamore trees…