Germany - Recommendations sought: top class hotel/restaurant within 3 hours of NUE, also FRA

My wife and I are going to be finishing off a Germany trip at the time she celebrates a significant birthday next March. We'll be visiting family near Nürnberg before and heading back to the US a day or two later.

I'd like to book either a great restaurant in combination with a good (but not necessarily great) hotel, or a great hotel with a good restaurant. The restaurant should be unpretentious and take food seriously. It doesn't need to have Michelin stars or 17+ Gault Millau points, but it should be heading in that direction.

Ideally it should be somewhere (in Germany, Austria or Switzerland) that we can reach by train within around three hours from Nürnberg and from where we can continue to a major airport (MUC, FRA, ZRH ...) in four hours or less.

To complicate the planning, Frau IMH's birthday will be on a Sunday -- meaning that many restaurants, and also some boutique hotels, are closed.

All and any ideas gratefully received!

Consider Shoenburg Castle on the Rhine, which is just over a 3 hour drive from Nuremberg. It is then about a 1 1/2 hour drive from FRA. I've no idea about train connections, though I know there is a station in Oberwesel.

http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/

This is one of my favorite hotels in the world. I am considering it for a milestone anniversary next year. Choose your room carefully. Each one is different. I prefer the one that faces the Rhine and has a tiny balcony.

The hotel has a very good restaurant. It is open Sunday.

The hotel books up well in advance. It only has about 20 rooms, and the place is justifiably enormously popular.

Why not Munich? It's a bit over an hour from Nürnberg by train and it has an international airport.

I know Munich fairly well, but, I am not a luxury sort of person, so I cannot recommend a hotel or restaurant. Personally, I like very much the Weisses Bräuhaus which I think is "unpretentious and takes food seriously," but it is a simple place, not a fancy place.

It is really not difficult finding good food in Munich, but if you want a formal restaurant, that will need some research.

Thank you both.

Consider [...] http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/

That could be a strong candidate -- thanks.

Why not Munich?

Munich is definitely an option, but so far every restaurant I've considered there has failed the "open on Sunday" test. (I've nothing against the Bräuhaus, but it wouldn't be our choice for a special birthday. Maybe 30 years ago ;) .)

I've just dug thru my files, as I needed to make my own booking at Schoenburg. I found the name of a restaurant where we want to return while there. It is on the north side of the Rhine, and the castle is on the south side. If you stay two nights, then I recommend a car and going to this restaurant.

http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/search-book/hotel-restaurant/schwarzenstein/

It has (or had at the time we were there) a 2 star Michelin restaurant. It's funny how certain places really stick in my mind. I couldn't tell you what we ate, but I can tell you how delightful it was to sit on a vine covered terrace overlooking vineyards and the Rhine. My husband has already asked me to include this as part of our anniversary celebration.

I suppose the terrace would be too cold though in March.

More recommendations for restaurants / hotels - none of them tested by myself, but by good friends who speak highly of them:

Johann Lafer's hotel and restaurant Stromburg (http://www.stromburg.com). About an hour from Frankfurt by car. Johann Lafer is a very famous chef, has been chef of the year in 1997 in the Gault Millau, and has currently 16 points in Gault Millau and one star in the Guide Michelin.

Schloss Rheinfels (http://www.schloss-rheinfels.de/) might also be suitable for you. It is located in St. Goar, and there is a scenic train connection to Frankfurt airport (about 2 hours).

Schloss Reinhartshausen (http://www.kempinski.com/en/eltville/Pages/Welcome.aspx) is located approx. 45 min from Frankfurt airport in Eltville. If you are wine-lovers, this may be your choice.

Enjoy!!

Thank you, QMConsultant. I've just printed out those suggestions for my own 2012 trip. I've booked the castle I recommended up thread, and will organize a longer trip around that stay.

