About us · Fourth-generation family hotel

Hosts with passion

For generations, we have welcomed guests in the heart of the Spessart region – now in our fourth generation, with the same warmth as back then.

Your hosts

Family-run for four generations

With us, you are a guest in a genuine family business – and you will feel that from the very first moment.

Today, siblings Marina Müller and Michael Bauer run the Waldhotel Heppe, together with Marina's husband Marko and their mother Anne Bauer. We are hosts with heart and passion and are delighted to welcome our many regular guests as well as everyone who discovers us for the first time.

Your families Bauer and Müller

Our story

From Heppenhütten to the Waldhotel

The beginnings

Krausenbach looks back on over 700 years of history. The Elector of Mainz loved the hunting grounds in the Spessart region and settled twelve families in the Dammbach valley, who in return performed corvée labor in hunting. One of these families was the Weingärtner family – the ancestors of today's Bauer family.

Historisches Bild mit Ausblick auf das Gasthaus von einem Wanderweg

Around 1900

Above today's hotel lay a small charcoal burners' settlement of four huts, the Heppenhütten. When coke from the Ruhr became cheaper than charcoal, the families grew poor and emigrated to the USA. Great-grandmother Gertraud, known as “Lochtreut”, stayed: she served hikers homemade apple wine and cooked with whatever the garden and farm provided – the first rest stop at the Heppe.

1933

Against the resistance of the other innkeepers, Josef and Maria Bauer opened a small tavern for hikers. The war and the loss of Josef brought everything to a standstill. Nevertheless, the young married couple Günther and Lina Bauer dared to become self-employed instead of working on the highway construction and moving away – and paid off their debts with great difficulty.

Historisches Bild mit Familie auf einer Wiese

From the 1960s onwards

The inn is transformed into a holiday destination: the first three guest rooms are added in 1961. Roland Bauer, born in 1957, later earns his master craftsman's certificate and, together with his wife Anne, carefully guides the establishment into a new era. When he becomes mayor of Dammbach for 18 years, the family establishes a limited partnership (KG), and his children Marina and Michael assume responsibility and management of the hotel at an early age.

Familie entspannt auf Liegestühlen im Park - historische Urlaubsatmosphäre wie im Waldhotel Heppe Spessart

Today

Siblings Marina Müller and Michael Bauer run the hotel in its fourth generation, together with Marko Müller and Grandma Anne. Grandpa Roland takes care of their own forest – and everything else that needs doing.

2027

The extension will create new rooms, a tower with a sky suite and a spa above the treetops – the next chapter of our story.

From the family album

Historical postcards and photos from the beginnings of our house – from the inn in the valley to the first holiday guests.

Brick by brick

How our hotel grew

1961The first 3 guest rooms, each with 2 beds

19716 additional rooms and a new dining room

197714 guest rooms and a swimming pool measuring 13 x 8 meters – huge for the time.

19897 guest rooms, a seminar room and another dining room

2004Wood chip heating: Oil consumption drops from around 100,000 liters per year to zero.

20126 superior rooms, 5 suites, the large sun terrace and 5 renovated, enlarged rooms

2020Two tiny houses on the edge of the forest

2027Extension with new rooms, tower, lobby and spa above the treetops

Good to know

Where does the name "Heppe" come from?

Of the charcoal burners' huts, only the name of the valley remains: Heppeloch. Over time, this simply became "die Heppe." Linguists suspect it derives from the Middle High German word "Hippe" for goat – the Hepps would therefore have been goatherds in the Middle Ages.

What we stand for

Nature all around. Welcome all around.

Surrounded by forest and nature

Our house is surrounded by unspoiled nature, which is very dear to us. Hiking trails, bike paths and trails start right at the doorstep.

Hospitality in action

Spacious rooms, generous portions and cakes made according to grandma's recipe – for us, hospitality is not just a phrase, but a family tradition.

Responsibility with a sense of proportion

As a GreenSign-certified hotel, we operate consciously – from heating with wood to regional sourcing – and pass this attitude on to our children.

Become part of our story

We look forward to welcoming you – whether it's your first time or your twentieth.

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