BEST Family Accomodations in Germany, etc?

Yes! Finally, someone not asking for "cheap but nice" (I always want to say, but usually don't, that "you can have one of the two" but rarely do you get truly cheap and truly nice).:)

Stay tuned, you should get some helpful replies to your question, shortly.

Nice is such a relative term. We prefer CLEAN, but would rather have colorful or nice people than a sterile, American-style chain accomodation. Having an Italian nun more concerned about whether my kids had had dinner and did they like pizza than helping us check into our room or the woman in Salzberg who hugged me at check in because we'd talked via email for months -- much cooler than 'nice.'

I;ve got THREE versions of Rick's Germany book (yes -- I know I should get rid of the old ones, but I have such trouble getting rid of books). However, many of Rick's recommendations have singles/doubles only. It is often hard to find family rooms or quads -- and this is SUCH a knowledgable group. I looked up the Kranenturm == and they look super.

For Berlin we liked Pension Peters. They are family run, in a good location, pretty inexpensive, and they have a nice family room.

I haven't had much luck using RS guide books for family accommodations either. Try to check out vacation appartments. They'll offer you more room and often are more affordable than a hotel.

Bacharach also has a youth hostel that is located in an old castle. Great atmosphere! Reserve early as they don't have many family rooms to book.

http://www.jugendherberge.de/en/hostels/search/portrait/jh.jsp?IDJH=390

These are really AWESOME! I appreciate everyone's notes and ideas.

We are also looking for "nice/interesting accomodations in Kochel am See area in Germany during Sept, 2010. Don't know if anyone has been to this area, if so, would love to hear. Thanks in advance for any and all help, Andrea

I'm a huge fan of apartments or farmhouses for families. Apartments give you more room, a kitchen, and usually cost less than getting a quad in a hotel or pension.

For farmhouses, I use www.landtourismus.de. Click on the British flag on the left to see it in English. For apartments, you can do a search on "holiday apartments (name of town) or FeWo (name of town)". FeWo is the German shorthand for holiday apartments.

Here's an example of a place where we've stayed -- we stayed at a farmhouse in Austria with several other apartments, each with another family staying in it. There were tons of kids. Every night, after dinner, the adults would sit outside, drinking beer and playing cards, while the kids played. On our last night, they all took us to a beerfest in a neighboring town. My son made some great friends, and we did, too.

We stayed in a very nice quad room in Cochem last summer. The location was great, but I don't consider it inexpensive. This is a relatively small place that provides breakfast. We had a room that was really two bedrooms, one with two twins and one with a double, and a good sized bathroom. It is on the road that leads up to the castle (partway up from the main shopping area). We had a car but didn't use it while there-we walked all around Cochem and to the train station to take the train to Trier. Website for Villa Tummelchen Hotel Pension Garni is here: http://www.moselpension.de/

There are occasionally quad rooms, but they are not common. Your best bet might be a Ferienwohnung (vacation apartment), which will often have one or two bedrooms plus a sofa bed in the living room, but they often rent for longer periods of time (around a week).

As for track noise at any place right on the tracks in Bacharach, like Kranenturm, some people, like Steve, say the noise didn't bother them, others can't stand it. Realistically, however, the worst noise is when a regional train from St. Goar stops at the Bacharach station with brakes screeching, or a train comes from Bacharach station to St. Goar with the motors laboring to get up speed. And those regional trains don't stop from about 23:30 to 5:00. Other than that, night time traffic is mostly freight trains and a few night trains that "whoosh" right by with less noise than one that stops at the station.

In Bacharach, there is a nice place, Pension Im Malerwinkel. It's closer to the back side of town, away from track noise, in a very pretty setting. The two apartments they show as being for 2 people and renting, it appears, for a minimum of 4 nights. The also show a Ferienwohnung but don't say how many people it accommodates. You might write to them and ask if there is also room for a temporary bed in the triple (Dreibettzimmer).

As for Kent's comment about "cheap but nice", I guess it depends on your definition of "nice". If you demand 24 hr room service and towel warmers in the bath room, cheap might be a problem, but Germans, at least, seem to have a very high standard. I've never stayed in a room that wasn't clean and well maintained, no matter how inexpensive. Small maybe, but never a dump. And by the way, instead of cheap (bellig, in German), I prefer preiswertig (economical).

Bacharach: We stayed at Pension am Malerwinkel mentioned by Lee. It meets all of your criteria and is very attractively located. It was our best bargain on a trip last spring to the area. Breakfast was excellent as well.

Würzburg: St. Josef is family run and has the qualities that you mentioned but it is only moderate in price. A little better bargain was the Barbarossa, which is run by the owner with help. She takes her guests personal. Small breakfast room but view looks out over the city to the surrounding vineyards.

Regards, Gary

In Würzburg, Pension Spehnkuch is spartan but nice, economical, and close to the train station. The largest room shown is a triple, but you could write to them and see if the have a Dreibettzimmer large enough for a rollaway. Markus (manager) speaks English very well and the email address is on the website, under Kontakt.