One more suggestion: Schloss Kronberg, in the town of Kronberg, about 30 minutes north of Frankfurt.

http://www.schlosshotel-kronberg.de/go/home

The food is unfortunately not super. When I stayed there, it was certainly acceptable, but not really gourmet. On the other hand, the atmosphere of the hotel is very impressive. The public areas are quite ornate, and the higher-class rooms are also very nice indeed. The hotel service was also very discreet and very attentive.

It is also quite convenient for FRA, as it is on one of the Frankfurt S-Bahn lines.

Some more excellent suggestions: thank you SanDiego1K, QMConsultant and david7031.

Your recommendations mean that we will get to see a new side of Germany. I lived in N and NE Germany for 12 years, and my wife for more than 40, but we both saw the Loreley for the first time just last month (from a train window) and neither of us would have considered castles on the Rhine as a holiday option before this thread.

Our detailed planning won't happen for a few more weeks, but I'm already fairly sure that we'll end up visiting at least one of the places suggested above. I'll try to remember to report back when we've (i) booked and (ii) stayed and eaten.

Johann Lafer's hotel and restaurant Stromburg (http://www.stromburg.com). About an hour from Frankfurt by car. Johann Lafer is a very famous chef, has been chef of the year in 1997 in the Gault Millau, and has currently 16 points in Gault Millau and one star in the Guide Michelin.

Thank you for your suggestions. They are far superior to any I've found in the guidebooks I've purchased, or even on attempting to use the online Michelin guide.

I've now booked the hotel and restaurant for a significant anniversary in 2012. Even booking 11 months in advance, I was only able to get a basic room. If you look at their availability calendar for 2011, they are booked for the entire year with the exception of a few week nights. The hotel/restaurant appears to be within an hour of the castle hotel I recommended, so a great stop in conjunction with that.

... should have looked here earlier :rolleyes:

Burg Schwarzenstein is high recommended, they have own side in addition to this of R&C.

www.burg-schwarzenstein.de/en/startseite

And I second the recommendations of QMConsultant, these are quite good and I have tried them with my parents and friends a couple of times in the past.

For top-class food i recommend Speisemeisterei in Stuttgart-Hohenheim , nice hotels around Stuttgart as well.

http://www.speisemeisterei.de/downloads/english/SM_Web-English.pdf


"We are directly at the university Hohenheim. The Best way to reach us is to take a taxi.
The time from the railway station amounts to us approx. 25 minutes, you reach us within
10 minutes from the airport. The costs amount between 10 and 25 euros.

I promised to report back once we'd booked...

In the end we decided not to celebrate Frau IMH's birthday at any of the places recommended here. We wouldn't have enough time to really appreciate them, so they've gone onto a new list for a longer and more leisurely trip.

What we've decided to do is visit our favourite restaurant, Essigbrätlein, before we leave Nürnberg and then just spend an evening/night in Frankfurt and eat at Lohninger before heading to the airport.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to make suggestions.

I could use some directions on crossing the Rhine River, please.

Day 1 - stay and eat at Johann Lafer Hotel and restaurant (http://www.relaischateaux.com/johannlafer) in Stromburg

Day 2 - lunch at Burg Schwarzenstein (http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/search-book/hotel-restaurant/schwarzenstein/), Johannisberg/Rheingau

Day 2 - stay at Schoenberg Castle, Oberwesel (http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/)

I have to go from south of the Rhine to north of the Rhine to south of the Rhine. There is a bridge beyond Bingen or there appear to be a number of ferries at varying points. I'm confused as to the best crossing for each direction.

I could use some directions on crossing the Rhine River, please.

Day 1 - stay and eat at Johann Lafer Hotel and restaurant (http://www.relaischateaux.com/johannlafer) in Stromburg

Day 2 - lunch at Burg Schwarzenstein (http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/search-book/hotel-restaurant/schwarzenstein/), Johannisberg/Rheingau

Day 2 - stay at Schoenberg Castle, Oberwesel (http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/)

I have to go from south of the Rhine to north of the Rhine to south of the Rhine. There is a bridge beyond Bingen or there appear to be a number of ferries at varying points. I'm confused as to the best crossing for each direction.

Anyone?

