I have an itinerary for Germany (22 nights) in July 2015. I am going to each city for very specific reasons, so I can't add anything more for this trip.
Budget: 100 euro or less, single, preferably with breakfast included.
Location: near major church or museum, or train station.
I have checked booking.com but would love to know if posters here have special favorites.
Thanks.
I need hotel recommendations for the following:
Berlin
Aachen
Celle
Koln
Trier
Erfurt
Bamberg
Nurnberg
Munich
Bamberg - there's a Best Western up the street from the train station, on the way to the Rathaus over the river and the old town. Excellent room and good breakfast, friendly and helpful front desk. The exact name escapes me at the moment, but just Google Best Western Bamberg.
Different subject: are you going to try the Rauchbier??
I loved my stay in Munich at Hotel Am Markt. It isn't by the train station but it's only 5 min walk from Marienplatz metro stop and just 2 or 3 stops to the Hbf. Right on the viktualienmarkt and close to churches and major sites - great location! I paid €85 this past July for a single, breakfast €12 extra so still within your budget. Room was very nice and even though I didn't get the breakfast I did walk by the restaurant a couple of times and food looked and smelled great. Highly recommend.
I like Motel Ones. I like the great showers, the big, comfy beds, the color scheme, and the price. They are in all of the big cities.
I use www.hrs.com to look up places, to find locations, then I check the websites. Sometimes they are cheaper and sometimes not. I like hrs because of their liberal cancellation policy.
For Köln, our favorite hotel is the Coellner Hof. We have stayed here a few times and adore it. The decor and the fantastic breakfast. It is about a 10 min. walk from the Dom and train station.
http://www.coellnerhof.de/default.aspx?lang=en
This is not exactly what you asked, but anyway...
Aachen and Köln are close enough to each other that you can consider basing out of one to visit the other. Same with Bamberg and Nürnberg. You could also consider Erfurt as a daytrip from either. Erfurt's nice, but I didn't think it warrants any more than a few hours.
Your best bet - buy Rick Steve's guidebook.
The Ibis chain is budget priced and a good value. They have a hotel in the Koln train station. I would check TripAdvisor for reviews of a specific hotel. Some are older or may not meet your needs.
You can sometimes find a deal on Hotwire.com, if you can live with their conditions (no refunds).
Thanks for all your responses, I will check on them. The stays in cities that are close to each other is so that I can do some research in each city that may take more than a day.
Through trial and expensive error, I find it's better to book refundable rooms.
Keep it coming!
I will second general recommendations for hrs.com and Ibis & Motel One chains.
In Bamberg we liked the Hotel am Dom which is located directly between the Cathedral and the old town. Good breakfast and a very helpful staff.
http://www.hotel-am-dom.com/index.php/en/
We have stayed at both the Ibis Hauptbahnhof and Motel One in Nürnberg. They are basic and functional. Both are in good locations near the train station, easy walk to the city center. Pretty decent breakfast at both.
Another place in Munich. Münchnerkindl. Oft recommended here. We stayed there last fall. It was fine, conveniently located, but there is no elevator and it's about 4 stories high.
A couple blocks south of Kaufingerstr. (the pedestrian mall between Karlstor and Marienplatz in the old town. Site says a single starts at 45€, but that's probably without ensuite bath. Breakfast as extra (7€?).
I'll just add to some of the others. Motel One is a great chain. I try to stay in them if they are in the cities I'm traveling to and I've always had great experiences (and great breakfasts!).
Trier: I might add to my earlier suggestions that the Hotel Pieper near the train station was a pleasant stop for us. Good breakfast, nice landlady. The fixed menu lunch is a bargain if your very hungry. Gary
Thanks to all of you for your responses. I feel like I'm not blindly choosing accommodations now. It's so much easier when you've been to a city before!
Perhaps one more Munich recommendation... Hotel an der Opera. As the name implies, it's right around the corner from the theater. They could have also named it "Hotel an dem Hofbräuhaus", because it's a three minute walk from there as well. It's a nice hotel, if a little expensive for what you get. But you can't beat the location.
I'm a big fan of Pensions in Germany. They're cheap and the standards are consistently high. You can count on a clean, comfortable room - normally with a sink in the room and bathroom down the hall (that is likely shared by only one other room).
