Boutique Retreats, Lavish Estates and Trendy Hotels in Stuttgart

Wald means forest and, as the name suggests, this red-roofed, modern château is surrounded by the woods beyond Stuttgart’s TV Tower. It may feel rural, but the city centre is under 10 minutes away by metro from nearby Waldau station. Oak floors and stone bathrooms, a spa, tennis courts and expansive gardens all add to the idyllic country house ambience. The Finch restaurant, in a firelit 1910 summerhouse, serves up reborn classics including venison-pistachio-stuffed maultaschen with wines from some great German vineyards.

Opened in 2018, music-themed Jaz in the City is a futuristic edifice in Stuttgart’s sky-scraping Europaviertel (Europe district). Four categories of smart, colourful rooms put an emphasis on tech, with trendy sound systems and fast, free wifi. There’s a gym and spa, too, as well as live gigs and daily DJ sets in the Rhythms Bar & Kitchen – where local cuisine gets jazzed up and turned into tapas. You’ll end up sipping cocktails on Balinese beds up on the roof terrace high over the city.

The swinging ’60s epitomise the ambience at this upbeat hotel in the southern suburbs, peppered with retro design and quirky furniture – like a clock made from an old wheel, and a sofa fashioned from the front of a vintage car. There’s even a collection of historical buses, the Gottlob Auwärter Oldtimer Museum, in the same building. Trains from the nearby metro station will have you in the city centre in 20 minutes – or you can always jump on one of the hotel’s free bikes to explore the area.

Inside the gleaming Milaneo shopping centre, a faux-industrial lounge of graffiti and giant bean bags leads to seven floors of high-ceilinged urban spaces. Quirky cushions and friezes lighten up the minimalist bedrooms, plus there’s a canteen-style 24-hour cafe and a food court just outside. Or, try the hotel’s W XYZ bar for pizza, cocktails and live music from local bands. For outdoor lovers, escape to the lakes and fountains of the leafy Schlossgarten, an effortless 10-minute walk away.

Right next to Vaihingen station in a far-flung, forested suburb, you can be strolling through the local park within two minutes of leaving this brick tower block – and it’s only a 20-minute walk to the city centre. The Pullman is impressive, with a spacious pool, fitness area and 250 rooms delivering views to the verdant horizon. The smart wooden tables in the airy ground-floor restaurant also look out onto trees, and you can fill up on old-school meaty cuisine or classic south German carbs like schupfnudeln and spätzle.

The only way to get closer to Stuttgart’s historic main station would be to bed down on the platform – the Graf Zeppelin is as central as they come. Among the six on-site bars and restaurants, the Olivio scored its second Michelin star in 2020: the seven-course tasting menu might give you Black Forest trout with pickled radish and Bavarian lamb, to Swiss chocolate with beetroot and seaweed. For cheaper, more conventional Swabian fare, try the lamplit Zeppelin-Stüble. Work it off in the gym or relax in the stylish spa.

Boasting central Stuttgart’s largest spa, Le Méridien gives you space to chill – try the big heated pool or pound the gym, which is open 24/7. Rooms enliven the air of corporate-chic with abstract art and funky light fittings, while the fanciest suites have their own jacuzzis, conservatories or real log fires. When the sun’s out, the olive-bedecked courtyard of the cosy Kleinschmeckerei restaurant feels almost Mediterranean.

This stylish business-centric modern block, next door to the massive Mercedes-Benz Arena, has 2,000sqm (21,500sqft) of event space. But that doesn’t mean there’s no room for regular travellers – bedrooms are big and airy, and you can have Sky sports and classic currywurst to wash down your locally brewed beer in Mike’s Urban Pub. Several other sporting venues are right on the doorstep, and the legendary Mercedes-Benz Museum is a 10-minute stroll away.

Family-run since the 1950s, this place isn’t short on personality. Look no further than the opulent Louis XVI Suite, with its gilded antiques, columned hot tub and crystal-studded canopy – it’s part of the Schlösschen, a château-style extension with luxury suites. The vaulted 19th-century cellars, with their rustic, candlelit walls, have morphed from pub to Michelin-tipped gourmet restaurant, where an endless wine list complements Swabian specialities. In summer, eat on the terrace among vines and copper beeches.

In the heart of Stuttgart, the five-star Althoff Hotel is for those who wish to travel in style. The Althoff overlooks a palace garden and is a short walk from Schlossplatz, one of the city’s main squares. All rooms include free wifi, soundproof windows, flat-screen TVs and minibars. Suites up the ante with additional living spaces, city-view balconies, saunas and whirlpool tubs. While there are many great restaurants nearby, check out the Althoff’s offering – which includes a French restaurant, an American-style cocktail lounge, a wine bar and a coffeehouse.

If you want to stay close to the Stuttgart Airport, the four-star Moevenpick Hotel is a luxurious accommodation choice adjacent to the main terminals. The sleek glass and steel exterior mirrors the contemporary rooms within. All rooms provide guests with free wifi, flat-screen TVs and minibars – but upgrade to a suite and you’ll gain a freestanding tub, a Nespresso coffeemaker and a Bose stereo system to boot.

At the base of the Swabian Alps and surrounded by vineyard-covered hills, it’s hard to believe that Hotel Münzmay is only a 15-minute drive from Stuttgart city centre. Besides showcasing spectacular countryside views, this family-owned hotel offers guests a plethora of amenities – including access to a sauna, rental bikes and breakfast. All of the rooms are decorated in refined country styles, and some include a balcony.

Set back in the Stuttgart woodlands, Kulinarium an der Glems is the perfect place to escape from the bustling city centre, located just 15 minutes away by car. The charming towns of Leonburg and Gerlingen are also close by. At the end of a long day of exploring, relax in front of the fireplace in the common room, take a dip in the hot tub or warm up in the hotel’s sauna. Then, finish the evening with a meal in the Kulinarium’s restaurant that serves traditional German fare.

Copper and turquoise are keynotes in the motel’s fizzing contemporary design – inspired by the natural mineral springs that put Cannstatt, Stuttgart’s oldest district, on the map. The bar is a soothing underwater-scape of hanging bubble chairs, drop-shaped quicksilver lamps and wave-patterned screens. The station is next door, so you can reach the city centre in five minutes. Make sure you explore the churches and museums of Bad Cannstatt old town, right on your doorstep – for most of its history, it was bigger and more important than Stuttgart.

Located a short walk from the Olgaeck U-Bahn train stop and 10 minutes from Schlossplatz, Der Zauberlehrling is a quirky design hotel and restaurant combo, housed in two neighboring buildings. Each room is unique in its design, although all offer guests flat-screen TVs, music servers and free wifi. Some include unique features like waterbeds, park views, freestanding tubs, fireplaces, terraces and designer bathrooms. The attached restaurant features a breakfast buffet for an added fee.