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Barbara,

We stayed in Bacharach at the Kranenturm Hotel www.kranenturm.com. People seem to either love this hotel or hate it. It's right near the train tracks. Our experience there was wonderful! We stayed in a tower room with lots of character. The windows were triple paned and we had no trouble with train noise.

I preferred staying in Bacharach as it is a little smaller, and very enjoyable to explore.

Barbara,

I agree with Jill. I stayed at the same hotel as Barbara and loved it. The food was good and the room was nice. It is a older place, but it has a lot of charm. I enjoyed hiking in the vineyards and up to the hostel.(old castle)

St. Goar is best for its scenic position in the Rhine Gorge - you can spot 3 castles from town - and because it has a ferry to the other side. Bacharach actually has more interesting half-timbered buildings and is nice too but I prefer St. Goar. You could all stay in one apartment:

http://www.loreley-apartments.de/index.htm

We had the Rheinblick apartment - great view of the river, quiet, close to everything, well-equipped and roomy enough, very helpful owner (Walter Huppertz) who keeps bikes downstairs for guests; he keeps inexpensive beverages downstairs as well - help yourself and pay on the honor system.

I can't answer the question about accomodations for five...but I would say that Bacharach is much more charming than St Goar.

If you are light sleeper, I would not recommend the Kranenturm Hotel. It is not "right near" the train tracks, it is on top of the train tracks. Triple-paned windows can do only so much. We stayed about a block away from the tracks and were still woken up by the trains. Stay further away from the tracks. I do have to agree that the food at Kranenturm Hotel was good.

I like Bacharach better.We stayed at Letties B&B.Nice place and lovely lady.

I have been in both Bacharach and St. Goar, but I stayed in Boppard, which, being less well known, was less expensive. As a bonus, my hosts, a thirtyish couple, never spoke English. In Bacharach and St. Goar they all did.

Of the two towns, I would probably prefer St. Goar, because the hotels are just down the hill from the Bahnhof. In Bacharach the hotels are on the other end of town from the station (but not from the tracks). It would be a long trek with luggage.

In Bacharach, I think I would prefer Im Malerwinkel (www.im-malerwinkel.de). It is in a very pretty setting and far enough away from the tracks.

Barbara, On our trip last summer my friends and I stayed in the hostel Burg Stahleck in Bacharach. (It is a converted castle up on the hill) The place was clean, people friendly, and good breakfast....the only problem was getting up to the hostel. It is quite a treck up the hill, especially when pulling luggage. We enjoyed the town of Bacharach. We had a wonderful dinner at a little place called Rusticana, run by Astrid and her husband. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Hotel am Markt in St. Goar gets my vote. Beautiful Rhine views. Great food and a wonderful patio to watch the river and people. The Velich's are wonderful hosts. Email Hotel _am_Markt_St.Goar@t-online.de or call 011.49.6741.1689.

As a second choice, Boppard ;ppled wonderful from the river.

I will be staying at Lettie's B & B in Bacharach the 5.7 and 6.7 next week. Is it a far walk from the train station?

Barbara, Having your overnight accomodation at either Bacherach or St. Goar would be good. My preference is St. Goar, at Hotel Hauser. (I was there). It is a small hotel that is similar to a B & B, the manager Frau Velich has a warm personality. The rooms are old but big, some of the rooms for two (or more) persons are en suite. There is a more luxurious place in St. Goar, but it is more expensive. For a good day trip at the Rhine, I suggest : ride in a train from St. Goar to Bacharach (it is the most charming town at that part of the Rhine River), walk through Bacharach for 45 mnutes, and get a map of the Rhine river from the Tourist information office. Ride in a train to Bingen. (If you have enough time) ride on a ferry boat from Bingen across the river to Rudesheim, to ride on a chair lift up hill to the Niederwald monument. The view from up there is probably the best view of the Rhine River. Return to Bingen, and ride on a boat on the Rhine River from Bingen to St. Goar.

My family of 5 (our 3 children are college age)stayed with Lettie in Bacharach last May. She was very accomodating. My husband and I had a large room with a small kitchen and the boys were across the hall in a room for three. She offered to put an extra bed in a room for 4 but the price was not much more for two rooms with two baths so we went with that. Lettie is as nice as everyone on Rick's site said she was. She let the boys use her computer to check their email and did a load of laundry for a small fee. The rooms are plain but very clean and the place is right in the middle of town but quiet.

I just got back a week ago from St. Goar. My family stayed 2 weeks in the Rheinblick apartment, too. The view from the living room was beautiful! It was so fun to watch the river and street below the apartment. There is a clear view of a castle from the living room. Bachrach was my favorite town to visit. The cobblestone streets, half-timbered buildings, hills, and beautiful flowers felt like going back in time 300 years.

Just stayed at the Hotel Hillen in Bacharach. Owner Iris was very charming and helpful, and the town is almost too perfect for words. St Goar seemed a little more touristy, but it does have castles galore.

We loved Bacharach. St. Goar is very touristy. We stayed at Lettie's, but it was a disappointing experience. Our room was really stark and run down. The bed was squeaky. Overall it was far too Americanized and totally lacked any of the charm of a German pension. The decor in the hallways consisted of funny sayings and poems(in English) printed off the internet and hung up. Lettie is very nice and it's great that she speaks English, but I think that 99% of her guest must be Americans and it's easy to forget you are in Germany when you step inside. Whats the point in traveling all the way to Germany? Stay in the place everyone else is recommending. It looked very charming!