16 Best Hotels in The Romantic Road, Germany

At this exquisite little hotel most rooms have a stunning, wide-angle view into the romantic Tauber Valley, and they also have plush furnishings, with antiques or fine reproductions, including four-poster beds. There are three family apartments available for rent that are separate from the hotel. Breakfast is served on the terrace on top of the town wall in good weather, offering a grand view of the surroundings. The Steinway Cellar holds a grand piano, and there is a small spa area for all guests.

This bright and modern recent addition close to historic downtown Würzburg offers numerous amenities, including a gym and perks as part of the international Marriott chain. Thoughtful service and a modern vibe make it popular with business guests during the week. Pets and service animals are welcome, and there is both a restaurant and a lobby bar.

This hotel's rococo facade has welcomed guests since 1408—which also is the name of the hotel restaurant—but only recently a part of the Best Western chain for bookings and other perks. Rooms are all individually decorated and furnished in an English country-house style. The spacious lobby, with an open fireplace and beckoning bar, sets the tone, and there's an attractive winter garden where you can enjoy a cup of coffee.

Just around the corner from Augsburg's cathedral, this snug, quiet hotel has personality to spare, with a long history of hosting official church visitors, and a recent renovation that's provided good modern amenities. Ask for one of the attic rooms, where you'll sleep under beam ceilings and wake to a rooftop view of the city. Or try for one of the rooms on the top floor that have a small terrace facing the cathedral. A garden terrace borders the old city walls, and in summer you'll have your breakfast in the garden under old chestnut trees.

The modern Greifensteiner offers comfortable, individually furnished rooms in a quiet corner of the city, just off the market square. The Fränkische Stuben has excellent cuisine with mostly Franconian specialties; various meal plans are available with room reservations. There's also a bar in the basement wine cellar, dating from the 1300s, that's an ideal place to sample local varieties.

The upscale Hezelhof combines three charming, timber-frame buildings from the 16th century that are renovated inside to provide comfortable modern rooms with designer furnishings.

Sister hotels (both family-owned) that are adjoined, the two buildings have unique decor; some of the rooms have vintage furniture, antique paintings, and dolls. Located just behind the old historic Rathaus on the fringe of the Old Town, if you take a room toward the front, look up from your window and you'll see the Münster (cathedral). The hotels are located directly at the Danube Bike Path.

This 13th-century castle 18 miles east of Rothenburg has been converted into a hotel and maintains a high standard of comfort within its original medieval walls without sacrificing the atmosphere. Logs are often burning in the fireplace of the entrance hall, illuminating an original Tin Lizzy Model T Ford from 1917. The restaurant Zur Remise serves venison from the castle's own hunting grounds, and the hotel will organize guided hiking tours, including with Theobald von Colmberg. The original castle chapel is a popular spot for weddings, and the castle often books out for them in summer.

As you step into this medieval inn with a facade of half-timber gables and flower boxes, an old sturdy bar gives you a chance to register while sitting down and enjoying a drink. The rooms are modern, but outfitted with antique accessories and furniture, including one with a romantic four-poster bed. Dinner is served beneath heavy oak beams in the restaurant.

It's fitting that the prettiest small town in Germany should have in its center a pretty, small hotel, which has been welcoming guests for more than 600 years. Each room is different, with its own charming color scheme; many have antique furniture. Try for a room on the top floor toward the back, overlooking the Old Town and the Tauber River valley. Breakfast is in a sunny and elegant room with a lovely view of the garden. In summer you'll want to eat on the terrace, surrounded by flowers, or the sidewalk cafe, for people-watching.

Located outside the city center, this converted monastery offers modern amenities to supplement small and simple, but comfortable, rooms. The in-house restaurant produces gourmet wonders like venison ravioli, and there is also a charming beer garden.

Master chefs in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor were the inspiration for the name of this historic hotel, occupying one of the oldest trader's houses in Rothenburg, which has been operated by the same energetic family for five generations. Rooms are furnished in a stylish mixture of old and new; light veneer pieces share space with heavy oak bedsteads and painted cupboards. You can have meals on the tree-covered terrace overlooking a square or late-night meals and drinks at the Lõchle wine tavern. They also rent out apartments nearby.

Although part of the NH budget chain, this converted monastery within the city walls is less than monastic, with modern amenities, updated rooms, two restaurants, and a lobby bar. The architecture is charming, the rooms simple but modern, and nearly all have a view of historic buildings.

The Markusturm began as a 13th-century customs house, an integral part of the city defense wall, and has been an inn for more than 500 years, operated as a luxurious small hotel for the last four generations by the Berger family. Some rooms have beams, others have historic painted bedsteads, and some have valuable antiques from the Middle Ages, such as ceramic heating units (now just decorative), four-poster beds, even one with an in-room tub. Try to get a reservation for dinner when you arrive, since the beamed, elegant restaurant does fill up. Along with well-selected wines, you can also enjoy your dinner with three kinds of house-brewed beer. In summer head for the patio.

Set atop vineyards and overlooking the towers of Würzburg, the Schloss Steinburg offers regal manor rooms as well as crisp and serene modern lodgings. The castle was first built in 1898 over the ruins of a medieval monastery; the Bezold family have expanded upon it over the last 75 years. The oldest rooms have many original details intact while the newer rooms are closer to the hotel's spa, which has panoramic views of the old city. The restaurant serves regional as well as more pan-European dishes.