Six hotels in Germany

We can highly recommend these six hotels from our August-September ’02 trip to GERMANY. All were in the “Quite Comfortable” category (single little house icon) in the Michelin Red Guide. All had large rooms and immaculate bathrooms. All except Studtmann’s Gasthof offered a bountiful buffet breakfast. All provided free parking. Reservations were made via e-mail.

• Studtmann’s Gasthof (21272 Egestorf-Sarendorf, Germany; phone +49 4175 84360 or e-mail studtmanns@kiekin-hotels.de) — in a very small town on the Lüneburg Heath, below Hamburg. Very gemütlichkeit. The breakfast wasn’t buffet, but the servings would satisfy the heartiest eater. €55 ($65).

• Wedina Hotel (22 Gurlittstrasse, 20099 Hamburg, Germany; phone +49 40 243011 or e-mail wedina@aol.com) — just three blocks from the Bahnhof. Great breakfast buffet out on the garden terrace. €100 ($117).

• Ringhotel Jensen (Am der Obertrave 4 5, 23552 Lübeck, Germany; phone +49 451 702490 or e-mail hotel.jensen@t-online.de) — in the Old City but facing the River Trave and the Holstentor Gate. €108 ($127).

• Hotel Idyll am Wolgastsee (Haupstr. 9, Korswandts, Usedom 17419, Germany; phone +49 38378 22116 or e-mail idyll-am-wolgastsee @landidyll.de) — on the island of Usedom in the Baltic Sea.

The hotel faces the small Wolgastsee Lake. If you follow the path circling the lake, you’ll pass along a low wire fence on the far side; Poland is on the other side.

An amazingly large room. €102 ($120).

• Fjord Hotel (13 Bissingzelle, 10785 Berlin, Germany; phone +49 30 254720 or e-mail fjordhotelberlin@t-online.de) — just a 5-minute walk from a U-bahn station and 10 minutes from Potsdamer Palace or the Kultur Forum.

Large room with sitting area. €90 ($106). Copious breakfast on top floor overlooking the city.

• Hotel Johannishof (25 Pfarrstrasse, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany; phone +49 3943 94940 or e-mail info@hotel-johannishof.de). This small town lies at the foot of the Harz Mountains.

A very large room and great breakfast. €83 ($97).

— BILL & ALICE STELTZER, Kennett Square, PA