Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) hotels

Scrumptious, super-luxurious manorial establishment with its own golf course, within putting distance (nearly) of Hameln, which doesn’t itself have much in the way of top-end places to stay. Set in a Renaissance castle built by Hilmar von Münchhausen in 1570, although tall-tale-telling Baron Münchhausen himself (as in Münchhausen Syndrome) was born in nearby Bodenwerder, on the banks of the Weser river. Traditional décor, beautiful spa and fabulous pool in a conservatory. Plenty of aristocratic grandeur in the high-ceilinged, tapestry-walled Rittersaal.

Nordeney is the most elegant of the East Frisian islands. This tasteful and trendy hotel is divided across two buildings right in the heart of the historic spa, on the western end of the island, and has its own wellness facilities, including pool. Muted colours, organic materials, views out across the sea, with the island’s sandy, flat and romantically windblown interior at its back.

The Kaiserworth is a perfect fit into the picture-book setting on the cobbled square of Goslar.  Originally a guildhall built by wealthy cloth merchants in 1600, it is a fantasia of statue-encrusted salmon-pink walls topped by slate turrets shaped like magicians’ hats. The rooms themselves are widely disparate in size and presentation.

This is a traditional Lower-Saxony farmhouse converted to guest accommodation, in a very bucolic setting. Horses, dogs, cats, big farmyard, little stream in woodland nearby, very peaceful, and ideal for families. There’s a ‘hay-hotel’ aimed at cyclists, which is pretty much as cheap as accommodation gets around here, otherwise the accommodation is in the form of guest apartments within the farm building, and can be rented on a per day basis. Proprietor Karin Plate used to live in the US, so speaks good English.

Typical of several hotels throughout Niedersachsen, this is a moderate-sized family-run establishment which is solidly good value, and makes most of its business out of local trade -marriages, meetings, celebrations etc – which means it pays careful attention to quality, and therefore its local reputation. Its rural location between Oldenburg and Bremen means that it is off the international tourist trail, but good for walkers and cyclists. Modern interiors, big rooms, and all the bells and whistles of a hotel that would be far more expensive elsewhere.

Pretty little hotel down an oak-lined driveway in the famous artisan colony of Worpswede, which is in the midst of the so-called Devil’s Moor, and was at the forefront of an expressionist artistic movement back in the late 19^th century. The Eichenhof’s arty-cottagey style, and size, are very much in keeping with the destination, and fellow guests are likely to be unorthodox and creative – but with cash.

This is an extremely posh residence in the middle of a sleepy little, pretty little, half-timbered town, not far from Hanover (which is not a particularly nice place to stay). Its slightly out-the-way location makes it work harder at being thoroughly excellent, so it is not as expensive as it should be. The building, the Palais Adelebsen, dates back to 1670, the former seat of the family von der Osten, and it has a history of Venetian beggar boys and Niedersachsen robber barons. The atmosphere is of an exclusive weekend house-party and there are two restaurants, one of which is Michelin-starred. The hotel belongs to the exclusive Althoff collection, which has a dozen other similarly upmarket properties, mostly in Germany.