Best of Europe

Best and worst accommodations:

Worst: Charlie Rockets Hostel in Brugge, Belgium
Why: Awful!!! Please remove this from the book. We had a double room w/ shared bath here. Shared bathrooms smelled of urine (we opted then not to take a shower), hostel area (hallways) is dark and grungy, we got up early to leave the hostel at 6am to take pictures of the city before the sun was up and we could not exit the hostel area unless we used an emergency exit which would set off an alarm. All main doors exiting the hostel were LOCKED!! We were locked in the place. At least we weren't leaving early for a flight or something. After knocking on the door for an hour off and on, someone cleaning the bar downstairs finally unlocked the hostel around 7am so we could get out. Of course, it ruined our morning. Luckily, we only stayed here one night as I could not wait to leave the place. Loved Brugge itself though.

Kristel Comai USA 07/03/2008

Best: Hotel Adornes, Bruges
Why: Friendly, efficient, welcoming, informative, comfortable, lots of character,wonderful breakfast. I really have fond memories of this place. They went the extra mile.

Worst: schweizer pension solderer, Vienna
Why: Hard to access at night. Keys hard to turn and heavy door. Dark lobby - unlit hall to elevator. Felt they were ready to jump down our throat with rules. And I'm a 53 year old mum!

Heather Cameron in Coldstream, BC Canada 06/13/2008

Worst: Die Raeckse Hotel
Why: Although they were as nice as they could be, they wouldn't give us the Rick Steves discount. The only discount they would give was 5% off if you pay in cash. Also, we really wanted to take the bus back to Amsterdam, since it would pass the Rijksmuseum, and made more sense, than taking the train, then taking the tram to the museum. They simply wouldn't give us the bus information and insisted that we should just take the train. We knew it might take longer, but we really wanted to take the bus, and they just wouldn't give us the info... odd. The breakfast room is very pretty, and the breakfast was ok. Rooms are pretty spartan.

Stacy in Freiburg, BW Germany 06/04/2008

Best: Corte Campana B&B in Venice
Why: They were full and referred us to an apartment, which was phenonmenal, for the same price. Two bedrooms, kitchen, laundry, internet, clean......wanted to stay there forever!

Worst: Hotel Mitaghorn in Gimmelwald
Why: I've stayed there many times, and I appreciate the charm and incredible views. Sorry, but it is time for him to spring for lightbulbs that are more than 25 watts and a few new mattresses. Hard to take that 1 euro shower at night when you can't see anything, and impossible to read in bed at night with 25 watts. The mattress....well, it was like being in utero again. no way to turn or move, just stuck in the sinkhole in the middle of the mattress.

terrie gordon gamble in stanford, ca USA 06/01/2008

Best: Hotel Lochsberg, Interlaked, Switzerland
Why: We loved the hotel, great location, nice rooms. BUT, Fritz needs to keep his political comments and anti-American views to himself. Within 5 minutes of conversation, he was bashing Americans. I found this offensive, especially since he told us 50% of his business is American. I would stay there again, but I wish he would follow his wife's advice and not discuss his politics with his customers.

Lynn Petruska in Manchester , MO USA 05/11/2008

Best:
Why: Unfortunately we did not use your accommodatio guide but I would recommend anyone else to do so!

Wendy Fox in Saanichton, BC Canada 02/28/2008

Best: Hotel Van Onna, Amsterdam
Why: Having never been to Amsterdam, we were a bit fearful of the accommodations. I called ahead to reserve the rooms. We ended up booking two single rooms since the price is per person and would be the same whether single or double. It was nice to have separate rooms for the first 3 days as we adjusted to the new time zones and got over jet lag.

Linda D. Chaffee in San Bernardino, CA USA 12/20/2007

Worst: Hotel Sully, Paris
Why: I can't believe this hotel was in your book Rick. I wonder if you have ever stayed there or just had some employees stay. I stayed in a rent by the hour hotel(one, I didn't know and two, I didn't have a choice) in Lima Peru that was nicer and cleaner than Sully. I actually think Sully may be a by the hour place because the guy at the desk asked me when we are going to check out. He asked us this right when we were checking in. Isn't there normally a stated check out time? I assumed he was asking that to see if I only wanted to stay for an hour or two. On top of that the room was filthy, the carpet, the furniture, the bed, the shower, all absolutely filthy. We used the RS best of europe book a lot on our trip and it was 99% right on and helped a great deal. I can't believe you have this dump in your book. I wouldn't recommend Sully to anyone. Please revisit it and take it out of your book. thanks Dan

Dan in Sacramento, CA USA 10/31/2007

Best: Guest House Arco dei Tolomei
Why: My wife and I and another couple spent 4 days in Rome, staying at the Guest House Arco Dei Tolomei. Located in Trastevere, we used it as a base to visit the Forum, the Vatican, and other major historical sights. Breakfasts were lovely, with plenty of choices of fruits, meats, cheeses, cereal, home-made cakes, coffee and tea. Our rooms were very comfortable, with a nice, clean bathroom with a nice shower. The owner and staff, Marco, Catia, and Leena, went out of their way to welcome us and assist us in making arrangements for tours and transport. Everyone spoke good English. They also gave us wonderful recommendations for restaurants that were nearby. There is no question about where we will stay the next time we are in Rome.

