brigdoon

It seems Haus Schwarzenberg was sold and is now Pension Dappler. I had found a few positive references to "Pension Dappler" in the forums here and elsewhere, but wondered why Dappler is not listed on any of the booking or review sites except on the Cochem tourist info site (www.cochem.de). Just today, I happened to see on Trip Advisor that 'Haus Schwarzenberg' lists the same address, with a review posted as recently as October 2008.

Dappler does have its own website with photos of rooms that appear basic but well kept, clean and modern. I booked with them directly. The neat thing is that for 48 euro, I was able to book a double en suite with balcony overlooking Mosel River (hotel sits directly on riverbank according to google maps and website), and includes breakfast. We are going during the June wine festival and have to catch an early train out, so its location just east of town (quieter than center town) and a few blocks from the train seems a real plus.

brigdoon

In case this might be helpful to anyone else, I think I discovered the answer- after looking more closely, the street addresses of these properties appear the same, but the Haus Schwarzenberg has a slightly different zip code and is in the town of Ernst, 5 km away from Cochem. Also, it is Pension Dapper (not dappler as originally posted):

Pension Dapper
Moselstraße 24
56812 Cochem
Tel.: 02671-7471
Fax: 02671-4272

On Trip Advisor:
Haus Schwarzenberg
Moselstrasse 24 | Ernst (Mosel), Cochem 56814, Germany

The confusing part is that the map on TA shows the Schwarzenberg address in the location of Pension Dapper, but when I used google maps for these 2 addresses, it shows them in 2 distict towns, about 5 km apart.

Russ

Some friends of mine stayed at Pension Dapper 3 years ago. It does have a great location for train travelers, on the river and very near the station. They were there just one night and the place served its purpose - but they weren't effusive about it.

crckwc1

DH and I stayed at Haus Schwarzenberg about 18 months ago and were completely satisfied. We received a Christmas greeting from the owners this year, so they are still running the hotel. The hotel was listed under Cochem but it is actually in Ernst, a smaller town a few kilometers away from Cochem -- an advantage as far as we're concerned. We gave a very good rating on Trip Advisor.

brigdoon

Russ- thanks for letting me know that Dapper was just so-so. I received a very reasonable offer for en suite double with balcony overlooking the river, but there are no photos of the exterior, so I can't tell what the area is like, or what the pension looks like from the outside.

crckwc-Can you say more about why you prefer Ernst to Cochem? Did you have a car or were you train dependent?

Russ

Ernst is a nice enough place. I haven't stayed there but have stayed in several towns along the Mosel, and it's in fact pretty hard to go wrong anywhere on this river. But Ernst for me is less ideal than Cochem, which retains more old world structures and flavor in its old town and has many more services, dining choices, and activities. Ernst is a good distance upriver from Cochem and requires a bus connection or taxi from Cochem - no train station there - so coming and going is more difficult without a car.

Cochem gets busy on summer days as daytrippers stop in, and I think its popularity puts off some who would rather have the place to themselves - but it is not huge and though heavily touristed it is not in my opinion "over the top" tourism and makes an ideal base for a stay several days. Evenings there are generally very calm and not very crowded even at the height of tourist season.

An apartment was always a relaxing way for my family to enjoy Cochem - nice to have the extra room and the kitchen. There are many apartments for rent in Cochem at reasonable rates. This summer I stopped in to see my favorite hosts there but since they no longer rent out their cute little place in the old town area, I have no specific rec's for you. But do try to find something there in the old town - it's a special spot.

brigdoon

Thanks Russ. You confirmed my thoughts about Cochem. I am in a quandary about where to stay, and maybe you can help. Here are the options I'm considering:

Hotel Lohspeicher in old town, or Hotel am Hafen across the river (similar price but some reviews say Hafen staff are rude), Germania (near old town but closer to train for early departure and a bit more pricey). Also found a nice (and less expensive) apt across the river with great view of balcony (valwiger str. 22) but wonder if the walk to town (.7 km) will get tiring or we will miss the 'old town' experience. Do you have a recommendation?

Russ

brigdoon: I haven't stayed at any of the places you mention. The Lohspeicher has an ideal old-town location. I've heard the accommodations are fairly simple but good.

