21 Best Hotels in Heidelberg and the Neckar Valley, Germany

Your host at this antiques-filled hotel with comfortable, modern rooms is the present Baron of the Burg Hornberg. Try for one of the tower rooms overlooking the valley, but there are equally stunning views from the heights of the terrace and glassed-in restaurant ($$)—housed in the former Marstall, or royal stables. Fresh fish and game are specialties, as are the estate-bottled wines, including good riesling wines and the rarities Traminer and Muskateller—also sold in the wine shops in the courtyard and at the foot of the hill.

On the edge of a forest (Wald) with miles of hiking and biking trails, yet just a 10-minute streetcar ride from downtown, this modern suburban hotel offers lots of amenities and peaceful nights. It's in the residential suburb of Degerloch and occupies a 100-year-old building that had previous lives as an orphanage and a religious retreat, but a 2011 makeover created a chic interior that blends natural elements with fine modern art. There are tennis courts and electric bikes (free for guests), and an outdoor sauna overlooking a lush garden. Rooms are decorated in soothing neutral tones, and there are two restaurants, one of which is a fine-dining destination.

In a historic building in the heart of the Altstadt (Old Town), this stylish hotel has spacious rooms and suites, including three- and four-bed junior suites that are perfect for families. Each is individually decorated with themes such as Namibia or Sumatra, and modern amenities combine well with antique furnishings. The Stalinger family also runs the Reinbach, a restaurant about a mile from town, and will take you there by shuttle service.

On secluded grounds next to the Old Town, this most luxurious five-star Heidelberg hotel has been welcoming guests since 1865. Public areas have stunning turn-of-the-20th-century furnishings while bedrooms are modern, spacious, and tasteful, and all suites have whirlpool tubs. The elegant continental restaurant, the Kurfürstenstube, contains original inlay woodwork. In summer, meals are served on the fountain-lined terrace overlooking the walled garden. There is also a lobby bar and a cigar bar known as Smoker's Lounge.

The \"Sorcerer's Apprentice\" is aptly named, as Karen and Axel Heldmann have conjured up an unusual luxury hotel with each room's decor based on a different theme. The 1,000 Nights room has a mosaic-tile bathroom, Seventh Heaven has Philippe Starck–influenced decor, and most have fireplaces. The popular restaurant, Z-Bistro, serves three-course prix-fixe menus also based on a theme, including vegetarian, fish, and regional Swabian favorites, enhanced by a very good wine list. Enjoy it all on the terrace in summer. The restaurant also now offers cooking classes.

This design-forward hotel is steps from Stuttgart's Rathaus (City Hall), offering spare, modern furnishings designed to maximize space in somewhat small rooms. The lobby bar, Fritz, adjoins a breakfast spot with the same name. It caters to a business crowd on weekdays, so rates are lower on weekends. 

This traditional family-owned Gasthaus on a residential street in the heart of Heidelberg has very nice modern rooms at affordable prices. You can even enjoy fresh air, as windows open onto a small, quiet courtyard. The restaurant offers  a surprising range of items for its buffet breakfast, from delicately marinated vegetables to imaginative soups.

If you're looking for a clean, simple, and inexpensive room, this small inn is an ideal candidate, located conveniently opposite the railway station for trips to or from Heidelberg. The main drawback: in some of the cheaper rooms, the showers are in the rooms and the toilets are down the hall. In the restaurant or in the beer garden you can order a simple meal for a good price, and there's a terrace overlooking the mountains.

Two adjoining Beaux Arts buildings just outside the Old Town have been converted into a modern hotel that has been fully renovated and transformed (it was formerly a Crowne Plaza), reopening in 2024.  The stylish modern decor includes a lovely lobby restaurant under a glass atrium, serving both American and German favorites such as ribeye steak and schnitzel. The expensive on-site parking garage also has EV charging stations.

Opposite the Alte Brücke, and with views across the busy Neckar River to the forested hillside beyond, this ornate 19th-century building is in a prime Old Town location. Its pink-and-white painted facade stands out in its row, and many of the modern and pleasant rooms overlook the busy waterway. The staff are very friendly, and there are more single rooms here than in many hotels.

There are lovely views of the Old Town from the rooms in this charming small hotel, and it's close to the castle that towers over the town. In its excellent restaurant you can try a dozen versions of Maultaschen (Swabian-style ravioli) and other regional dishes. In season, local trout with a white wine from Swabia is a popular choice. In summer, reserve ahead or aim to dine on the terrace. A second restaraunt, featuring steaks and burgers, is just outside the castle gate.

