First Time in Hamburg
Recently, we visited two related couples in Hamburg, whom we first met in Tuscany. In fact, we've stayed with them at same inn, at same time, in three different years—what a small world. Turns out, they live in two of Hamburg's premier locations. One couple has a house on the Elbe, and the other a penthouse overlooking the downtown. We enjoyed a day-and-a-half-long tour that few would ever see without being with locals. This trip was our first time in Hamburg, and we found it an extremely impressive city. With more upscale shopping than Berlin, it's easy to believe that Hamburg is the most affluent city in Europe. We stayed in the suburbs at Landhaus Flottbek—very nice at about $190 per night.
Bill Bohnhoff
Via e-mail
Munich Hotels
My wife and I just spent a few days in Munich during Oktoberfest and stayed at the Hotel Asam. We've stayed there several times before and have always enjoyed our stays. On a previous trip, we tried the Hotel Acanthus and feel that for two couples, the Asam is a better value if you can take advantage of the suites. The Asam is in a wonderful location and the Saupers have always provided us with wonderful service. While its increased nightly rate at the Euro conversion makes it less of a value when compared to your last review, we still consider it our home in Munich. Thanks for turning us on to it in one of your Munich reviews several years ago.
Also, I'd like to pass on a hearty recommendation for the Hotel Neu-Meran in Bad Reichenhall. Upon our departure from Munich, we had no specific plans other than to spend a few days in southern Bavaria. Apparently, Münchners all had the same idea because we had a hard time finding accommodations. After several phone calls, we struck gold with the Neu-Meran—quiet and beautiful location, fantastic staff, and a very gemütlich apartment-style room complete with ceramic Kachelofen.
The Neu-Meran was listed in your hotel reviews database but without any quality or value ratings. If you trust our reviews, I'd give high marks for both. Stamp it Editor's Choice!
Once again, your hotel database has proven invaluable to our travels. Consider us subscriber's for life.
Brian Hill
Burke, Virginia
(Ed. Note: Thanks for the kind words. We've long sung the Neu-Meran's praises.)
Long Stay in the Swabian Alb
We recently spent 15 days in the Swabian Alb—primarily for genealogical research. We stayed in one hotel the entire time and made day trips to my various ancestral villages. While we have been in this area several times before, we have never done it in this manner. My paternal family (my maiden name is Appenzeller) settled here in the 1200s from St. Gallen.
We stayed in the Hotel Krone, a small family-owned (since 1888) hotel in upper Haigerloch. Staying in one place for 15 nights could have been deadly – luckily, it wasn't. We had a large double room (all rooms have been recently renovated) for €69 a night including a full breakfast. The owner of the hotel is the cook. He is known in the area for his cooking - mostly Swabian recipes. We took half-pension because we knew we would be out most of the day and wanted to just come back and not have to decide on our dinner. He does not speak much English but his wife does. The half-pension cost €15 for three and sometimes four courses. We settled our bill the night before we left as departure was very early in the morning. After paying, we said we would stay and have a drink. The owner would not let us - insisting it was on them. I asked if there would be somewhere to get some coffee in the morning. She said don't worry. At 5 a.m. when I opened our door, I found a tray loaded with coffee, rolls, butter, jam, sausage, cheese, yogurt, two hard boiled eggs and two apples! If one is doing the Alb, this is an excellent central location.
Joan Goeden
Via e-mail