Steve Brill in Cottage Grove, MN USA 10/03/2007

Worst: Globtrotter in Krakow
Why: Very cute building, quiet, and the location was excellent. Their towels were rough, the pillow was rough and flat; wooden floors were sticky; looked clean, but??. Beware room 5A - its a single with the window right at the entry door and the door off the small registration room. There is however free internet on floor 2, right outside of room 5C making that room a bit noisy if people are gathered there. Had to pay cash which made using up polish money difficult, but they are in the process of getting credit card use. They have a common refrigerator and ironing board on floor 2 also.

pam carlson in encinitas, CA USA 09/26/2007

Best: Hotel du Champ de Mars
Why: The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The room was clean and beautiful. There was an elevator that my girlfriend could use as she walked with a cane. When we checked out we asked the owner where the nearest internet cafe was and she let us use her personal laptop to finish up some emails. That was way above and beyond anything that we would have expected from a hotel. We had a wonderful stay.

Worst: Albergo Tre Donzelle
Why: The room was so institutional looking (No paintings or decorations on the walls, just white). To give them credit this is exactly as Rick Steves book described it. The hotel staff also didn't have a record of my reservation. I made the reservation and later confirmation for the room. (They had a pencil and paper reservation system). To their credit they were able to give me a room without a bathroom on a higher floor but my girlfriend who walks with a cane had a difficult time getting up all of the stairs.

Jess Williams in Honolulu, HI USA 09/17/2007

Best: Les Trois Pierre in Bayeux, France; Gasthof-Pension Waldrast in Ruette, Austria;Tourist Farms Mulej in Bled, Slovenia; Chambres d'Hotes La Carriere L'eveque in Septmonts, France
Why: While on our one month vacation in Europe with our four teenagers, we found the above places to be all that we had hoped for. The hosts were so very kind and helpful, welcoming us with enthusiasm and warmth. Some of the locations were a little more remote which we didn't mind because we had a car. The breakfasts were always adaquate, served in beautiful dining rooms, some with gorgeous outside views. We would go back to any of these places again and again.

Linda in Battle Creek, MI USA 08/21/2007

Worst: B & B House de Kiefte, Haarlam, Netherlands
Why: We did not enjoy our stay at this B & B. Parking is not available on the street so one must instead park a mile away. The stairs are very steep up to the third floor, which was not a problem for us, but could be for some. The host was quick to point out all that is wrong with America and all that is right with the Netherlands. "It's a free country." was his favorite expression, which was uttered in a superior tone. The breakfast was typical of most European B & B's, but we felt hurried. I think they had stripped the sheets on our bed before we even got out the front door. I'm sure there must be more warm and welcoming places to stay in the Netherlands.

sue in kalamazoo, MI USA 08/21/2007

Best: Albergo Guerrato, Venice
Why: Friendly, welcoming, and so clean! It's hard to imagine the building is 800 years old. Good breakfast, too. We stayed in one of the "Guerratino" rooms which was perfect for our family of five.

Laurie Arora in Grosse Pointe Park, MI USA 08/17/2007

Best: Hotel Kranenturm in Bacharach
Why: During our 3 weeks of Europe Travel, we stayed at the hotels recommended in Rick's book. They all were good and some were better than the others. This hotel in Bacharach is a good value for the money, and can even be better, if the owner Fatima is little less "intense", she sometimes comes out pushy, nosy and occasionally rude, she often sounds like an army sergeant than a host. She insisted on setting the temperature in the bathroom water heater to her liking, if we had not raised the temperature on our own the night before, we would have run out of hot water during our showers. It does take some time to get the mix of water adjusted. Practice the night before, to save time in the morning. The trick is to start with the hot water, and then add cold water slowly until it reaches the right temperature. We enjoyed our stay and ignored the occasional rudeness of Fatima.

Johnny in Atlanta, GA USA 08/04/2007

Best: in Venice, The Fondazione Levi was fantastic!!!
Why: great location; beautiful room; wonderful breakfast; great staff; lovely courtyard entrance...

