Hotel Sonneck

Schwäbisch Hall is one of Germany’s lesser-known gems, and the Sonneck is a good place to explore it from. In a suburb about half an hour’s pleasant walk via a forest path above the town, it’s a large, modernised old hotel. Our room on the first floor was big, with a large opening glass onto a shared terrace. Slight negatives were, firstly, that the hotel has followed the dumb, incomprehensible trend of glass doors into the bathroom - ours was not entirely see-through, but, as with all of them, disturbs anyone in the bedroom if turned on at night; and, secondly, there was some traffic noise - audible if not terrible - from a nearby road. The breakfast buffet was ok but lacked a personal touch - no offers of boiled or fried eggs as often happens elsewhere in the German-speaking world. The restaurant was good, with a pleasant outdoor terrace, and we enjoyed local Swabian specialities there over two evenings. Free parking and the wifi works well.