Drachenfelshotel Konigswinter

From the first sight, the hotel has nothing much to recommend itself: somewhat faceless, not very new, the decor is height of simplicity. But it is comfortable and clean. Rooms and bathrooms are spacious, there is enough of shelf space, beds, though rather narrow, are very comfortable. Views from most of the rooms are outstanding: either opening to Rhine river, or to the Aquarium with some sights of the river and Drachenfels. Service was extremely pleasant, even if not everybody speaks English; there was not even slightest problem in that: all questions were answered, any arising problems were solved. Breakfast is very good, maybe not so wide selection of hot food, but there was variety of cheeses (excellent!), cold cuts, breads, pastry, vegetables and fruits. And taking food with a full river view is an added pleasure. I could see only two disadvantages which did not allow me to evaluate the place as excellent: 1) there is no A/C and in a heat wave it was quite stuffy; 2) Wi-Fi is shaky to non-existent at times. But for 80 EUR per night in a popular resort during the high season the choice was really very good. The connection with Bonn is excellent, too: there is a ferry to go to other side of the river (costs 1,20 EUR) and city train stations (approx. 100 m from the hotel). The train station to reach Cologne and the airport is some 10-15 minutes on foot. By the way, note that the entrance to the hotel is not from the river side but from the townhall square and do not mix it up with the neighbouring entrance of private apartment block. When returning late, never forget the room key – it also serves as an entrance door key (lock is left side of the door). The reception is open only until 20.00.

This is a very old, outdated hotel (feels like youre in the 80s-90s), but still, amenities are just enough for a comfort stay. I stayed here for almost 3 week. Its not that close to the city (Bonn), but you'll find many attractions here to begin with. Sealife Aquarium is just outside the door, while there is a quite cute and classic souvenir shop next to hotel, ran by couple of friendly old ladies. Then there is the Drachenfelsbahn (tram) just around 5 minutes away by foot, a historic tram ride that will take you to the Drachenburg castle, which offers great view of Koenigswinter and Rhein river, as well as its surroundings. The small-town/suburbs of Konigswinter itself is a quite nice and quiet, kind of picturesque for you to walk around, or you can also walk along the Rhein river and experience an extremely beautiful sunset- daily! Altho its quite far away from the city (Bonn), you still be able to get to the city easily with many public transport options available close by. For starters, there is the Statdbanh (tram/train) just in front of the hotel. (Koenigswinter Fahre stop) or if youre off to a adventurous start, just cross the river by taking the ferry, which is also happen to be close to the hotel and try walking around Bad Godesberg area for more shops/restaurants. As for amenities, there is no kettle, mugs, tea/coffee making facilities provided in the room but you may get boiled water from the cafe downstairs as well as mugs, plates and get yourself some instant coffee/tea bags FOC. But borrowing the mugs is (understandably) allowed during the night. Then you'll have to return them before morning (breakfast). The internet connection is very good, and I would reccomend this hotel for business travellers that needs to be connected all the time. Its quite stable and fast altho there will be down time for a few minutes, but not forever. I used a macbook and a droid phone for a good connection. But on my Ipad, the connection is intermittent. There are only few staffs that I saw during my stay there. Notably, the friendliest is Claudia which is very much help for everything that I need. And yes, another thing, dont forget to carry your key anywhere you go as you will need it to open the main hotel door if you come back late at night (after 8Pm), since the staff wont be there after 8. Overall, a good hotel for business travellers in a budget, and also for those who wants a quiet stay and experience classic German suburbs life.

We stayed here on our Rhine cycle and I cannot recommend either this hotel or the town. I would suggest you stay on the other side of the river as the town looked much nicer there. The hotel is very dated and the corridors dingy. Staff not helpful. I checked before that we could securely leave the bikes in the garage but was then told we had to leave them in reception. The hotel does overlook the Rhine which is lovely, but there is nothing to stay in this town for. Overall the hotel felt unwelcoming and in need of a renovation