Voted "The 101 best hotels in Germany"

KRÜN. The hotel ranking "The 101 Best Hotels in Germany" was a guest at Schloss Elmau in Krün. At the "101 Soirée", around 300 guests celebrated the big winners Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg as "101 ICON Hotel of the Year" and Breidenbacher Hof in Düsseldorf as "101 Overall Winner", the most important German hospitality award. The "101 Executive Summit" also took place in the run-up to the event with a high-calibre political panel discussion on the topic of "Hospitality. Society. Conscience." took place.

Is there a more suitable location for the gathering of big names and hotels from the hospitality industry than Schloss Elmau in Krün? Hardly, after all it has already hosted two G7 summits in 2015 and 2022. On 9 November 2025, the Cultural Hideaway & Luxury Spa was a worthy host for this special occasion in the hotel industry. The festive "101 Soirée" with award ceremony and the high-calibre "101 Executive Summit" took place in a stylish setting - both central elements of the renowned hotel ranking "The
101 best hotels in Germany". The most important representatives of the industry were personally present at the exclusive class reunion of the "best of the best".

These are the winners

The big winners once again turned out to be the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Hamburg as "101 ICON Hotel of the Year" and the Breidenbacher Hof in Düsseldorf as "101 Overall Winner". The winners of the 12 categories were determined on the basis of a ranking based on three pillars. The first comprises the votes of guests from various rating portals. The second pillar takes into account the awards that hotels have received from renowned publications such as the Hornstein Ranking. The third pillar includes the judgements of recognised experts who visit the hotels in person and test and evaluate them according to the "101 Best" criteria.

The data from all three pillars is then collated by the International University of Munich (IU). Professor Dr Annegret Wittmann-Wurzer and founding director Professor Dr Peter Thuy rely on scientific methods and have developed a differentiated system - independent, transparent and comprehensible. The founders of the ranking, which is published on the 101 website and also in book form (www.die-101-besten.com), are David Rath and his father Carsten K. Rath - one of the best-known minds in the European hospitality industry.

Hannes Bareiss, host at the Hotel Bareiss in Baiersbronn-Mitteltal, was honoured as "101 ICON Hotelier of the Year 2026". "I am overwhelmed and dedicate the award to my entire team. Without them, the Hotel Bareiss would not be what it is today. A big thank you also goes to Carsten K. Rath and David Rath. With the <101 Best>, they have created a ranking that objectively assesses the performance of the hotels and is a relevant added value for our guests and therefore for the German hotel industry," said Hannes Bareiss. The award for the Lifetime Achievement "101 ICON Hotelier of the World - Lifetime Achievement Award 2026" went to Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) with luxury brands such as Taj Hotels.

Magical "101 Soiree" with many star guests

A glance at the guest list shows that the hotel ranking "The 101 Best Hotels in Germany" enjoys a high reputation within the national and international hospitality industry. Around 300 people from the hotel industry, tourism, politics, business, culture, sport and media attended the "101 Soirée" dinner and awards ceremony. They included well-known names from the German hospitality scene such as Ursula Schelle-Müller and Dieter Müller from Motel One, Marcel Reif and the German star chef Christian Rach. Celebrities such as tennis legend Michael Stich, ski racer Felix Neureuther and his father Christian Neureuther, choreographer and model Bruce Darnell and Elisabeth Köstinger, former member of the European Parliament, also attended the event. The glamorous evening was hosted by Julia Josten.

"It was an outstanding evening in a place steeped in history. This evening was more than an honour - it was a tribute to excellence. The winners impressed with their passion, excellence and hospitality. The 101 team, together with the team from Schloss Elmau, made it an unforgettable experience," said Carsten K. Rath.

High-calibre panel discussion

Before the guests moved on to the "101 Soirée", the "101 Executive Summit" offered a panel discussion on the topic of "Hospitality. Society. Conscience." Moderator Timo Pache, editor-in-chief of the business magazine "Capital", together with the panellists, shed light on a much-discussed topic in Germany: "The role of the hotel industry for a cosmopolitan, liveable and internationally competitive Germany". The panel was made up of high-calibre participants including Anja Karliczek (Chair of the Tourism Committee of the Bundestag and former Federal Minister of Education and Research), Marcel Reif (renowned sports journalist), Dietmar Müller-Elmau (host of Schloss Elmau), Prof. Dr Thomas Druyen (sociologist and asset researcher) and Wolfgang Schmidt (Head of the Federal Chancellery until the beginning of 2025 and former Federal Minister for Special Tasks). "The hotel industry is an important pillar of the German economy and promotes the international reputation of our country. It creates jobs and carries hospitality out into the world," says Marcel Reif. Schloss Elmau, which has made political history in the past, was the perfect location for the "101 Executive Summit".

The awards at a glance

101 ICON Hotel of the Year: 1st Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Hamburg

Luxury Hideaways:
1. Schloss Elmau
2. Sonnenalp Resort
3rd Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt

Luxury Hotels in Historical Architecture
1. the European Court Heidelberg
2. Relais & Châteaux Hotel Burg Schwarzenstein
3rd Maison Messmer Baden-Baden

Luxury Design Hotels
1. DO & CO Hotel Munich
2. the Fontenay
3. KPM Hotel & Residences Berlin

Luxury Business Hotels
1. hotel Maximilian`s Augsburg
2. Le Méridien Hamburg
3rd Sofitel Munich Bayerpost

101 Hotel of the Year - Overall Winner: 1. Breidenbacher Hof

Luxury Culinary Hotels
1st Hotel Bareiss
2nd Althoff Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg
3rd Hotel Traube Tonbach

Luxury City Palais
1. Excelsior Hotel Ernst
2nd Orania Berlin
3rd Louis Hotel

Luxury Family Resorts
1st Spa & Resort Bachmair Weissach
2. Relais & Châteaux Landhaus Stricker
3. ROEWERS Privathotel & Spa

Luxury Water Side Hotels
1. Severin`s Resort & Spa Sylt
2nd Riva - The Hotel on Lake Constance
3. Söl'ring Hof

Grand Hotels
1. Rosewood Munich
2. hotel Atlantic Hamburg
3. Parkhotel Bremen - Member of Hommage Luxury Hotels Collection

Luxury Spa & Health Resorts
1. Brenners Park - Hotel & Spa
2nd Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort
3rd Hotel Deimann

Luxury Golf Resorts
1. the Öschberghof
2. Budersand Hotel Golf & Spa Sylt
3. the Achental

Luxury City Hotels
1. Mandarin Oriental, Munich
2nd Hotel Rosenpark
3rd Hotel Luc Autograph Collection
101 ICON Hotelier of the World - Lifetime Achievement Award: Puneet Chhatwal
101 ICON Hotelier of the Year 2026: Hannes Bareiss