Hotel & Restaurant Auerstein - Heidelberg, Germany 

My family stayed at the hotel December 11 - 15, 2004 and enjoyed our stay in the charming room and the gourmet restaurant on the first floor. We would definitely stay there again. ---------------------------- Positive points: - Our 2nd floor room in the turret was clean, charming, spacious with a wood floor and iron bistro table and two chairs. A large bottle of sparkling mineral water was replenished daily. Climate control included good radiators, large windows, and a floor fan. Alarm clock and hair dryer in room. We loved coming back to our pretty room at the end of a long day, then going downstairs for a late dinner or dessert. - Gourmet restaurant with beautifully presented and delicious food. The pumpkin cream soup or Kürbiscremesuppe mit Croutons was lovely and filling for lunch. The huge three homemade ravioli with pumpkin filling (Hausgemachte Ravioli mit einer Kürbisfüllung an Nussbutter und Parmesan) was so good I had it twice. The feldsalat or salad with field greens was delicious. The rumpsteak was good. The desserts were worthwhile - Schokoparfait mit lauwarmen Pflaumen or chocolate mouse-like cake with warm plum sauce and the apple tarte with ice cream were wonderful without being too decadent. Phillip, the big teddy bear waiter, had a great personality and gave us helpful advice on taking the tram to Heidelberg. - The staff was very helpful and spoke English. One nice young man even called the next hotel for us to help with our reservations. - Breafast was included in the price (cold cuts, cheese - brie cheese on two days, rolls, hard boiled/soft boiled eggs, yogurt, cereals, coffee (very strong), tea) - Great location - one tram stop from the OEG Bahnhof (train station) and a few stops away from downtown Heidelberg and the Christkindel market, which I found to be one of the best in Germany (out of 10 of them I visited). Other points: - No elevator - lots of circular stone steps to help work off the gourmet meals, but the gentlemen were very willing to help bring our luggage up the stairs. - Tiny bathroom in room. Only one person could stand in bathroom. It was clean, and everything worked fine. Peach soap gel in sink container was also to be used for shower. No shampoo. - Not much on street parking. Had to park up the street in the residential area for two nights. - For three people in the room, they accomodated us by providing a cot. The cot springs could easily be felt through the material, but the nice red haired lady allowed us to take a mattress from an unused room and put it over the cot. It was a guess to see when they would have to take the mattress back each night, but it worked out for our stay. Hotel Aurstein was a charming hotel with a great gourmet restaurant and nice people.