Fate

The current fate of Germany's Badekultur: failing to invest has left the majority in a time warp with little charm to attract the new generations of bathers.
There are though exceptions; Bad Wildbad seems (to a certain degree) to have adapted to a brighter future.

Sitting in the northern Schwärzwald, in the narrow vale of the Ens river, the hills around Bad Wildbad are dressed with fir trees; not discerning enough to edge out any competition for potential tourists. 
But it's quiet town lanes are still busy in late September, with visitors coming for Bad Wildbad's new side attractions.

Easily reached by fast tram from the city of Pforzheim, visitors to Bad Wildbad can use the Sommerbergbahn funicular rail to head up to the edge of the mounts where the added attractions (besides the extensive forests) are a tree top walk and a long hanging bridge which connects two parts of the forest with little on either side to suggest there is a real need for the bridge (= weird?). But the fact you need to pay for the privilege to cross, seems to entice visitors to take the step(s).

Better still, you can use aforementioned funicular to get a head start to the many trails in the mountains. 

For instance, a 2-hour walk from the Sommerbergstation to Grünehutte would award you with the opportunity to taste the local brew and savior the huge portions, dished out of traditional of Germany's cuisine. Which surprisingly enough includes a vegetarian option. Or you could just stick to sweets: küche galore or take the exceptional pancakes (Heidelbeerpfannkuchen (pictured below), the edges fried crispy with the center packed with local blueberries compote).

And from Grünehutte you could continue to enjoy the High Moor and Wildsee:

So you understand, Bad Wildbad is attracting a new clientele based on new attractions with traditional pastimes thrown into the mix. 
But then again, back in town a young US visitor, ordering a coffee with soy milk was met with a blank stare and a shake of the head: things haven't changed that much.

Using Bad Wildbad as a base to visit the surroundings and utilize the oddity of the downtown Palais Thermal in the evening, could well ensure a great holiday.

Oddity?  
Here's where I apologize for contributions upcoming in German, even in French; reader, you'll just have to use your favorite translator. Or learn a language or two.

Anyway, Palais Thermal is basically a new sauna complex glued to an older bathing complex. Wikiwand on the origins of it's waters:

"Im Kurzentrum tritt Grundwasser aus mehr als 1000 m Tiefe mit einer Temperatur von 36 bis 41 °C an die Oberfläche. Anstelle der natürlichen Quellaustritte wird das Thermalwasser heute aus fünf Tiefbrunnen gefördert".

The main bath building is quite old actually, there aren't many bathhouses from these dates still functional.
Dating back to 1842  (see Wikipedia link below), it contains two larger baths, the Herrenbad and of course the Frauenbad. Both are 32°C, though there are other two-persons affairs located on the sides of the main pools, all just a little hotter.

From the Palais Thermal flickr site, the Herrenbad with naked lady statue ...

In a couple of alcoves, there's some history of the Palais presented, which management coin as a museum. 
This part has been designed in Jugendstil and little has changed; experiencing the architecture and the way light falls, the building is very much worth the visit and a swim.
Or as Wikipedia (German) describes the building as follows:

"In Wildbad sind Badehäuser seit dem Jahr 1521 nachgewiesen. Vermutlich gab es sie schon im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert, da sich Wildbad in dieser Zeit zu einem bekannten Badeort entwickelte. 1545/1546 ließ Herzog Ulrich den Ulrichsbau mit Fürstenbad errichten. Im 17. Jahrhundert bestanden daneben drei Badgebäude: Das Herren- und Bürgerbad, das Frauenbad und das Armenbad vor dem oberen Tor, das später als Pferdebad diente. Am Bestand änderte sich bis zum 19. Jahrhundert nur wenig, da lange Zeit Trinkkuren den Badekuren vorgezogen wurden".

What also contributes to the oddity is that the historic baths are clothing optional; a concept still foreign to Europe: mixing the options is confusing. 
So just enjoying the baths basically means you'll be probably confronted with the naked soul (and body) even though you actually limited yourself to the bath option only, just to avoid this kind of confrontation!

dank_jakes

I'll let you decide whose the Greek goddess 🍑

Bummed
Anyway, what about our own experience? 

