Klosterhotel Ludwig Der Bayer

It's a beautiful, old hotel with charm and personality, right across from the Kloster church- which is really beautiful. It's a short (45 min) drive to the Eibsee/Zugspitze, so a great option for staying outside Garmisch or doing something a little different. There was a wedding party going on while we were there, and the hotel restaurant was booked for that the night we arrived. When we asked the receptionist where we could eat (it was about 5:30pm when we arrived), she acted like we weren't going to find any place to eat in Ettal. We were a little concerned- but decided to change & walk around to see what we could find. Turned out the restaurant next door- all but attached to the hotel- was quite available. As was the one across the street. The food was good (not spectacular), and the beer & wine were excellent. The pool and spa were deserted, and the pool was quite warm (it was September, so chilly out), and indoors. The spa was very nice & easy to use, just around the corner from the pool. The next morning, the included breakfast, which was a pretty standard European-style buffet breakfast in the restaurant, was more than adequate- with some local cheeses, even, and a good nespresso-style machine for coffee/latte, etc. The setting was lovely, and we even saw a monk having breakfast with (I assume) a parishoner (it was Sunday). We would stay again.

I was a bit unhappy that the hot tub was not in working order, nor had it been for some months, according to a receptionist. One of the main things I'd been looking for in a hotel for this trip was a hot tub, and as this hotel advertised having one, I was all set. The very nice spa with several types of sauna nearly made up for this deficit, but I was still rather perturbed that they were still advertising the broken hot tub, when it seemed that it wasn't likely to be in commission for some time.