Brenda Paull in Mercer Island, WA USA 07/08/2007

Worst: Hotel Kranenturm in Bacharach
Why: Great night's sleep in Hotel Kranenturm. The rooms were cute and priced right. But, there was no water pressure in the tower in the morning. Plus, the water would switch from pretty hot to ice cold intermittently. So, it was like having a slow trickle of water of varying temperatures, drizzle on your head. It took us twice as long to take a shower because we spent so long messing with it to try and get enough pressure at a tolerable temperature to take a quick shower! It was crazy. We did the best we could and headed down to breakfast (which was really good). After breakfast, we checked out to go catch our boat ride. I told the lady at the front desk, Fatima, when I was checking out that our stay was nice (great rooms, great location), but due to the low water pressure and temperature flucuation, we wouldn't come back. She proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes argueing with me! She didn't believe me that our shower wasn't good. She was yelling at me and telling me that adjusting the water temperature was common sense and that she's had the hotel for 27 years and never had a problem, etc. The ironic thing was that we had heard several other tables at breakfast complain / asking about the showers. I finally escaped and we barely caught our boat on time. Word to the wise - never stay at the Hotel Kranenturm. The wife, Fatima, will make your stay less than enjoyable.

Christy in Auburn Hills, MI USA 06/27/2007

Best: Guest House Lida in Prague
Why: These guys know everything about the city and are the friendliest people you'll ever meet. They went with us to park the car, they did our laundry (even thought we offered to do it ourselves), they told us which trains went to the best sites. And they even had free internet.

Worst: Hotel van Onna in Amsterdam
Why: Although the location is absolutely unbeatable, Mr. van Onna was extremely unfriendly to us Americans compared to the other European guests. In addition, the breakfast was also the worst of our entire trip: one piece of white bread, one piece of meat and cheese, one cup of tea, and one badly cooked egg. I would ask for a room on the upper floors because the ground level looks directly out onto someone's backyard.

Katie Ramp in Monterey, CA USA 06/23/2007

Worst: Elizabeth Hotel, London
Why: Tiny room for 4 people, extremely hot even though it was cool outside and all heaters were off. Had no power for nearly an entire day. Horrible view of an alley. Off-handed front desk service (though good breakfast)For the price, it is not even close to being worth it.

Paul Dixon in Richmond Hill, GA USA 06/18/2007

Best: Hotel du Parc
Why: This place was amazing. Monsieur Rous speaks little English but the place is cheap, charming and the breakfast (freshly baked everything by Madame Rous) was the best of our 6 week Europe trip.

Shizuka Suzuki in Los Angeles, CA USA 06/02/2007

Best: Joops Hotel in Haarlem
Why: Beautiful decor in the lobby. Great large studio room though not as quiet as a back one which also had a larger shower area.

Worst: Hotel Cordonliaer in Bruges
Why: We actually used your book to shimmy up the bed as it was so lopsided! However the owners and Bruges were wonderful.

Cindy Van in Beaumont Alberta, USA 05/09/2007

Best: Hotel Mittaghorn in Gimmelwald
Why: Walter and Hotel Mittaghorn are absolute charms! We loved our stay in Gimmelwald, and our accomodations could not have been better, especially for the price! We had amazing views of the Alps from our windows and the dinner and breakfast Walter provided were fabulous. While other Switzerland spots were ridiculously pricey, we were able to stay within budget here.

Worst: Info on Eurail trains and sleepers
Why: The book (and the travel representative we emailed with) implied that we did not have to make reservations in advance for night trains for our mid-April travel. Once we arrived and validated our pass, however, we found out that our night train from Lisbon to Madrid was booked for two nights straight. We ended up having to take multiple trains to random locations, which wasted a lot of time and made sleep very difficult, in order to make it to Madrid. Another night train in Spain was sold out for the cheaper accomodations, we we ended up spending a lot more to reserve more pricey spots. In the end, we spent almost $400 extra on special reservations in order to travel via the Eurail pass. We were not expecting to pay that much beyond the $1100 we initially spent on the passes. Perhaps a "how to use a Eurail pass" section could be updated so that other travelers will not encounter the issues we were surprised to face. I would recommend that travelers making reservations for night trains while still in America.

Melissa in Honolulu, HI USA 04/24/2007

Best: Hotel Adler - Rome
Why: The hotel manager Alessandro Manetti is so professional, friendly and helpful. So with all the other staff up to the cleaners. Room looks impressive for the price. Breakfast buffet the best! Price is inexpensive and very close to Termini and tourist sites.