The apartment building you speak of - "Am alten Kirchplatz", right? - looks wonderful. It's located near the bridge, so it's a relatively quick walk into the old town. That side of the river is Cochem-Cond, which is all pretty modern and in my mind much less atmospheric and doesn't have the entertainment value of the other side, but those who stay there like it for the view across the river of old town Cochem, which is spectacular, and for the SUNSHINE - later in the day, the old town is darker because of the taller buildings and the sun-blocking hillsides. From the website, it looks like your apartments are built to take good advantage of the view and the sunshine.

The other advantage of the Cond side of town is that there's a nice hike to "Valwiger Berg", the peak just behind tthe town - good exercise and views from up there.

Your place there has six apartments, all with balcony. I'm not sure if you have a link to this German page, but it has photos of each apartment; click on "Wohnung 1-6" links near the bottom of the page:

http://www.ferienwohnungen-cochem-mo...chem_mosel.htm

To me, it looks like a very good find. I'm a walker who probably wouldn't mind the extra steps too much, considering the views you get crossing the river. I hope if you try it out that you'll post about your stay there since I'm looking for a new spot there as well!

brigdoon

Russ, I will let you know what I decide to do, and post our experience. Sounds like you think the apt is a better bet than Pension Dapper. We will need a taxi to get us to the 7am train on departure if we take the apt, but otherwise the apt seems a much better value for only 7 more euros/night (plus we're on our own for breakfast). Lohspeicher is 90 euro a nite, so quite a bit more money, now that I am staying 5 days. Jean.

tcreath

We stayed in an apartment at Am alten Kirchplatz this past April and were quite pleased. The views of the castle and town were wonderful, and the balcony is great for taking advantage of the view. The walk wasn't very long at all; maybe about 10 minutes.

We really liked Cochem and it was nice and quite in April.

If you are interested, I posted a trip report here. The link is http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...th+schnitzel.I also have pics of the apartment - they can be viewed at www.kodakgallery.com/tracybates. Just click on the "Deutschland 08" album.

Best wishes,
Tracy

crckwc1

brigdoon, Sorry I'm late answering -- have been out of town. Unless you have a car, Ernst probably wouldn't be your best bet. Since we always drive, we prefer smaller towns within easy driving distance to the larger towns and thought Ernst was perfect. Cochem is somewhat "touristy" (as though we're not tourists LOL!) so we like quieter places to stay. Wherever you stay, I think you'll like the Mosel area.

brigdoon

I actually have emailed Am alten Kirchplatz about their apts-very nice photos on their website-thanks for sharing yours. Good to hear the walk wasn't a barrier to getting into town. I was looking at visitors site to loook for an apt in town, and did find two that would be ok, but neither as nice as Kirchplatz.

Brigadoon

Just returned from stay in Cochem and agree is it a great home base for touring Burg Eltz (15 min by train then 90" hike to castle from Moselkern).

I considered staying at Pension Dapper b/c rooms are reasonable -we were quoted 48 euros including breakfast per nite for 2 persons during June 2009 which is considered low season. Room we were offered had river view, looked clean from their photos. I did not end up choosing Dapper b/c I was concerned that I could not find any photos of the exterior. I checked Dapper out on arrival in Cochem- rooms are in the same building above a gas station and about a 10 min walk from town. I was glad we did not stay there.

For less money, we stayed in a wonderful efficiency apt, #4 at Ferienwohnungen Pension Moselhaus (www.moselhaus.de), right in the center of town, on a narrow quaint cobblestoned street, fabulous riverfront views, and only 40 euro/nite (50 euro in high season which starts July 1). You can see photos of exterior and all 6 rooms or apts from their site.

IMO, the 3 Apts are a better value than the 3 rooms. Rooms are 50 euro do not have river view, but rooms do include breakfast in price and maid service. You can pay extra for breakfast (I think 5 euro pp) if you stay in apts, but there is a local grocery so we enjoyed cooking breakfast in room (ours had 2 burners, frig, coffee maker and cooking utensils). Also apts do not get daily maid service-it's just once weekly (they will replace towels/paper supplies whenever you ask). I emailed owner (very nice person) directly to get this rate. Her name is Mercy and she speaks fluent English.
I just posted 10 photos and detailed description of this place on tripadvisor, so check back in a day or 2 to see it when posting goes up. Jean