This sleek and trendy hotel in the \"new\" part of Heidelberg is built into one side of the Alten Hallenbad, the covered former city pool that is now a popular upscale international food court. Rooms are decorated in neutral tones, floors are bare hardwood, and hallways are stark white. Rooms on the top floors have small terraces overlooking the nearby hills, and one suite has its own sauna. Although there is no restaurant, the café is open all day for small bites. It is a certified Green Hotel.

This comfortable hotel is on a quiet side street a five-minute walk from the Konigstrasse pedestrian mile and the museums around Schlossplatz. It attracts mostly business people during the week, and theater goers and shoppers on weekends, in part for the free hotel parking so close to the heart of downtown and discounted weekend room rates. Rooms are clean and modern. There is a lobby bar and a restaurant open for lunch on weekdays (no dinner), and the hotel offers printed jogging, and biking maps for the nearby Schlosspark.

This upscale European chain is known for value and convenient locations; this hotel in a quiet residential area offers ample parking, making it a good choice for both business and leisure travelers.  Décor is contemporary and comfortable, with bright colors instead of the muted tones in most hotels, and there's a full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as a bar, sauna, and gym. If you're driving, there's easy access to the A5 highway. Pets are welcome for an additional per-day charge.

Across the street from Stuttgart Airport, the doors of this hotel open into a completely soundproof glass palace with airy rooms and a convenient location for the fairgrounds. Look up from the spacious and light-filled lobby to see the glass ceiling; the airy guest rooms have wall-to-wall windows, and the suites beckon with all the amenities. The equally airy restaurant Trollinger serves Continental fare, and there is an inviting lounge and bar. The Stuttgart fairgrounds are within walking distance from the hotel, which tends to fill weekdays with business travelers—ask for weekend rates.

The glass-covered entrance hall of this primarily business hotel is spacious—not surprising, as it was the courtyard of a former brewery. You can dine at one of three on-site restaurants (which are open daily for lunch and dinner), including the Bräustüberl, which specializes in regional German fare. Rooms are colorful and cozy, some have terraces, and you can get good room rates in summer, especially in August.

If this new hotel looks like an office building from the outside, that's because it once was one, which reopened in early 2024 as a stylish, contemporary hotel.  It caters to business travelers during the week and leisure travelers on the weekends, when rates are lower. Part of a small European chain of 16 hotels, it draws an international crowd anytime to its comfortable lobby bar for aprés-meetings drinks or sightseeing along with a restaurant.

This new skyscraper hotel, which opened in 2023, is fully air-conditioned, still rare in Germany, with a rooftop bar, unusual for downtown Stuttgart. Floor-to-ceiling windows make rooms feel bright and airy, and they are further enhanced by sleek, contemporary furnishings in neutral colors. The hotel (like so many in this area) caters to a business crowd, so rates are lower on the weekend. Restaurant Balaustine serves mostly Mediterranean dishes. Both the restaurant and lobby bar are closed Monday.  

One of the city's largest hotels offers spacious modern rooms and individually controlled air-conditioning, still a rarity in Germany. Although accommodations are now called \"apartments,\" they are still regular hotel rooms or suites, although with fully equipped kitchenettes (refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher), which makes this an ideal choice for families or for longer stays. There are four barrier-free rooms for guests with disabilities.

Housed in a former airport hangar in the Stuttgart suburb of Böblingen, this hotel offers rooms that have either an automotive or flight theme. In the special themed rooms, chairs might be made from vehicle passenger seats, night tables are stacked hubcaps with glass tops, beds have the front of a Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, or Jeep as a footboard. There’s even one room designed to look like a car wash, and the breakfast buffet is served on the back of a vintage Chevrolet pick-up. The V8 Hotel is connected to other retrofitted hangars containing luxury car and vintage car dealerships and the see-through glass garages of collectors of both, called MotorWorld.  Commuter trains between Stuttgart and Boblingen leave several times each hour and take 21 minutes. And it has expanded to a second building.

Exposed beams, stucco ceilings, warm wood furnishings, and individually decorated, comfortable rooms are all part of this hotel's charm. The restaurant has art deco touches, and its creative menu changes seasonally, but fresh fish—especially salmon—remains a highlight year-round. The proprietor is a wine fan, and the extensive wine list reflects it (restaurant closed Monday)