Maricel Lustre in San Diego, CA USA 04/19/2007

Best: Ildiko Budai, Vienna, Austria
Why: She spoke English, was very friendly, and gave us complete freedom to come and go from her home as we pleased. The common rooms of her apartment are VERY smoky, but our room was fresh and clean. Great for the price.

Vanover in Chicago, IL USA 02/23/2007

Best: Rugenpark B & B in Interlaken Switzerland
Why: What an awesome hotel/ B & B! I know you don't like Interlaken much, but you should suggest to your readers that if they stay in Interlaken to stay here. The rooms are spacious, the bed is comfortable, and they probably have the nicest comforter/pillow I've ever slept on. Their breakfast is awesome, at least a 10 SF value. We stayed in a double for about 60 euro a night and we almost felt compelled to give them more money when we left! They were so helpful with recommendations that were great and everything the staff was just excellent, can't say enough.

Kevin Aumiller in Park Ridge, IL USA 10/30/2006

Best: Hotel Pension Aviano (Vienna)
Why: I got room 304, a gigantic corner room w/ kitchenette right on the Karntnerstrasse (main drag) and walking distance close to many of the main attractions.

john oconnell in santa rosa, ca USA 10/28/2006

Best: Hotel Muguet, Paris
Why: Small, clean, quiet, well-appointed hotel with helpful staff. Great location on rue Chevert - 10 minutes walk from the Eiffel Tower. Pleasant area. Our room - #61 - had a perfect view of the Tower. I agree with other reviewers that it is a 3-star hotel with 2-star prices. Most important - my wife and my mother both loved it (they agree on everything, anyway). Would definitely use again.

Bill Murray in Santa Clara, CA USA 10/27/2006

Best: Hotel La Serre
Why: It was small, had a great location, and convenient. (About 2 blocks from the Eiffel Tower.) Right beneath us was the fruit market, and we could smell the strawberries from our room!

Cameron in Salem, OH USA 10/27/2006

Best: Grand Hotel Leveque, Paris, France
Why: Front desk girl named Ludwine was GREAT. Very informative on information about city. Not to mention to spoke great english and would teach you french if you asked.

Worst: The youth Hostel on Giudecca Island, VENICE
Why: accomadations were horrible. Lots of younger aged kids screaming and fighting. Not to mentino throwing a tennis ball against the wall while lying in bed. Curfew at midnite also.

Tom in Roseville, CA USA 10/11/2006

Best: betlem club in prague and pensione suzanne in vienna
Why: the location of these hotels was great. we could walk to sights very easily. your book was right, service at pensione suzanne was like that of a bigger hotel.

Olive FL USA 10/06/2006

Best: Hotel Beausite in Cap d'Antibes, France
Why: The decor of this place was just so Mediterranean, staff were generally friendly. Our rooms were on one side that was just to ourselves, so we had the privacy. The beach was within walking distance. Most of all, it was just a very relaxing place esp with the swimming pool. We would go back there again.

S K Tomczak in Novato, ca USA 09/22/2006

Best: Trude Poppenberger's B&B in Salzburg, Austria
Why: Trude's home and rented rooms are a delightful 2 km walk along the river from town. More delightful yet is Trude, who is eager to share her excitement for Salzburg, its music and history with her guests, recommending places of interest and concerts. She made breakfast, placed concert reservations for us, took us to/from the Banhof, always with a smile and a kind word.

Al Parker in Bozeman, MT USA 07/18/2006

Best: Pension Lettie in Bacharach and Schluxen in Austria
Why: Give Pension Lettie 4 stars and a few more adjectives in addition to “effervescent and eager-to-please.” Lettie was our fav hostess on the trip. She even has train schedules on the wall to help you get to your next Rick Steve's recommended stop: Rothenburg.

Gutshof zum Schluxen, although the most expensive accommodation on our trip at 84-euro, was a great choice. Herman is indeed extremely helpful, and his hospitality was immense. In addition to picking us up in Fussen, he brought us to Reutte at the end of our visit.

Worst: Affitacamere Freda Lucia in Florence
Why: The room and common kitchen were "basic, clean and cheap", and Lucia was indeed kind and very pleasant. What made our two night stay "the worst" for us was that it was extremely hard to get a hold of Lucia or her son Claudio after our initial contact to get into the room. I knocked on Lucia's door, called her telephone, and called Claudio's telepone until 11pm before we left the next day to get our passport backs - and Claudio finally dropped it off at midnight.

Al Parker in Bozeman, MT USA 07/18/2006

Best: Hotel Kloster-Stuble, Rothenburg, Germany
Why: Very friendly and accommodating, helpful with parking, breakfast was excellent and fresh with good variety, rooms were clean and inviting, reasonably priced.

