The Best Luxury Hotels

German efficiency and cleanliness are legendary, so it's not surprising that you can choose from a great number of well-managed hotels.

• Grand Hotel Esplanade, Berlin (tel. 413/2412541; www.esplanade.de): This strikingly contemporary hotel near several foreign embassies is one of the most prestigious in the German capital. With its collection of modern art, its spacious, cheerfully decorated rooms, and its first-class service, it is a prime address for the luxury-minded.
• The Regent, Berlin (tel. 888/201-1806 in the U.S., or 030/20338; www.regenthotels.com): One of Germany's great luxury hotels, the Regent is all about opulence, superb service, and comfort. It's discreet, tasteful, reliable, and a brilliant addition to the roster of luxury leaders in Germany's capital.
• Hotel Elephant, Weimar (tel. 03643/8020; www.starwoodhotels.com): This is one of Germany's most interesting hotels because of its age (over 300 years), its name, its 50-year survival in Germany's eastern zone, and its associations with such luminaries as Schiller, Liszt, and Goethe. Today, it's a cost-conscious treasure chest of German history.
• Eisenhut (Iron Helmut), Rothenburg ob der Tauber (tel. 09861/7050; www.eisenhut.com): This hotel's 16th-century walls and valuable collection of antiques enhance the appeal of the most authentic Renaissance town in Germany.
• Kempinski Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten München, Munich (tel. 800/426-3135 in the U.S., or 089/21250; www.kempinski-vierjahreszeiten.de): Munich's most prestigious choice offers elegance and luxury. The wealthy and titled have checked in here for more than a century, enjoying the ambience, the antiques, the style, and the grace.
• Bayerischer Hof & Palais Montgelas, Munich (tel. 089/21200; www.bayerischerhof.de): This deluxe hotel and 17th-century Bavarian palace together form Munich's answer to New York's Waldorf-Astoria. This is the only hotel in Munich to provide serious competition for the Kempinski Hotel.
• Der Kleine Prinz, Baden-Baden (tel. 07221/346600; www.derkleineprinz.de): This hotel's director once helped manage the New York Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria. Today, he and his wife run a century-old pair of neo-baroque houses in the heart of Germany's most elegant resort, Baden-Baden. Der Kleine Prinz is among the most romantic of Germany's many romantic hotels.
• Krone Assmannshausen, Rüdesheim-Assmannshausen (tel. 06722/4030; www.hotel-krone.com): Sprawling along the banks of the Rhine in an oversize, grangelike, gingerbread-laden fantasy, this hotel has witnessed the arrival of many important Germans (including Goethe) in its 400 years. It also contains one of the best traditional restaurants in town.
• Fürstenhof Celle, Celle (tel. 05141/2010; www.fuerstenhof.de): This 17th-century manor, enlarged with half-timbered wings, stands out even in a town legendary for its medieval and Renaissance buildings. There's a cozy bar in the medieval cellar and one of the best dining rooms in Lower Saxony.
• Raffles Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg (tel. 800/223-6800 in the U.S. and Canada, or 040/34943151; www.hvj.de): Its dignified interior is as opulent as its 19th-century facade. This hotel's appeal is correctly aristocratic, but it has a touch of the saltwater zestiness that makes Hamburg a great city.