The married couple Dieter Müller and Ursula Schelle-Müller built up the Motel One hotel group and parted with a large part of their former hotel group to finance it – but not the Achental. Their vision for this hotel was to create a world-class golf resort. What they achieved in just over ten years is more than impressive.

I arrive by train and am picked up at the station. On arrival, the Achental is quite modest. We turn off the main road, drive along a parking lot, and an inconspicuous group of houses comes into view – three and four-story buildings with gabled roofs in chalet style, lots of wood. The lobby is circular and beautifully bright. To the right and left are the rooms, restaurants, and the spa, while straight ahead is the garden.

I immediately feel at home in my junior suite. Light wood combined with white walls and elements in grey-anthracite, with splashes of purple – homely and yet not rustic. The large terrace, spanning the entire length of the room, offers a view of the building ensemble, the golf course, and the surrounding nature. It’s nice to be here. Off to the spa.

The Spa and the Award-Winning Chef

You say: small but nice.
I say: nice size, amazingly complete, and even more beautifully furnished. A herbal sauna made from old wood with a copper boiler, a stone sauna made from slate, and a Finnish sauna made from Austrian stone pine. There is also a classic steam bath, a brine steam bath made of natural stone, experience showers, and, above all, a wonderful relaxation room with a view of nature and a wooden plank terrace on the second floor, where a staircase leads down into the hotel garden to the pool and other loungers.

The gym is well-equipped and also has a view. The large indoor pool impresses with its huge window front and the combination of wood-clad walls, light-colored stone flooring, and the blue and white speckled pool. Did I mention that the hotel is a member of the Design Hotels Association?

Sports massage or pedicure for men? An Ayurvedic treatment or a facial treatment for women? Mary-Ann Kühn, the spa manager, will arrange it. After all, she was named Spa Manager of the Year by the German Wellness Association in 2023.

Golf on a Premium Course

But now, off to the 18-hole course. It was designed by the renowned architect Thomas Himmel. Various water hazards, dense rough, well-defended greens, and 64 bunkers – some of them very large – make it a real challenge. The halfway house after the tenth hole, the Seehütte, is a dream: a wooden hut with a café and sun terrace by the lake. Walkers lie down on the sun loungers here and linger all afternoon, but we golfers have to keep going.

On this course, the back nine are the holes that separate the wheat from the chaff. For example, holes 13 and 14, which partly share a fairway. The 13th hole challenges the tactical ability of the player, who must lead with a short shot and then hit a medium-length iron into the green, or opt for the somewhat riskier shot directly over the water on the left side of the two fairways and the short pitch into the green.

On the other side is hole 14, the most difficult hole on the course, with a poorly visible shot over the water hazard, requiring at least 150 meters carry to be in play at all. But you don’t have to make life unnecessarily difficult for yourself. The course has six tee levels. Why not tee off from blue instead of yellow?

The player service is pleasant. For once, the marshal doesn’t come by to complain, but brings a drink, cold or warm depending on the time of year. Also pleasant: the course only has 250 members, so crowds are a thing of the past here. But quality is a top priority. The course is ranked number 1 in terms of maintenance by the Leading Golf Courses in Germany, of which it is a member.

„We want to offer a truly excellent golf service,“ says Simon Hangel, Head Pro. This includes 20 covered teeing grounds on the driving range – half of which are heated – two putting greens, a pitching green, floodlights, three permanent pros, a performance studio, two TrackMan, a simulator, and 13 well-known pros who come by for special training weeks.

Food with Three Stars

Since June 2021, Das Achental has been scaling new culinary heights with its gourmet restaurant es:senz. In spring 2024, it was awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide – just three years after opening. „In the restaurant of the hotel ‚Das Achental‘, Edip Sigl impresses with his very own style: modern and sophisticated. Wonderful flavor density and intense contrasts, which never disturb the balance, run through the entire menu,“ says the Michelin Guide.

Three-star chef Edip Sigl is also responsible for the cuisine in the Weisser Hirsch restaurant, the Vinothek, the Hubertushütte, the Kaminbar, Lounge, and Seehütte10. Das Achental invites guests to indulge in culinary delights – just like the golf and spa experiences, always at the highest level.

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