On forehand we limited ourselves to evening visits, away from the day tourist crowds, but also to take advantage of the lower entrance fees, post 6 pm. 
On tripadvisor (4.5 stars, 516 reviews, no. 2 of things to do in Bad Wildbad) you'll see a number of complaints concerning front-desk staff, though on the occasions of our visits there was nothing to suggest that they were other than welcoming. 

After breaching this first hurdle and receiving your bracelet (for the locker, buying beverages/food and sauna entrance), you continue onwards to the changing cubicles which are surprisingly small and private affairs despite the CO culture adopted.

From the changing cubicles one passes a hall into the old building where there are gender separate shower stations adjacent the already mentioned Herrenbad. It's the biggest and with the 32°C it's a good starter for the sauna process. Unfortunately the other baths in the older section are very similar in temperature, though with a slightly different setting. 
If you want more, head upstairs where you can bathe in the so-called Bluepool whose's antiquity dates back just 40 odd years, thus one can understand that here's less for the eye to catch. 
Here, at the back there's a small sauna, but for other sauna's one needs to pass the turnstile whereby you get charged an extra €5. 
Beyond the paywall, there are a number of sauna's, a Dampfbad and an outside swimming pool with views of the town and the Sommerberg itself.

The outside pool is a beauty while the adjacent panorama sauna is equally delightful. 
A story lower, there's a large sauna which is used for the Aufguss sessions, on the dot every hour (it's always surprising how quiet the whole place is, but come Aufguss time, the sauna's are extraordinarily packed to bursting). Utilizing the Aufguss option is always fun and tests your stamina.

We also had the enjoyment to use the Bluepool with what management refers to as Klangwassercocktail. While drifting in the pool, a concert with mostly sounds such as didgeridoo, Tibetan bowls and throat singing entice a further relaxation though with the pool packed with bodies there was some bumming around. This happens usually once every 3 months.

Or in other words, Palais Thermal results in a great experience with enjoying the old, savouring the new, discovering the nooks and crannies, etc.

Stated
Well, what do others believe?
I was surprised by some Tripadvisor, whereby complaints were made, concerning other guests and the CO routine maintained:
Some snippets:

"Diese Mischung aus nackten und bekleideten Gästen ist ungewöhnlich, fast schon unerträglich. Zudem die vielen kleinen Becken, in einigen davon tummelten bzw. posieren oder vergnügten sich verliebte Paare".
...
"Bit misleading they say you can wear swimsuits but don’t tell you only on the ground floor".
...
"Some people wore swimwear, others didn't. Surely the whole point of "textile free" is that if everyone is in the same state, there is no embarrassment, there is only embarrassment when some wear swimwear and others don't".

Google reviews (4.5*, 974 reviews) has a similar story:

"Swimwear area and nude area is very unclear. There are no signs whatsoever".
...
" ... if you aren't German, or don't know all the myriad German rules of order, protocol, and obligation, I'd suggest looking for a more accommodating establishment".
...
"... we found it annoying if you want to chill down in the old baths and there are naked people running around and swimming naked at you".
...
"Außerdem ist das ein gemischter Bereich, was ich, ehrlich gesagt, etwas irritierend fand. Ich bin eher für: entweder alle nackt oder alle bekleidet".
...
"At 32°C the pools were pretty cool for me. Also we were asked to leave the sauna because we were wearing swimwear. Would not mind but there were no signs and we were told that swimwear was fine on the way in. Will not be going back that's for sure".
...
"La personne à l'acceuil nous à dis que l'ensemble de l'établissement était nudiste !? Hors sur le site internet il précise qu'il y a des endroits textile et d'autre non !!???? Bref nous ne sommes donc pas entrée".

Though admittedly, the lay-out is confusing, there's little to suggest that the other complaints were nothing more than personal peeves. 

CO routine,  though rather ridicule in my eyes, is clearly stated and the complaints are either traditional German bathers or non-Germans: the traditionalists eschew any move away from naked-only and tolerance of slightly more clothed. Whereas non-Germans are intentionally possibly trying to limit their exposure?

As a widely publicized thermal experience (their slogan: "Deutschlands sinnlichstes Saunabad"), one encounters quite a few tourist unfamiliar with Germany's Badekultur and routine, thereby possibly implying something where there's nothing. 
Both review sites do have very high overall scores from rather a lot of reviewers, so most are satisfied?

