Story of one of the oldest historic hotels in the world
For 16 whole generations – and that’s what makes us one of the world’s oldest hotels – people have been rolling up their sleeves and working hard to continually reinvent holidays here with us. Over the centuries, the hotel has managed to remain a family-run business – and a highly successful one over the long term, despite a number of adversities. Today, the Parkhotel Adler has a very high proportion of regular guests! We hope that this will continue to be the case for a long time to come, that’s why we continue to re-invest in the future every year. However, despite all the innovations, we will always remain true to our core philosophy of offering our guests an exclusive, classic hotel experience.
1500-1800
1446
It was in this year that a visionary ancestor of Katja Newman bought the property, together with 80 acres of land and ran it as a manor with rooms for rent, later adding a tavern. The purchase is documented by local tax records dating from 1446: “Hans Bilstein gives 8 Schillings 3 Pfennigs from his ‘Sessgut’, 9 Schillings from a Gut, i.e. the Schwäbling Gut, 9 Pfennigs from the interest he receives from a Stückle, which he used to purchase the Zartenhof.”
1490
With the establishment of the post office, the business acquired a new purpose: it became a postal station and consequently a focal point for travellers because, as we know today, the carriages not only transported letters but people as well.
1639
The Black Forest House, with the same wooden balcony and imposing roof that is still standing and in use today, opened its doors after just a one year period of construction. The old building burned down during the Thirty Years' War. There are only a few remaining, albeit striking details reminiscent of 1639 and the dynamic couple Katharina Riesterer and her husband Franz Gustav, landlady and landlord of the Adler from 1632 to 1680 and 1622 to 1681 respectively. Their portraits adorn the „Stube“ seating area in the „Adler Stuben“ in the form of murals. There’s also a wall cabinet and shelving dating from that period.
1770
This year sees the marriage of Marie Antoinette, daughter of Maria Theresia and Franz I of Austria, to King Ludwig XVI. in Versailles. Her journey from Vienna to Paris passed via the Black Forest - the trip through the area aided by the construction of the Höllentalstrasse. It is assumed that the later Queen of France stayed at the Adler postal station.
1900
1814
Records show that following the defeat of her spouse Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie Louise, daughter of Emperor Franz II. of Austria and Empress of France, returned to Austria, stopping at the Adler on the way.
1870
Up to this year, the region had been part of the Habsburg dynasty and consequently of Austria. An old inn sign in the Black Forest House still bears witness to this today.
1890
The construction of this building saw the hotelier family take the huge leap to become proprietors of a grand hotel. Built in the Belle Époque style of that time, the hotel became the "Parkhotel Adler", bringing a touch of glamour to Hinterzarten. What many people no longer realise today is that grand hotel doesn't mean "large hotel", instead it’s the term that’s been used for luxury hotels for decades.
2000
1978
The ‘Residenz’, with various apartments, was added on to the Belle-Époque main building. Today, one part of the basement is still used to house the meeting rooms. Around 30 years later the family sold the holiday apartments which are now privately owned.
1996
Dr. Klaus Trescher and his wife Gabriele (née Riesterer) bought the hotel from within the family, consequently rescuing the family business which had been continuing to rely on the splendour of earlier times. Between 1999 and 2015 alone, Dr. Trescher invested around eleven million Euros in its preservation and maintenance.
1999
The new wellness pavilion, with an initial 1,200 square metres of indoor well-being space and one of the first projects implemented by Dr. Klaus Trescher, provided an addition to the hotel offering and fulfilled the new requirements demanded by guests at that time. All these years later, the location in the hotel park, the glass design and timeless style still give it the appearance of having just been built.
2100
Katja Newman (née Trescher), the daughter of Dr. Klaus and Gabriele Trescher, the 16th generation of the family, takes over sole management at the age of 33. Displaying a great sense of responsibility, perseverance and panache, she brings the hotel back to the top of the luxury hotel sector in Germany. After moving from Munich to Hinterzarten and taking over the hotel, she and her partner James (Jimmy) Newman, an American musician, get married at the Adler Parkhotel. She takes on his name in 2007. Her father retains an important background role as initiator and supporter of her projects. Nothing is done without first convening the "family council" which includes the parents and Katja's brother.
2004
Deutsche Fachverlag, the German publishing company, honours Katja Newman, who at that time still went under the name of Katja Trescher, with the coveted industry prize of "Hotelier of the Year", commending her commitment to having preserved a milestone in German hotel history. The award is presented for the 15th time at a ceremony in Munich attended by 1,000 leading representatives from the hotel sector. She expresses her thanks with a performance, together with her husband Jimmy and his band, rocking the hall with “Fire” and “Can't get enough.”. Singing is her second pet project, or you could say, her way of creating a “skillful work/life balance”.
