La Maison des Tetes

La Maison des Tetes

Look up at the façade of La Maison des Têtes in the center of Colmar and you can count some of the one hundred and six small stone heads carved into the stone when the building went up in 1609, a detail no other hotel in Alsace can claim. Éric Girardin and his partner have run the property since 2015, splitting it between a traditional brasserie serving Alsatian dishes and a separate, discreetly luxurious Michelin-starred restaurant, where a recent menu paired puffed Munster cheese with Marc de Gewurztraminer. Upstairs, across three floors, the 21 rooms are individually decorated, keeping the original timber framing while the furnishings lean contemporary, each with a minibar, bathrobe and slippers, air conditioning and free Wi-Fi. There's a terrace for morning coffee with a view over the rooftops, and the Unterlinden Museum, the Dominican Church, Theater Colmar and the Christmas Market grounds are all a short walk away. Staff speak English, French and German, an elevator reaches every floor, and a pet can travel along for twenty euros a stay. This suits a couple planning a food-led weekend, or anyone who wants a hotel that is itself a piece of the town's history rather than a backdrop to it. It will frustrate anyone chasing a pool, a gym, or the interchangeable comfort of a large hotel, since there are only 21 rooms across three floors and no space for groups. Parking is on site but paid, breakfast costs extra and children's breakfast runs twenty euros, and check-in only opens at four in the afternoon. What lingers is the façade itself, a hundred and six carved faces watching the street as they have since the seventeenth century. A 1609 townhouse in central Colmar with 106 carved stone heads on its façade, home to a Michelin-starred restaurant, a historic brasserie and 21 individually decorated rooms across three floors. Pets are welcome, staff speak three languages, and breakfast and late check-out cost extra.