Dollenberg’s Le Pavillon is the Global Restaurant of the Year

For the past 17 years, the World Luxury Awards have honoured the world’s best travel, spa and gourmet destinations. This year, the Relais & Châteaux Dollenberg Schwarzwald Resort*****S was presented with the Overall Winner 2023 Global Restaurant of the Year Award in Athens, as well as three more major awards for the hotel, restaurant and spa respectively.

It wasn’t Greek wine but tears of joy that flowed in Athens on Saturday 28 October 2023 when the travel industry Oscars – the World Luxury Hotel, Restaurant, Spa & Travel Awards were presented for the 17^th time. This year’s awards gala was hosted by the Grand Hyatt Athens. For 17 years, the World Luxury Awards have been hosting industry’s best on their red carpet. These are organisations that offer their specific target groups unique experiences, exceptional offers, the best concepts and, above all, outstanding service. No one understands this art better than Meinrad Schmiederer of the Dollenberg Schwarzwald Resort. Upscale gastronomy and luxury hotel management have been his life and passion for decades. For this, the textbook hotelier and restaurateur brought home four awards at global and continental level this year.

Fotocredits: © THE WORLD LUXURY AWARDS

Gastronomic excellence shone particularly brightly this year: fine-dining restaurant Le Pavillon, honoured by the Michelin Guide for 25 years and headed by Meinrad Schmiederer’s brother-in-law Martin Herrmann, was named Overall Winner of the Global Restaurant of the Year 2023 category, the highest honour bestowed by the World Luxury Restaurant Awards. The joy was writ large on the Dollenberg’s proprietor, himself a trained chef and Martin Herrmann’s erstwhile teacher: ‘I am overjoyed at having received this award, and so proud of my family and our outstanding team who achieve so much day-in and day-out,’ said Meinrad Schmiederer after the official award ceremony. ‘My sincerest thanks go to our staff and of course our guests, whose votes made these awards possible for us. We are pleased that we have been able to keep inspiring and delighting you with what we do.’

‘We are very proud of all our winners, and being able to celebrate with them on an occasion like this is very special. The ceremony was incredible. … A special congratulations to our overall winners: the Global Hotel of the Year – Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve; the Global Spa of the Year – Spirit Hotel Thermal Spa; the Global Restaurant of the Year – Le Pavillon; and the Global Travel Establishment of the Year – Australia Zoo,’ said Jana Stoman, World Luxury Awards’ Executive Manager. Travellers today increasingly value experiences over possessions and are willing to invest in unique, authentic, and immersive travel experiences.

It is with the unwavering commitment of dedicated staff that guests can enjoy this. We congratulate the 2023 winners, who have worked hard and tirelessly to be successful in a very competitive industry.

The World Luxury Awards 2023 were presented on 28 October 2023 in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Athens. More than 3,200 hotels, spas, restaurants and tourism specialists from all over the world were nominated. The World Luxury Awards were founded in 2006 by former hotel manager Brandon Lourens in South Africa. His objective was to create an international award and platform for pioneers, exemplary representatives and specialists in the upscale hotel industry. Over the past 17 years, an elaborate process has been developed assess infrastructure, concept and product, as well as quality of the implementation and service. The rating has also been adapted to reflect the changing demands and needs of both guests and industry. The Luxury Award Trophies are now awarded not only to hotels, but also to spas since 2010, to restaurants since 2015, and to travel and tourism companies since 2020. The World Luxury Hotel Awards nomination process begins with entrants applying in the categories that best represent their unique selling points. The World Luxury Commission selects the nominees based on official guest reviews. In the subsequent four-week public balloting phase, international travellers, guests and industry representatives around the world cast their votes. The awards are presented at global, continental, national and regional levels.

Martin Herrmann’s cuisine attracts gourmets from all over the world to the elegant Le Pavillon in Bad Peterstal-Griesbach in Germany’s romantic Black Forest. 25 years ago, Herrmann received his first Michelin star, and he has held two since 2010. The recipe for top quality at Le Pavillon is an appreciation of local products and ingredient from the Black Forest, which the top chef uses to conjure up delicious compositions and unforgettable culinary delights. Add superb service, a sophisticated atmosphere and superb wines from the Dollenberg cellar and you have a winner. Sommelier Christophe Meyer has been in charge of the Dollenberg’s wines for the last 16 years, and was awarded Michelin’s Sommelier Award and Gault&Millau’s Sommelier of the Year in 2023 – for the second time in a row.