2005
The former small horse stable in the park is converted into a cosy and rustic, event location for around 30 guests. This will now be used for celebratory events, with the terrace used for barbecues and receptions, e.g. for weddings.
2006
Dr. Klaus Trescher fulfills a long-held dream and has a Vienna-style coffee house built in the form of a glass pavilion with wonderful views of the small Lake Adler and the surrounding area. The name "Café Diva" is created by Katja Newman who is also in charge of the Art Nouveau interior. The culinary offering is the equal to that of a coffee house in Vienna in every way. The quaint feature about this is that the building was constructed more or less around the historic bar which Dr. Trescher had bought at auction. The coffee house business ran for a full 13 years until it was ceased in 2019. The building has had a new purpose since 2020.
2007
Joyful event for the family: Son Louis Oscar Joe Newman is born! In the same year Katja takes on the surname of her husband Jimmy Newman.
2008
The four meeting rooms are renovated from the ground up and now offer a contemporary meeting ambience with modern technology.
2011
After a period of work lasting 18 months, the Adler Parkhotel completes the total renovation of all the accommodation in April 2011. As part of this renovation programme, the rooms and suites were enlarged, the family suites created and the seven rooms in the Black Forest House have now been fully customised to meet the needs of allergy sufferers. Katja Newman is in charge of the planning for and choice of interior design. The grand hotel style that characterizes the traditional establishment, has been preserved in the Belle Époque building: however, colours, fabrics and furnishings now present a contemporary, creative and elegant design whilst the Black Forest House offers a sophisticated, country house style.
2012
The Adler Parkhotel joins the “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”, currently the largest hotel alliance between international boutique hotels and resorts. Membership is tantamount to an award.
2013
The new outdoor pool plus lounge deck is opened, increasing the size of the wellness area to a total of 1,800 m2.
2017
The Black Forest roof is renewed and – although the period leading up to the major operation did cause some jitters - the result is impressive. Designed in the historic style and yet obviously new, it provides the refined finishing touch to the building.
2018
For the first time since the 1960s, the restaurants in the Black Forest House undergoes a complete renovation, with Katja Newman once again providing the ideas, directing the conversion work and selecting the interior design. The new style is elegant, modern and yet cosy and the opening is held in mid-May. The new "Oscars" fine-dining restaurant follows on the 1st August 2018. Katja Newman chooses the name in memory of her grandfather who was extremely popular with people in the local area because of his "accessibility".
2019
The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing Construction awards Katja Newman the Enterprise Medal. The “Pavilion Diva” is closed as a coffee house and, after undergoing conversion work, is reopened at the beginning of 2020 as a conference venue.
2020
Katja Newman celebrates 20 years as hotel manager and sets another milestone for the future as a modern boutique resort hotel: New residential units are being created, the lobby is to be completely rebuilt, the bar integrated and the “Adler Stuben” restaurant will be expanded by the addition of the “Bergkristall” area. The children's area is undergoing a complete overhaul and the colour and interior design concept of the wellness area is to be given a facelift.
From now on the luxury full-board package will be included in the price for an overnight stay. Guests will now take breakfast in the "Adler Stuben" because the old meeting rooms, the breakfast pavilion and the "French Hall" events room have had to make way for the expansion of the bedrooms.
Corona crisis:
following the closure for the renovation on 1.3.2020, we had anticipated reopening in April but because of the crisis and the associated guidelines issued by the Baden-Württemberg regional government, we were only able to finally reopen the restaurant and hotel for business on 29.5.2020. The good news: we succeeded in safeguarding all the jobs. However, one radical change had to be made as a consequence of the crisis: for business reasons, the “Oscars” fine-dining restaurant, which had only just been awarded a Michelin star in March, has had to be shut down. The second lockdown from November lasted a whole seven months – a seemingly endless period for everyone!
2021
Enthusiastic feedback from guests and four new awards in the “Romantic Holiday Hotels”, “Historic Hotel Buildings”, “Family Holidays” and “Digitalisation” categories prove to us just how extremely well the new concept of Boutique-Resort-Hotel together with the newly introduced luxury full-package has been received.
2022/2023
All categories in the existing traditional style in the Belle-Époque main building have been renovated.
2024
Renovations have been carried out in the wellness pavilion to further enhance the feel-good factor.
