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Hotels in eastern Germany are up to international standards and, due to economic subsidies in the 1990s, often far outshine their West German counterparts. In the East it’s quite normal to have a major international hotel in a 1,000-year-old house or restored mansion. Smaller and family-run hotels are more charming local options, and often include a good restaurant. Most big hotels offer special weekend or activity-oriented packages that aren't found in the western part of the country.
During the trade fairs and shows of the Leipziger Messe, particularly in March and April, most Leipzig hotels increase their prices.
Book far ahead to secure a room at this friendly little hotel central to Weimar's attractions. It opened in 1826 as a church hostel. Double rooms are furnished with first-rate antique reproductions; public rooms have the real thing.
The quiet Adagio, tucked away behind the facade of a 19th-century city mansion, is centrally located between the Grassi Museum and the Neues Gewandhaus. All rooms are individually furnished; when making a reservation, ask for a "1920s room," which features the style of the Roaring '20s and bathtubs almost as large as a whirlpool.
At the base of Wartburg Castle, this former church-run hostel has blossomed into a handsome hotel, cleverly incorporating the original half-timber city mansion into a modern extension. The excellent restaurant ($–$$) has been joined by a brasserie.
This pleasant hotel occupies a 450-year-old renovated Medieval building on the main market square along Jakobsweg (Way of St. James). Great effort has been made to incorporate traditional building elements into the modern and spacious rooms. Although the restaurant has long since closed, it opens for the daily breakfast, and the Bierstube remains in use, especially in the summer (though they will open it any day on request).
There are only a handful of rooms in this intimate family-run establishment that offers good views of the Albrechtsburg, but the hospitality of the Wodniok family is evident in their meticulous hotel, good breakfasts, and the garden that invites guests to relax and have a glass of wine.
Many of the simply decorated rooms overlook the central market at this pleasant hotel in a medieval house. The staff gladly arrange wine tasting in the Ottonenkeller (wine cellar).
In a beautifully restored half-timber house, many of the rooms feature bare load-bearing timbers and have pleasant views of the castle. An excellent breakfast is served in a huge dining room.
Rooms in this baroque half-timber inn have modern amenities but are furnished in a pleasing, rustic fashion.
Since the SAS group gave the ugly high-rise Kosmos a face-lift, the socialist-realist look of the GDR years no longer intrudes on Hotel Erfurt. The hotel, which has undergone several renovations since the reunification, now has rooms that are decorated in bright, modern colors and fabrics (including leather-upholstered furniture).