Worst: Hotel Goldener Hirsch, Reutte, Austria
Why: Nice proprietor but that's all--hotel dirty and very smoky, shower leaked, hot, located on a roundabout so felt like we (tried) to sleep in a pitstop. Breakfast was not worth the price (free)--food not tasty or fresh, service with a sneer.

Sheryl Smith in Arlington, TX USA 07/13/2006

Best: Berlin: Hotel Bogota
Why: We liked the location. There is a cool internet cafe nearby that was not listed in the book. There are several eateries and shops near the hotel. It is about a 20min walk from Bahnhoff Zoo. Hotel was clean, not fancy. We stayed in a room with the shower and toilet in the hallway - very clean. Never did see the manaquins suspended from the ceiling??

Amy in Memphis, TN USA 06/03/2006

Best: Hotel Maximilian, Ehenbichl/Reutte
Why: After our reservation with another hotel in Reutte was not recognized, we turned to your recommended Hotel Maximilian. The warm reception we received from Gabi and the rest of the Koch family saved our vacation. We particuarly appreciated the very helpful travel advice, the internet access, and the laundry service, as well as the excellent restaurant.

The total experience was what we were hoping for, but didn't find, in central Reutte.

John & Lynn Stenabaugh in Aurora, On Canada 06/03/2006

Worst: Hotel Quentin / Amsterdam
Why: I cannot remember whether this was a recommended hotel, but in any event, DO NOT STAY HERE. It is on a beautiful canal in the arts district of Leidsplein, but that is where the "good" stops. None of the rooms had working showers, no one was helpful in the least, we had rats in our room, the screwed up our reservations, and did not once in 5 days get our wake up calls right. No one claimed to be able to get a hold of management, and nothing was even attempted to be done to resolve our problems - not even comping the cheap 5 euro breakfast one day. I don't demand a lot from accommodations, but even I would never stay here again.

Angela in Denver, USA 05/30/2006

Best: Hotel Weisses Kreuz, Salzburg, Austria
Why: The guesthouse has remodeled and every bedroom has its own bathroom. Ours was a reddish granite with a modern shower with a rainfall shower head. The street below was quiet and we slept soundly.

Worst: Travelodge, King's Cross, London
Why: The hotel has a lift for four floors, but our room was on the fifth! It was too warm not to have the window open and it was noisy.

Gay Lynn Auld in Round Rock, TX USA 05/25/2006

Worst: Hotel Oceania, Rome, Italy
Why: This was a very elegant hotel and the most expensive of our three-week trip. However, our room (15) was right next to the lobby. We heard every person who came in, every time the phone rang, and every conversation that took place there. The front desk called our room at one point and I could hear their end of the conversation through the wall. We were awakened between 11:30 p.m. and midnight one night by a loud conversation between two staff members. We kept hoping they would stop but they didn't until my husband went and told them that they were keeping us awake. Since we were already jet-lagged, we didn't fall back asleep for 3 hours after that. We were really disappointed, especially since it was so expensive.

Martha in Culver City, CA USA 04/13/2006

Best: We stayed at Hotel Olimpico, Pontecagnano, just south of Naples.
Why: This is a clean, newer hotel, off the beaten path. Rooms are bright, clean, with an ocean view. Prices are quite good: 100 euro per night with breakfast. Don't take half board, dinners at the Ristorante Heaven across the road are not good.

Worst: Don't fly Ryan Air!
Why: Hideous service. Wretched people.

Sherm Brown in San Francisco, CA USA 04/07/2006

Best: Domus Henrici
Why: The most lovely, roomy, clean and elegant hotel I think I've ever enjoyed. The breakfasts were fabulous and the service was super. We were there last year, but I forgot to enter comments on G.Wall. I will return to Domus Henrici. A gem. This recommendation MADE our trip to Prague.

Jane Aker in Santa Fe, NM USA 03/27/2006

Best: Brussels Welcome Hotel
Why: What a wonderful place to stay. It's a B&B, clean, quaint, quirky--not the 4 Seasons. The staff was gracious and charming and helped us find the bicycle museum in Oudenaarde! We split our stay and did 3 nites in Marrakesh and 3 nites in Tahiti. A full breakfast was a pleasant surprise since we were only expecting coffee and croissant. The location right in front of the Metro stop is a bonus, as is its wonderful location in the Fish Market area. If they had a glass of wine available in the dining area around 6PM, that would be heaven!

Carole in Morristown, NJ USA 03/24/2006

Best: Hotel Klosterstüble, Rothenburg, Germany
Why: very nice room, great restaurant

Maggie Brogdon in Fitzwilliam, NH USA 03/13/2006