The Munte:
from a restaurant for day trippers
to a 4-star superior hotel

Genuine hospitality – remains our perspective.

With “Tappes Kaffeehaus,” the foundation stone for the emerging history of our company was laid in April 1915. Today, the MUNTE Wellness Hotel am Stadtwald stands on the foundations of the former excursion restaurant. 

On April 1, 1915, Gustav Tappe, great-grandfather of Detlef and Jan Pauls, opened “Tappes Kaffeehaus” in a former “tavern with stables.” After World War I, the excursion and ballroom with coffee garden quickly became a popular destination for the people of Bremen. 

Our favourite photo from that time is, and always will be, the view of the large garden terrace with boats passing by on the small tributary of the Lesum, which at that time still flowed right past the front of the house. It really captures the relaxed, refined Sunday atmosphere on an early summer’s day.

Following the founder’s death, his daughter Mariechen Pauls and her son Gerhard took over the establishment in 1956, which by then was known as ‘Munte 2’. Under their management, skittle alleys were built, an extension was added, and the function rooms were expanded and modernised. At that time, the Munte had around ten permanent staff.

After his mother stepped down, Gerhard Pauls continued to run the business together with his wife Edith. Together, they planned the construction of a hotel, which finally opened on 1 May 1980 under the name ‘Hotel Munte am Stadtwald’, featuring 64 rooms, a swimming pool, a sauna and a solarium.

In 1984, their son Detlef joined the management team, followed four years later by his brother Jan, representing the fourth generation. With their involvement, too, continuous investment has been made in the hotel.

In 1988, a second accommodation block was built, increasing the capacity to 124 rooms.

In the mid-1990s, the old building housing the function rooms was demolished to make way for a new complex on the same site, featuring new and brighter rooms for conferences and events, a new kitchen and increased room capacity.

However, once the generational change had finally been completed at the turn of the millennium, this was by no means the end of our list of ideas. In July 2000, the Trattoria ‘del bosco’ opened, followed a year later by the fish and game speciality restaurant ‘Wels’ – Fisch, Wild & mehr.

In 2004, further extensive refurbishment took place. As part of the modernisation of the swimming pool and sauna area, the ‘WaldSpa’ wellness area was created; due to its great popularity, it has already been expanded three times and now covers 800 m².

The hotel is undergoing ongoing renovation. In 2020, we invested more than 800,000 euros in soundproof windows and the refurbishment of 60 rooms, including new doors, air conditioning and corridors. This ultimately led to the creation of the Superior Rooms (Auszeit) on the 3rd floor.

In the summer of 2021, we completed the refurbishment and expansion of our wellness area. However, investments continued even after that. The refurbishment of the terrace at the ‘del bosco’ trattoria, as well as the driveway and car park, took place in 2022. As part of this, four electric charging points were installed in the car park.

In 2023, new Superior Rooms (Auszeit) were created on the 2nd floor. A major change took place in 2024, when three meeting rooms and three function rooms were extensively refurbished and redesigned. Since spring 2025, there has also been a lockable bicycle storage room complete with an e-bike charging station.

Since the summer of 2024, Luca Pauls – the first of the fifth generation – has been ready to take the reins. He brings with him not only a strong family connection but also experience in the upmarket hotel sector and online sales.

A total of 120 employees, all covered by social security, now work in the Pauls family’s hotels. History marches on …