Fussen/Castles area lodging

Schwangau-Horn is a quaint little village sitting below the castles on the lake Forggensee. It's not at all like Füssen, but rather quiet with cow bells clanging in the pastures and bikes and pedestrians out on the bike paths. There are some really nice hotels and restaurants here, and at night the castles are lighted and can be seen clearly and dramatically from Horn. Here's a page showing the layout of the village and its relation to the Castles:
http://www.schwangau.de/village-surrounding-556.html There are also listings of hotels and B&Bs. I've personally stayed at Hotel Helmerhof which also has an excellent restaurant with very affordable prices. I've also stayed next door at the Hotel Ruebezahl which is much more upscale and expensive, but not necessarily better.

Forget trip advisor. www.fuessen.de has 47 places listed, all with rates on the websites, most with their own websites and/or email, so you can contact them directly.

Look on TripAdvisor.com. I think they list 6 right by the castles. We stayed in Fussen and I regretted it, wished we had stayed right by the castles b/c that's the whole reason why we were there and we would have enjoyed it so much more.

We stayed at the Hotel Sonne in Fussen last June and absolutely loved it. In fact, it was our favoritie hotel of the trip.

Use Rick's recommendations from his guidebook and tripadvisor for reviews and photos of the 46 hotels, B&Bs, and specialty lodging they have listed. After you narrow your options, contact the lodging directly for rates/reservation info. I know you're interested in Füssen , but if you'll have a car and are interested in staying out past Reutte at a truly great hotel, I can recommend: http://www.hotel-moserhof.at/

We stayed in Gasthof zum Schluxen. Great hotel, great breakfast, great service. Pricewise, it was a splurge for us. One caveat to an otherwise glowing recommendation, don't go there looking for a working farm. There are some reindeer across the street you can feed through a chain link fence. The small animal cages in the back, however, are strictly off limits. The management got upset when my kids even approached them.

Thank you for your replies. Personal recommendations/experiences were what I was most seeking.

IMO, there are too many nice places in Füssen and surroundings to drive to Reutte (zum Schluxen). You almost have to drive because the bus connections to Füssen are not very good. If you do want to get away from Füssen, I would suggest Gasthof Aggenstein in Pfronten. Pfronten is a much nicer town than Reutte. Aggenstein is less expensive. The bus stops right across the street, it takes less time to Füssen, and there are more bus connections per day.

We are driving and I'm not looking for splurge lodgings although breakfast would be nice. Just something clean and comfortable.