8 nights: Bacharach, Boppard, Cochem, St Goar, or a combination of two?

As often as we go to Europe, I can't imagine spending eight nights on the same section of the Rhine. Although your hotel comment is very helpful, it's still not clear whether you want rural German atmosphere or room-service breakfast with a bud vase on the tray! For example, the Weinromantik Hotel Richtershof in Mülheim (Mosel) would certainly meet your needs for part of the stay. We spent three nights there. Since you are traveling at the height of the European holiday season, most good hotels are probably booked solid by now. You're going to have to settle for the left-overs.

I'd comment that we didn't stay in Koblenz (a far bigger city than those you named) because all the hotels looked dated and tired (I mean, online.) Clearly parking is an important part of your hotel needs, and not all hotels have (free) parking, or any parking at all. I can't imagine skipping Cologne, but maybe you've been there already.

Since we didn't sleep in any of the towns you named, I suggest you use a hotel review site (I like TripAdvisor) and click on something like Deluxe. We had a rather cramped, un-air conditioned but entirely satisfactory room in a family-owned small hotel in Andernach, but there is no reason why you would stay there. I did notice a lot of huge, old, riverside resort hotels (?) on the other side of the Rhine from Andernach, but I don't know what they amount to. They looked like Adirondack lake resorts, wood and shingles.

Bacharach is pretty quiet for a 5-night stay. So is St. Goar. Boppard and Cochem are slightly livelier. If you're looking at 4-star your choices will be narrow. Maybe the Schloss Rheinfels in St. Goar or Auf Schoenburg Castle Hotel in Oberwesel. Maybe the Bellevue in Boppard. It doesn't really matter much which town you base in - the others are close by for visiting. I wouldn't be too star-focused in this region but would suggest instead that you peruse the reviews on Tripadvisor for a detailed look at the options.

Thanks for your prompt reply, Tim.
We're halfway through a 6 month European excursion (April 5 - Oct 1), so we have lots of time. The reasons I envisioned 8 nights in the Rhine/Mosel area are: 1) I hate to leave a destination feeling as if we didn't have time for everything we wanted to do; 2) We tend to be slow out the door in the morning (typically around 10-11am); and 3) We hoping to rent bikes and spend some time cycling up and down the rivers.
As for accommodations, what I really need more than anything is strong and steady WIFI in the room and a big soft bed. We've found that in order to be sure the WIFI will be strong and consistent and the bed will be big enough (queen is fine) and comfortable enough we need to book 4* rooms. 3*'s are frequently acceptable but sometimes awful.
While I was waiting for replies I looked into Bacharach and found only the dregs, so that's out.
Should I plan for 6-7 nights rather than 8?
Would Cochem or St Goar or Boppard be a good base or are there better options?
Thanks again for your advice!

Thanks, Russ. I'm going to research those options right now. I use TripAdvisor and Booking.com to sort through accommodations.

"we need to book 4 rooms. 3's are frequently acceptable but sometimes awful."

That might be true in some parts of Europe, but not, in my experience, in Germany. I've spent over 150 nights in Germany, in all sorts of places (never, in 25 years, in 4 or 5 stars hotels, only a few 3 star, mostly not rated), and I have never had anything that was not acceptable. Whereas American hotel ratings seem to be a subjective measure of cleanliness and safety, the rating of German hotels by DEHOGA are a very objective measure of features, most of which I don't care about (is the restaurant open 5, 6, or 7 days a week, is room service available 22 or 24 hours a day, are there shoeshine machines in each room or only in the hall, etc). To have any starts awarded by DEHOGA, any hotel must meet the same standard of cleanliness and maintenance; in fact, I find that any hotel, gästehaus, etc in German, regardless of whether it has a star rating, will meet those standard. It's a German thing.

Double beds in Germany are wider than queens in this country, closer in width to a king, but a little shorter. I don't think I have ever been in a double bed in Germany that was as narrow as our queen. If you do stay in a star-rated hotel, 4 and 5 stars hotels must have beds that are 2 m (78¾") long. 1, 2, and 3 star establishment can have beds only 1,9 m long (75", the same as our double beds). Nevertheless, if a hotel has a bed that is only as wide as our queen, they must tell you that before you check in.

We are staying in Bacharach at the Pension im Malerwinkel,has good ratings with parking and then on to Beilstein at the Hotel Gute Quelle with a good retaurant,we reserved these two hotels in Dec 2014.
Mike