Lodging in Bacharach, Germany

We stayed in the hotel that Rick Steves suggested on the railroad tracks. We had two rooms. My daughters had ear plugs as suggested and still heard the train. The back room was fine.
We ate at their restaurant. None of speak German, but we talked all night to others that didn't speak English. No Problem. Loved their Riesling, half-troken. Half dry.

I was eating at the restaurant in that hotel when the train came through and I mean it sounded as if the train was actually coming through the building.

Maybe we need to define these "two ladies" better.

I think the worst "pension" from the standpoint of train noise (the train goes right by, within inches of the "pension") would be Kranenturm. Pension Lettie would be just on the other side and a little more insulated from the noise. I met (very briefly) Ms. Lettie in 2003, and my impressions was that she spoke English adequately.

IMO, the nicest place I saw in Bacharach was "Im Walerwinkel" (www.im-malerwinkel.de), but I would prefer something in St. Goar.

Are you driving or taking the train?

Recently we stayed at Im Malerwinkel that Lee mentions. Very Nice, clean, great breakfast and very hardworking owners. It is not right down in the middle of the city, but very walkable to the train, boat dock, and restaurants, without the train noise and traffic interrupting sleeping. Probably not the cheapest rooms in Bacharch, but if it was in my budget I'd consider staying there again.

I wouldn't stay adjacent to the tracks. I too ate in the restaurant at the hotel and the train literally came through. We were on the patio next to the outside rail. You could almost reach out and touch the train as it raced by. I would stay in St. Goar or far away from the train tracks in Bacharach.

The Malerwinkel place mentioned by Lee and Bill is good, just as described in Rick's book.

We stayed at the hotel in the castle on the hill. Not exactly elegant, but a fine value and perfectly adequate. I'd definitely stay there again.

Unless you stay at the castle on the hill or take the main road going out to the back of the town away from the Rhein, you will be by the train tracks and hear the train. Check out the website www.bacharach.de On one of the pages under hotels, zimmers, click on "zur online reservazions". You'll eventually get a listing of hotels, pensions & zimmers in the area. I checked out the rooms at the castle last year, they looked great--very clean. A great place to stay. Good Luck!

Unfortunately, (1), the "castle" (it's been rebuilt from a ruin) is a youth hostel, so you will probably have to share a room with strangers, up to eight in a room, and (2), unless you have a car, it is a very steep climb up a narrow path, with a lot of steps and some dirt parts. Not bad for backpackers, but don't bring a rolling bag.

The worst trains, IMO, are the ones that stop in Bacharach. The ones coming in from Koblenz are screeching their brake as they go by the hotels, the ones to Koblenz have motors laboring as they pull out. Fortunately the last train stops in Bacharach at 10:30 PM, and the next one is at 4:54 AM, a stretch of almost 7½hrs. During that span there are four express trains (2 CNL night trains), but they go by at high speed because they don't stop in Bacharach. Unfortunately, there are plenty of freight trains on that line, too.

Typing too fast - yes, of course I meant "the hostel" not "the hotel" (pesky 'S' key....).

You do not necessarily have to share a room in many hostels. This hostel has a variety of room options. My wife and I reserved and got our own private room. It had bunk beds, but we were OK with that. For the price, it was a wonderful place to stay: cheap, historic, scenic, even romantic. Here's a photo of the view out the window from our room of the vineyards in the morning:

http://www.interrobangmedia.com/eurotrip2006/bacharach/source/image/img_7869.jpg

Yeah, it's a hostel, so it comes with unpredictable neighbors (there were kids from a German school trip there, which made it somewhat interesting, but they never bothered us). Dirt cheap place, including meals (uninspiring cuisine, but perefectly OK for a couple of nights). Yes, it's a long slog up from town, but we did have a car, so we didn't have to do that slog with our luggage.

I figured how many times in your life do you get to sleep in a real castle? For less than 50 bucks a night for two people, meals included? Seemed like a no-brainer to me, but tastes vary. Not for everyone, I'm sure, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm glad we stayed there and would do it again. Photo of the hostel from town:

http://www.interrobangmedia.com/eurotrip2006/bacharach/source/image/img_7492.jpg

We stayed in Bacharach at a small B & B toward the rear of the town,. It was great. If you drive through the town, heading back toward the valley and under the arch, you will see many little inns and B&B's where you will be away from the train. While we were there, we spoke to many who stayed at Ricks recommended spot near the train, none would stay there again, very noisy! The restaurant was good however. The town is wonderful, everyone speaks English but a courtesy, Guten Morgen is in order, just like the Bon Jour in France. We never met a rude or indifferent person in either France or Germany. They are great people and appreciate our business.

We stayed at Letties and she speaks English well.She has a great place and noise wasnt a problem.

We just returned from our stay at Pension Lettie and she was wonderful! Great place to stay and she was very friendly. Would stay there again. Didn't notice any train noise from our room, though as some said eating outside on the patio we had a bit of train noise, but it was fine. They were loud but lasted only a bit. Added to the ambiance. :-)

Also stayed at Letties and she could not be nicer.

If you want a simple, clean, inexpensive place w/ a Super Nice Host... Lettie is for you

We too stayed at Pension Lettie's and were not bothered at all with train noise. Lettie was wonderful. She made eggs and sausage and waffles for breakfast with yogurt and fruit and coffee and tea. She was great. When you arrive by train in Bacharach be aware that you may get off of the train in the middle of nowhere. We got off onto a grassy area and questioned if we were in the right place. We were but it was a bit puzzling at the time.