Cosy

Press coverage, especially in English is near to non-existent. Only on offer is this article from the Sydney Morning Herald (Oct. 19, 2018):

'We're at the historic Palais Thermal baths in the wonderfully named German town of Bad Wildbad. We've arrived pre-dinner, tuckered out by trail walking in the nearby Black Forest. Having read of the enforced nudity section in a brochure – and via an aggrieved web post from a family thrown out for boldly wearing bathers in the "garment-free" area – we're keen to see this Teutonic action before getting stuck into the fabled smoked trout soup at a local cafe. 
In the mid-19th century, when the Palais Thermal was built, some of its smaller pools were private bathing alcoves known as "Prince Baths" because only those of royal blood could use them. As cosy as this sounds, men and women were at the time strictly segregated: blokes in Herrenbads, women in Frauenbads ("bad" being the German word for bath), suggesting a lot of blue bloods couldn't be as bad as they might have wished. 
Today there are residents of the spa town who've been flopping about naked in mixed baths all their lives. For them, public nudity is as natural as feathered hats, hiking poles and salami for breakfast. But for first-timers like me, it's a strange experience in which anxiety and prurient interest struggle for dominance'. 

But mostly it's tongue-in-cheek-ness concerning anatomic of other guests; somethings never change in Anglo-Saxon media land.

German press is more to the note.

Currently upgrades are taking place apparently, which the PZ.news (May 13, 2019) refers as:

„Staatsbad-4.0-Konzept“.

Though from the article the only thing that's clear is that nothings clear ... Especially for the adjacent mostly empty Neue Eberhardsbad a solution needs to be sought while noted that there were a couple of other buildings in Bad Wildbad requiring renovation.

The Schwarzwaldebote notes (Jul. 10) that there's an additional sauna being installed complete with an ice lounge and shower stations. 

The blogging world seems less interested apparently. Or is the written word dying out?

Anyway, the Traveling Overeducated Housewife shares her experience (Jun. 2017) though it's very much a discussion on public nudity:

'As I enjoyed the warm water and sunshine, I couldn’t help but marvel at how unexpectedly freeing it was to be naked in front of a bunch of strangers. Seriously… I think I was born to be European. It was interesting to see who was at the spa. I saw all kinds of bodies and no one stared or acted embarrassed. I saw old people, thin people, fat people, young people… one thing I did not see was young children, which was a real blessing. The youngest people there were a couple of teenagers. They appeared to be brother and sister and were with a guardian– not egregiously sucking face like I often see at the Mineraltherme. In fact, everyone was behaving themselves. Maybe it has to do with being naked'.

Likewhereyouregoing (Apr. 7):

'As a non-German, I was a little apprehensive to try this experience. But by the end of my two hour soak, I had almost forgotten that myself and the other guests were in the buff'.

Observe
Besides already mentioned activities, there maybe other places of interest to on your sojourn in Bad Wildbad:

- Cycling up and along the mountains. Or on the cycle path of Ens valley. 

 

- Climb up the Hohlohturm. Wikipedia:

'At the northern end of the summit plateau, at a height of 984 m, is the Hohloh Tower (Hohlohturm), officially the Emperor William Tower (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm), an observation tower, from which there are often wide views in the Northern Black Forest. It stands about 200 metres north of the summit and on the edge of the steep slope where a better view of the Murg Valley to the northwest may be had'.

- Visiting Nagoldtalsperre, a great place for wildswimming. Or supping. Or hiking.

- Further away, heading towards the Sankenbachwasserfall from Baiersbronn, with a great mountain lake with another wildswim opportunity.

- Baden-Baden (with thermal baths of it's own) is not far away, but due to some failure in communication the two most convenient roads were closed meaning a lengthy detour. And thus no visit alas.

Don't forget the discount for Konus card holders; if staying overnight in Bad Wildbad or nearby, the local tax provides you with this card which gives free public transport in the wider region, discounts on various entrances / rides. And of course a 2€ discount on Palais Thermal.

Postscript 2022: in an act to line up experiences had, we try to translate an unique experience into a figure. Was it an eight? 

Could be more, but the wellness experience is devalued by the allowance of costumes in baths on ground floor, lack of catering, poor reception area while the second floor has a maze. But then there's the new renovated areas, with great large bath, extensive panorama sauna, etc. And the Klangwassercocktail evening was something different.