Hotel zum Ritter St. Georg

The reception team were warm, diligent, and quick to resolve my questions, and I saw them taking care of other guests’ needs too. Traveling across continents, I felt right at home. The hotel sits in the heart of Heidelberg’s Old Town, in a beautifully restored building whose delightful architecture keeps its charm. A lovely place to consider if you’re planning a visit and want to explore Heidelberg in its full glory.

The desk staff were genuinely helpful and did what they could to make my stay pleasant. I told them I’d leave a good review, and I mean that about their effort, though the building makes their job difficult. It feels understaffed, the place is old, and it doesn’t live up to its reputation. Sometimes I couldn’t find anyone at the desk, and the main door was often locked with nobody there to let me in. I hope the situation can improve, though I’m not sure that’s what the owners intend. The location is hard to beat once you’ve found the place. You need to know where to get off the streetcar at Rathouse, or take a taxi to the entrance, but from there there are countless places to walk to and things to do. I paid a very reasonable price for a tiny room and appreciated feeling safe and relatively comfortable. Still, it didn’t have the elegance and class I remembered from staying here years ago. The basic economy room wasn’t comfortable. The bed was hard, the blankets were thin and small, and the pillows were flat. The water took ages to warm up, then got too hot. The old radiant heating was unreliable. There were cobwebs up high and dust under the bed. Someone’s old earplugs stayed there all week, even after housekeeping. There was mold in the shower and on the shower head. I wish I could be more positive given how attentive and helpful the desk staff were, and I’m sorry to be so frank about the rest.

The staff were friendly and willing to help, though it felt like there were limits on what they could do, as if management was trying to cut costs wherever possible. For what we paid, the stay fell short of what a hotel like this should offer. There weren’t any major problems, just a collection of disappointments: cleaning only happened every few days, the towels and sheets weren’t very good quality, the minibar fridge had been removed, and the room safe didn’t work. Wi-Fi was weak and on-and-off outside the ground-floor lobby, and we spotted cobwebs in the room. That said, it was comfortable, and the Zum Ritter has plenty of old-world character as the town’s second-oldest building. You’re right in the heart of the old city, which is hard to beat. We skipped breakfast, so I can’t comment on it.

The historic building is lovely, and my room even looked out toward the castle. I come to Heidelberg every year and always stay in the old part of town. Ritter is perfectly placed, close to restaurants, bars, and shops.