The Hotel Willinger Hof was opened on February 12, 1956 by Friedrich Kramer. Four years later, a large dining room was added and the swimming pool built in 1967 was the first indoor swimming pool in a hotel in northern Hesse, which was even worthy of a television report at the time. At the beginning of the 1970s, the hotel was extended by twelve rooms and in 1976 another major renovation project was carried out with the construction of a new façade and the expansion to 60 guest beds. This was followed by the construction of the “Willinger Stübchen”, the hotel bar and beer bar.

Together with his wife Hildegard, Friedrich Kramer turned the hotel into one of the leading hotels in the region. Situated in the side street “Zum Kurgarten”, the hotel offered guests excellent vacation facilities and was still centrally located. For many years, the Hotel Willinger Hof was a fixed meeting point for the SC Willingen footballers after training and matches. Many weddings, balls, anniversaries and other large parties were also held here. Wolfgang Kramer, who died far too young, continued to run the hotel with his wife Dagmar in the spirit of the family until his death.

In 1994, Martin Schrinner, Bernd Nackas and Klaus Behle became the new owners, before Klaus Behle and his wife Annegret continued to run the Hotel Willinger Hof on their own in 2004. Annegret Behle was the face and good soul of the hotel for over two decades. Daughter Alexandra worked in the management until the handover to the Göbel Hotel Group on January 1, 2020.

Annegret and Klaus Behle ran their hotel in a very informal way and placed great value on comfort and tranquillity. In addition to the renovation of all rooms and the new construction of the penthouse suites and a wellness area around 15 years ago, the focus was also on the redesign of the lobby, reception, beer bar and restaurant. Thanks to the many investments and the very familiar management, the Hotel Willinger Hof has established itself as a top hotel in Willingen with many regular guests. One of the flagships was the unique breakfast buffet, which the locals also enjoyed very much.

Traditional hotel under new ownership since the start of 2020

Since the beginning of the year 2020, the stylish Hotel Willinger Hof has been part of the owner-managed Göbel Hotel Group led by owner and managing partner Gert Göbel. He laid the foundation stone for the successful hotel group based in Willingen over 40 years ago with the parent hotel “Göbel's Landhotel”. “We are delighted to be adding an attractive hotel to our Göbel Hotels portfolio with the Hotel Willinger Hof. After a few investments, I see the hotel as a chic boutique hotel with a large swimming pool and sauna area, attractive rooms and an overnight stay and breakfast offer,” reports Gert Göbel.

As passionate hosts and a family-run hotel group, it is important to the Göbel family to inspire guests with diversity, quality and a feel-good atmosphere. Naturally, this will also be continued at the Hotel Willinger Hof with the new name "Willino Privathotel".