19 Best Hotels in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Germany

Book far ahead to secure a room at this friendly little hotel central to Weimar's attractions. It opened in 1826 as a church hostel. Double rooms are furnished with first-rate antique reproductions; public rooms have the real thing.

This historic, classical hotel, once the haunt of European nobility and intellectual society, continues to be a luxurious gem in the heart of Weimar—it's one of Germany's finest hotels. Tolstoy, Liszt, Schumann, Turgenev, and others once stayed at this former Russian city palace, whose (partly historic) rooms are decorated today with antique French tapestries, linens, and furniture.

The quiet Adagio, tucked away behind the facade of a 19th-century city mansion, is centrally located between the Grassi Museum and the Neues Gewandhaus. All rooms are individually furnished; when making a reservation, ask for a "1920s room," which features the style of the Roaring '20s and bathtubs almost as large as a whirlpool.

In the heart of the Andreasviertel, this family-run boutique hotel offers understated but elegant rooms. The suites are equipped with a kitchenette. 

This castle hotel, where Martin Luther, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Richard Wagner have been guests, offers a splendid view over the town of Eisenach, the countryside, and the Wartburg Castle itself. The standard of comfort is above average, and antiques and Oriental rugs mix with modern furnishings. Athough Eisenach is an ideal day trip from almost any town in the region, you want to see the Wartburg at night from one of the region's finest hotels.

The name says it all: this hotel is an homage to Napoléon, whose troops occupied Görlitz, and it's a splendid departure from a typical hotel because of its large rooms, some with kitchenettes. Located slightly behind the Marienplatz, the Bon-Apart's real draw is the antique-meets-modern interior design.

This centrally located hotel contains Italian-designed rooms bathed in red and yellow and arranged alongside a garden courtyard.

The historic Elephant, dating from 1696, has long been famous for its charm—even through the Communist years. Book here (well in advance), and you'll follow the choice of Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Liszt (after whom the hotel bar is named)—and Hitler—all of whom were guests.

At the base of Wartburg Castle, this former church-run hostel has blossomed into a handsome hotel, cleverly incorporating the original half-timber city mansion into a modern extension. The excellent restaurant ($–$$) has been joined by a brasserie.

This pleasant hotel occupies a 450-year-old building on the main market square, and great effort has been made to incorporate traditional building elements into the modern and spacious rooms. The restaurant, Bautzen's oldest, serves regional Saxon cuisine. Fondue by candlelight in the wine cellar is highly recommended but must be booked in advance.

Rebuilt after wartime bombing (and having reopened in early 2024 after a major 18-month renovation), the historic Taschenberg Palace—the work of Zwinger architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann—is Dresden's premier address and the last word in luxury, as befits the former residence of the Saxon crown princes. The Karl Mai bar serves the best cocktails in a rustic faux-western atmosphere

In a beautifully restored half-timber house, many of the rooms feature bare load-bearing timbers and have pleasant views of the castle. An excellent breakfast is served in a huge dining room.

Rooms in this baroque half-timber inn have modern amenities but are furnished in a pleasing, rustic fashion.

This hotel is all modern, designed by Italian interior architect Denis Santachiara, and is decorated with more than 600 works of art by Dresden-born painter and sculptor A. R. Penck.

Since the SAS group gave the ugly high-rise Kosmos a face-lift, the socialist-realist look of the GDR years no longer intrudes on Hotel Erfurt. The hotel, which has undergone several renovations since the reunification, now has rooms that are decorated in bright, modern colors and fabrics (including leather-upholstered furniture).

One of the most intimate first-class hotels in eastern Germany, the Bülow-Residenz is in a Baroque palace built in 1730 by a wealthy Dresden city official. Each spacious room has thick carpets and mostly dark, warm cherrywood furniture as well as individual accents and modern amenities.  Afternoon tea here is a quietly dignified institution.

The city's best hotel is also its most modern accommodation in antique disguise, a mansion dating to 1528, offering guest rooms with wooden floors and thick ceiling beams that are sparsely furnished with modern, dark cherrywood furniture.

A few steps from the central train station, this hotel is primarily geared to the business traveler; though the modern rooms may lack some character, the warm service and exceptional bathrooms make for a pleasant stay.

A former 19th-century exhibition hall houses one of the finest hotels in Saxony. The hotel, directly in the center of the city, is the perfect place to relax and enjoy a refined spa experience. The modern rooms are insulated from the busy city bustling around it. The shower walls are inscribed with passages from Goethe's Faust.