My husband and I recently stayed at Hotel Lohspeicher in Cochem after reading the flattering review in our 2012 Rick Steves travel guide. The hotel was right off the square, along a quaint lane as described. The hotel was described as "upscale-rustic." The bathrooms appeared to be newly remodeled and quite "up-scale." If the term "rustic" is a kind way of describing "shabby," then that would be and accurate description the rest of the place. Our room had dated deep red carpet, the beds were okay though very low, the walls needed patching and painting. The hotel advertised Wi-Fi throughout. In order to get a signal, we had to stand in the narrow entry way at the hotel front desk as there was nowhere else to work--the adjacent bar area was closed both nights we were there. Breakfast was good, the usual area of cold-cuts, cheeses and breads, etc.--nothing outstanding. The only teas available were herbal--luckily I brought my own! The "outstanding" restaurant was only open Tuesdays and Saturdays, thus we were not able to sample that aspect of the business. All said, for the price paid, I would not recommend Hotel Lohspeicher.
Wow! My husband and I stayed there for 3 nights in June of 2012 and absolutely loved it! I'm curious if you generally stay at RS recommended places? We found it to be very typical of a RS recommendation. The building is quite old, and family run places don't worry so much about "modernizing". I felt it was very well kept up. We ate at the restaurant twice while staying there. During the summer it's open nightly. Both meals were absolutely the best meals we've ever had in Europe (over several trips) although they were a splurge! We found the owner to be very helpful and friendly and would definitely recommend it. Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay:(
Thanks for the specific details in your report. I think that's helpful to readers.
The experience with limited WiFi range is not uncommon at all. I spend most early mornings on recent trips, standing within eyeshot of the shared modem (often in a stairwell behind the front desk, or half-in-the-way of the person setting up breakfast) just to keep caught up with basic work-related correspondence. And at every place--in lot's of different countries--surprise was expressed that I couldn't keep the connection in my room... o_O
It was almost easier before WiFi. When each place would have a computer room for guest use. Then, I would wake up early to get some email checking time before anyone else got on the computer. Nowadays, I'm getting up just as early to make sure I'm not sharing limited bandwidth with anyone.
"The hotel advertised Wi-Fi throughout. In order to get a signal, we had to stand in the narrow entry way at the hotel front desk as there was nowhere else to work--the adjacent bar area was closed both nights we were there." Germany isn't known for the quality of it's Wifi connections, unfortunately. I've even stayed in some rather upscale hotels where the complementary Wifi coverage was weak or non-existant in parts of the hotel... although you could upgrade to a better connnection, for a fee, naturally.
I'd like to hear more about Hotel Lohspeicher. I just booked with them for September 2015. Hearing both positive and negative makes me nervous. Does anyone know how I can contact them via e-mail?
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