Lodging at a Castle?

Hey Donna, this looks like an excellent site to explore. I'm going to! I did stayed in a castle in the UK and really enjoyed it. I hope you find one in Germany. http://castleandpalacehotels.com/countries/germany/germany_home/castle_hotels_germany.html Pam

Try germany-castles-hotels.com. The place we have been to three times is the Schloss auf Schoenburg near Oberwesel. It is quite nice. A small double room is 160 Euros and the prices go up to 270 for suites, check out hotel-schoenburg.com. It is a luxury for us but it is a great experience and if you have gone the expense to go to Europe in the first place, you should treat yourself to a couple real treats. Mind you, none of the castle hotels are the what they were when they were built, a visit to Ber Eltz wil show why you really would not like to live in the true style of the "good old days" ... they weren't.

Except for Burg Eltz and the Marksburg, all of the castles in that area were destroyed around 1800 and reconstructed later as residences and modern hotels. As far as authenticity, you might as well stay in the Castle Inn in Olean, NY. Auf Schönburg is a luxury hotel made to look like a castle; Stahleck is a hostel made to look like a castle.

Have stayed at a couple castle hotels: 1. Schloss Steinburg, located on a hill overlooking Wurzburg. It's not an authentic castle (built as a private residence), but it's a very nice place to stay, has good food, and the views over the city are spectacular. 2. Schloss Hirschhorn, east of Heidelberg overlooking the Neckar River. Also very nice and it has several centuries of history as an authentic castle. I'll let you google to check current costs.

The HI Hostel in Bacharach, Jugendherberge Burg Stahleck is in a castle. It's cheap, easy, and has spectacular views. A bit of a hike up from town if you have a lot of luggage, but it's a wonderful place. Kids will love it.

We've stayed at the Dornroschenschloss Sababurg near the Fairy Tale Road and loved the experience. http://www.sababurg.de/

We've stayed in several and had a great time. About a 15 minute drive from Rothenburg Odt you will find Castle Colmberg: http://www.burg-colmberg.de/showpage.php?SiteID=1&lang=2 http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1135335-d268178-Reviews-Hotel_Burg_Colmberg-Colmberg_Romantic_Road_Bavaria.html Another nice and extremely cheap one is Castle Veldedstein about a 25 minute train ride from Nuremburg: http://www.burghotel-veldenstein.de/Home_main.htm http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1371763-d276268-Reviews-Castle_Veldenstein-Neuhaus_an_der_Pegnitz_Bavaria.html We've stayed in others but these were the best.

Lee, I would argue that even a castle that was reconstructed in 1800 is more "authentic" than let's say Schloss Neuschwanstein ... If reconstruction is not your cup of tea you can forget about visiting a large portion of Germany as a lot of it was reconstructed after 1945. Rothenburg odT is an exception to the rule. The amazing cathedral in Cologne isn't.

We love staying at Harburg Castle on The Romantic Road. It is 900 years old. We have stayed there twice and love it. The food was very good and reasonable. The gardens are beautiful. We love staying in the room that is by the portcullis. It is on the third floor. This is not a fancy place, just real. Hope you will go there. Just put in "Germany, Castle Harburg." Many sites will come up. It is also reviewed on tripadvisor.com. Pictures are there also. I have pictures too if interested, I will send them to you. Let me know.
Mary Joe

There are quite a few castles in Germany that are as close as you can get to the original; those were not destroyed in the 19th and 20th century wars and reconstructed. Some of those are now hotels. They are off the beaten path, but you can track them down with just a little searching on the web, including sites listed above. Anyway, whether it is a reconstruction or a renovation, if you like a place, stay there. A couple of historical corrections: Much of Rothenburg odt was destroyed by bombing during WWII and reconstructed after the war. On the other hand, Cologne Cathedral was heavily damaged during the war and repaired afterward, but the original building was largely intact; it is not a reconstruction. In fact, pictures show it as virtually the only building still standing in the central city after the Allies swept through.

Thanks for the corrections, Roy. I didn't realize that Rothenburg odT got hit eventually. And I bet most tourists touring the picturesque town don't realize either that 40% of what they're looking at are reconstructions. With the cathedral in Cologne it's probably more a question of semantics. Some of the repairs going on today are still related to WWII dammage ...