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Hostels Guide > Western Europe > Germany > Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) > Bacharach Hostels > HI - Bacharach - Jugendherberge Burg Stahleck, Jugendgästehaus Bacharach Hostel

HI - Bacharach - Jugendherberge Burg Stahleck, Jugendgästehaus Bacharach Hostel

Bacharach, Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany

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Guide to Packing

Address

Burg Stahleck, Bacharach Map

Location/Contact

Details

This is a Hostelling International (HI) hostel. A membership card isn't required, but an extra fee will apply for non-members. You can get a membership card before your trip here.

Their Description

Features

Free Breakfast
Gameroom
Food/Restaurant
TV

The Hostelz.com Review

A castle hostel high on a cliff overlooking the Rhine river valley. A beautiful place with beautiful views. There is a central courtyard and a bar downstairs that also serves breakfast. The rooms all look new or newly renovated with comfortable bunks and clean bathrooms. The staff are nice enough and don't mind if you want to eat or drink in the courtyard.

Make a reservation as the hostel can fill up with school groups (it's an HI hostel). Young kids can be noisy, although most rooms are tucked away from foot traffic and sound. The biggest downside about this hostel is the hike to it. Although it's not difficult to find, from town it is about a 15-minute climb up stairs. Not too fun in summer while wearing a pack. In a pinch, you can run down the stairs and make the train station in about 10 minutes. Also, there is an early, 10 PM curfew at which the castle gates are closed (though there's not much to do in Bacharach late night). The bar inside stays open until midnight and you are always free to roam the castle grounds.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review

Your Comments

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Comment by Victor, USA

January 2008

Cool hostel, but take a taxi with your backpack!
This hostel was very cool. Super clean and modern. I was pleasantly surprised. Bacharach was beautiful and cozy, worth a one night stay. Lots of German families at this hostel, but the pub in the basement was full of families playing cards. There is no night life in town and I felt weird having a beer down in the hostel pub with another backpacker surrounded by happy families. But, do not try to hike up that foot path if you have a large backpack. It almost killed us, plus it was pouring in the rain. I twisted my ankle and suffered for a week. We arrived on a Saturday and there was no taxi service available on that day. If there is no taxi service, do not attempt that crazy steep hill with a backpack or luggage. You have been warned!

Comment by Rick Prall, United States

July 2007

Excellent place to stay -- and an incredible view
While on vacation with my family (four of us), we chose to stay here just so we could say we stayed in a castle. The hostel staff is incredibly friendly and helpful (Michael actually gave us some great advice for our day trip related to cruising the Rhine). We had room 93 -- a six bunk room with an incredible view and its own bathroom. The only "problem" we had was that we were told we would have towels, but towels are not included. When you stay here, plan to eat in town at the Restaurant Rusticana in town. The family that has turned this house into a restaurant does an incredible job. We thought the breakfast at the hostel was very good, diverse, and very fresh. We definitely plan to go back to Bacharach and stay here again in the future.

Comment by Laurel, American

June 2007

Beautiful
Burg Stahleck is a wonderful place to stay overlooking the truly amazing little town of Bacharach. We were there during spring break so the place was full of kids running around, but we had a room to ourselves and it was clean. The castle looks great from the outside and it's lots of fun to tour the grounds, but the inside has been updated and looks just like any other hostel. Still pretty great to stay in a castle, and in a way it's nice because a castle from this time period would have been cold and drafty. We had a great time and would definitely go back.

Comment by Sean Henry

December 2006

If one is looking for a room with a view, this is the place to stay. I was pleasantly surprised with the cordiality of the staff and with the manner in which they ran their establishment -- the cleanliness and tidiness of the rooms here are second to none (believe me, some hostels I have stayed in were a nightmare). The food, while not stellar, is complimentary and filling. All in all, this is a place that I would highly recommend.

Comment by Pintu Das

December 2005

It's a great youth hostel located in a beautiful Rhein bank. We organised a conference for 130 delegates there. It was a nice expereince working with everyone working in the hostel. It has many rooms from where you can see the sunset, have look at the villages on the banks of the Rhein. The food is good, furnitures are good. There are some nice conferrnece rooms as well. The Ball room is perfect to organise a good party for this much of people. If you want to organise something for ~100 people, I can tell you that you won't be disappointed. Our experience is very good.

Comment by Susie Oz

October 2005

Having stayed at the hostel twice on two backpacking trips I would say it is one of the best hostels in Europe. It is a long hike up with a backpack but there are seats on the way up and you get some great views. The bathrooms and furniture are great and so are the meals. We had a terrific stay there and thoroughly enjoyed the little cobble road town — something very different to what we are used to in Australia. I have also had family members stay there by chance over 15 years ago and they remember it very well. I would highly recommend it for a few days break to visit the Rhine and the little township. Try the Chinese restaurant in town; it was very tasty!

Comment by TB

August 2004

An absolutely beautiful location, but the trek to the top of the hill does stink with a 20-pound pack on your back. Reception is not very friendly here--actually they were downright rude. But, if you make friends with the ladies in the cafeteria they will do your laundry for you. They are very strict about not drinking anything not bought in the hostel. And this place was full of school groups, which are very loud at 7 in the morning. Also, the bathrooms have clear doors but are not sex segregated, which makes for fun when there are 15 boys running around. The town is great and this place is definitely worth the trip. Overall, though, it is a very cool place and where else can you say, "I have to go home to my castle now"?

Comment by Kitty

June 2004

One of the best hostels I've ever visited! It has a gorgeous view of the surrounding river and hills, an exciting castle and grounds to explore and a lovely Bacharach at the foot of the hill. The hostel itself was spotless and cozy, with a great cafeteria in the basement (serving breakfast, dinner and drinks after 10 p.m.) It's great for all ages with a friendly and extremely helpful staff! The only two drawbacks are the hike up the hill to get to it (but it is so, so very worth it by the time you get there!) and the 10 p.m. curfew (though where would you go in Bacharach after that time?) It's much more fun to enjoy a drink downstairs in the hostel with friends). I couldn't recommend this hostel more. So professional and so, so lovely.

Comment by Kitkat

January 2004

Stahleck was the first hostel I had ever stayed at was by far the best experience I have ever had in hostels. It's located on the top of a cliff in a refurbished 14th Century castle, it is a 15-30 minute hike up to the hostel. However beautiful views of the Rhine and unique ruins of arches and a chapel make the climb less of daunting task, but trust me if you are out of shape in any way you are hestitant to want to go back down once you make to the top. The hostel itself has numerous private, family, group, and single sex dorms all with attached bathrooms, which are extremely clean. There is a game room, a small cafe/breakfast room with reasonable priced food and local wines and beers, and a courtyard with breathtaking views of the village below and the Rhine. I would go back in a heartbeat and recommend it highly.

Comment by Chris Knapp

November 2003

This hostel was great. The staff took great care of the group I was with and even held dinner open for us when we arrived late the first night. The staff was very polite and helpful. Be sure to take a camera to this place.

Comment by Alex Cooper

October 2003

Travelling with a group of 30 high school students from Canada in March 2002, we found the facilities met all our needs. Great cafeteria, appropriate rooms, great atmosphere and host. I recommended it to other youth groups. Our tour bus barely fit under the archway on the road to the castle. We nearly had to walk. Even from the small parking area is an 80 metre walk down a trail - a challenge when carrying luggage - but absolutely worth it. We are going back in March 2004.

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