I assume you are travelling by car. I can't imagine doing this trip with public transit! :eek:

There are bridges over the Rhine at Boppard (about 10 km north of Oberwesel) and between Mainz and Wiesbaden (about 15 km east of Bingen). If you would like a more leisurely crossing, there are car ferries between

Bingen and Rudesheim (http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/rheinfaehren/index.html)

and between Lorch and Niederheimbach (http://www.mittelrhein-faehre.de/index.htm).

I would probably choose the ferry, because I like that sort of thing! But be advised, you may have to wait a bit. They run about every 15 minutes, but you can have bad luck and have too many cars ahead of you to get the next boat...

Thank you. That's very helpful. Fingers crossed for better weather Sunday than today.

I've now come and gone from the places I gave above. My suggestion re Johann Lafer's property: eat but do not stay. The food was perfectly fine and what one would expect at 139 euros for 6 courses. The hotel, on the other hand, irritated me tremendously.

I should have taken the TripAdvisor reviews of the hotel seriously. Think of Johann Lafer's self promotion in the hotel as the Kardashian family on steroids. I booked the hotel one year ago. Even that far in advance, they only had standard rooms. There was a wedding on the day we arrived. Perhaps wedding guests took the rooms; I don't know. I discovered a week before our trip that the hotel lost our reservation. After I sent a copy of the booking, they rediscovered it.

The lobby serves as check in for the hotel and entrance to their two restaurants. I have no quarrel with books and food products with Lafer's face on them. I cringe at the bobble head dolls and cringe more at having sweaters, caps, vests, and sweatshirts advertising him for sale. Every wall is covered with pictures of Lafer with someone I'm meant to recognize. There must be hundreds of pictures as every stair way and every corridor is covered in them.

We were taken to our room, named OConnell after the chef at the Inn at Little Washington. It was minuscule. Looking at the floor map, it was the smallest room on our floor. The room was barely bigger than the king bed stuffed catty corner into it. There was no chair. There was no style. The round table bolted to the wall as a bedside stand was broken. There was advertising everywhere. Every surface was covered with advertising about Lafer. There was an electronic picture frame scrolling thru pictures of him and his helicopter. The turn down service came with cards on our pillows advertising him. The box of 2 chocolates came with an order form listing all the candy he makes and how we could purchase it.

When I checked out, I expressed unhappiness as to the room. I was told this was a luxury hotel and we had only booked a standard room. Yes, I know that, but I would have hoped for good taste.

Compensation for my husband was the Porsche Carrera GT and the Ferrari 458 Italia parked outside the front door. The drivers had brought their $1MM in cars from Puerto Rico and the US to drive on German test tracks.

Schonberg Castle (http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/) continues to delight. And we enjoyed a very pleasant meal on the terrace of Burg Schwarzenstein (http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/search-book/hotel-restaurant/schwarzenstein/).

I assume you are travelling by car. I can't imagine doing this trip with public transit! :eek:

There are bridges over the Rhine at Boppard (about 10 km north of Oberwesel) and between Mainz and Wiesbaden (about 15 km east of Bingen). If you would like a more leisurely crossing, there are car ferries between

Bingen and Rudesheim (http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.com/rheinfaehren/index.html)

and between Lorch and Niederheimbach (http://www.mittelrhein-faehre.de/index.htm).

I would probably choose the ferry, because I like that sort of thing! But be advised, you may have to wait a bit. They run about every 15 minutes, but you can have bad luck and have too many cars ahead of you to get the next boat...

There is actually no bridge across the Rhine in Boppard, once you leave Wiesbaden / Mainz behind there is no bridge for the next 100km until you reach Koblenz. So your only option are the various ferries and you may want to look into their operating schedule as most of them don't run 24/7.

I've now come and gone from the places I gave above.

Many thanks for the reports, including what would appear to be an extremely well-founded rantlet.

A year on from starting this thread, we haven't yet visited any of the places recommended -- but I'm still grateful for the suggestions, and reports, and am sure we'll benefit from them directly in the fullness of time.