Tom

Planning on spending a Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in the Rhine/Mosel area in late May. Looking for a recommendation of a small hotel or gasthof for lodging. Prefer a quieter small town.

harzer

My recommendation would be a quiet little town on the Moselle called Beilstein. This is a short distance up-river from Cochem <BR>(which I would avoid like the plague as a base, but which, together with a visit to Burg Eltz, is worth a day trip), and on the other side of the river. A couple of cheaper inns there are 'Burg' and 'Gute Quelle', where you wouldn't pay more than about $15 - $20 for a room. If you have a car and are coming from Frankfurt, you can get to Beilstein on back roads coming from Bacharach on the Rhine, saving a wearisome detour via Koblenz. <BR>For other ideas, there is a site with an introduction in English at <BR>&lt;http://195.4.38.121/moselhighengl/ <BR>willkomengl.html&gt; which is a little difficult to navigate, but has a map showing all the towns along the river for which hotel addresses are shown. It also has a page of recommended places to stay. <BR>Good luck, may see you as I'll be there myself on 16 May.

Bob

I disagree with poster above on Cochem. There is a great little hotel there the Alte Thorndecke (sp) that we enjoyed very much. Recommended it to friends and they also liked it. <BR> <BR>Assmannhausen is nice on the Rhine. The Krone is right across from the river and has both expensive rooms and moderate priced rooms. It too is historic. <BR> <BR>Rudesheim is the town on the Rhine with quite a few restaurants, bands, etc. Worth a visit for dinner.

Russ

Harzer: What makes Cochem such a bad base, in your opinion? <BR> <BR>Tom: Beilstein is very picturesque. Its mention in Rick Steves' books and videos does bring a number of American tourists in; don't expect an undiscovered spot. If you're getting around by train, you should know that it does not have a station and will require you to get a bus from Cochem. A town I like with a station is Bullay -- kind of a normal town on the river, not too touristy, well-positioned for train, boat or bike trips into the region, and just enough in the way of local attractions and services. The Hotel Mosella there was just right for me. Prices are probably a bit higher now, but the sheet I brought back from last year lists a single at 38 - 45 DM, doubles from 76 - 90 DM, with buffet breakfast in their "wine cellar". The owner (wife) lived in Chicago for a while and speaks English very well. Phone number is 06542/90007. Also there is a website you might look at for the region if you can manage a bit of German: <BR>www.tourist.rlp.net/default.html <BR> <BR>You can pull down "Mosel" or "Rhine" under "Region", then type in the town your searching where it says "Ort". A list of places then appears.

harzer

Russ, did you read Tom's question? Cochem is not my idea of 'a quieter small town', nor of somewhere with a bit of authentic character for that matter. <BR> <BR>I also took into account Tom's interest in the Rhine as well. With some smart navigating you can get across to St Goar, Oberwesel or Bacharach in an hour or so from there.

Russ

Harzer: Yes, actually. And I agree that Cochem, while certainly not Berlin, or even Koblenz or Trier, is, by my standards too, rather un-small and un-quiet. That's why I didn't suggest it. But it sounded like you might have other reasons for advising Tom to avoid it "like the plague," and I was curious if you did.

SB

What about Zell?

Jeff

We have stayed in Bacharach the last two years at Hotel Kranenturm, as recommended by Rick Steves. We like Bacharach and its location on the Rhine. I could spend a week there traveling up and down the Rhine, touring castles. We traveled last year from Bacharach to Cochem (we did Burg Eltz the year before). Cochem's castle, Reichsburg, I believe, was one of the few open early in the year. We had a fun meal in Cochem and enjoyed it and the castle, even though it was rebuilt in the 1800s. The town isn't quaint, but there are worse places. It had the unique feel of a German river town that does more than just appeal to tourists. We stayed in Trier as a way station b/t the Rhine and Paris. It is a larger city. We are glad we did it. The Roman ruins were neat, but the city lacked some charm. However, the city square is impressive.

Kelly

Like Jeff, I've also stayed at Hotel Kranenturm and had a very nice stay there in Bacharach.

Dave

We have stayed several times at the Parkhotel von Landenberg just outside Cochem. It is a quiet place within walking distance of Cochem. The Fam. Prinz runs the place and are very accomodating. The restaurant there is fantastic <BR>

Noele-Australia

My husband and I drove up the Mosel River last September. We stopped off at Zell for a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed it. The more senior German people were holidaying there at that time. It did not crowd the town out and the holiday atmosphere gave the town a very relaxed feel. We stayed at a B&B which overlooked the Mosel (Gastezimmer Rosa mesenich, Brandenburg 48, Zell Ph: +06 542/4297. The double room was approx. DM60 per night with breakfast included. Rosa does not speak much English but that didn't matter. We got along just fine.