Bacharach or St. Goar hotel?

Without actually having stayed at Altkölnischerhof, I'm not sure it's quieter. It's just over a block from the train tracks although there are some buildings in between. In St. Goar, the train tracks are up the hill. I didn't hear trains from town. I'm not sure what there is to do in Bacharach, but in St. Goar you have the ruins of Rheinfels to explore. You don't have anything like that in Bacharach. But, the two towns are only 10 min apart by train.

Lee, Thank you for you response. I think I will go ahead and book in St. Goar.
Melanie

We stayed at Altkolnischer Hof several years ago. It has been long enough that I would not normally comment. However, I will say that it was quiet and train noise was not an issue. Our window faced the train side of town. We loved the hotel and town of Bacharach. (We spent time in St Goar as well. We had no regrets that we stayed in Bacharach, but St Goar was nice as well.)

Thanks Connie.

Melanie, I stayed at the Rhinehotel in 2010 and had a fantastic stay. I too, had the room with the balcony! The view from that balcony is amazing. The owner, Gil, is a trained chef and will cook for you upon request. Just give him a day or two notice. The food was so good that we had him cook for us two nights in a row! Have a great trip!

Thanks Rob. My only concern was that some reviews stated that there was a lot of noise from the street in front.

Melanie, Although it appears that you've already made a decision on where to stay, I just wanted to mention that I really enjoyed my stay in Bacharach, more than St. Goar which I felt was too "touristy" and crowded. Bacharach is smaller and fairly quiet in the evenings, but wonderful ambience. I've stayed at both Hotel Kranenturm and Pension Lettie, and never had any issues with noise from the trains, despite the fact that Kranenturm is right next to the tracks. The stone walls are about about two feet thick, so that seemed to provide good soundproofing. Happy travels!

Ken, Thanks for your input on this. I will get in to Bacharach for a day. Knowing my insanely sharp mother-hearing, I think it wise for me not to chance the train noise that some people have mentioned. Melanie

I might add that the most objectionable train noise is the screech of brakes as it stops at the station, followed by the laboring of the motors or engine (particularly if it's diesel) as it departs. But the trains don't stop in either town in the middle of the night (from midnight to about 5 AM), so that's not a problem. There are a few trains (one night train and freight trains) that go through in the night, but they don't stop in either towns. They don't make a lot of noise just going by.

Melanie, I don't recall street noise being an issue. St Goar is a very small town and there isn't much street traffic in the evening hours that I remember. As I said, we had a fantastic stay. The owner, Gil, is not only a trained chef, but fancies himself quite the tour guide. He gave us several insider tips for great photo ops and places to relax away from the tourists.

St. Goar: We had an apartment with a Rhine view a few doors down from the Rheinhotel on the same street and while the road noise was audible with the window open we had no trouble sleeping - and I'm pretty noise-sensitive. We didn't hear the trains at all. The view of the river and Burg Katz on the other side is terrific. I prefer St. Goar as a place to stay - St. Goarshausen (and its east-bank train station) is just a ferry ride across the river (ferry runs all day) and the hiking/walking in St. Goar is the best (cliffside trail ascends behind the train station.) The half-timbered buildings in Bacharach are more impressive but the setting in St. Goar is superior. Both places have plenty of restaurants - Bacharach's are generally a little more upscale and there are more wineries there. St. Goar's crowd is more international; Bacharach tends to have an abundance of middle-aged Americans with RS guidebooks in hand.

Thanks much to all of you. Your insight is appreciated. I have confirmed my stay in St. Goar.