Gasthaus zum Ritter

Service was good.

The owners were very friendly and clearly tried hard to welcome us, though the state of the house seemed to overwhelm them. It's a shame, because the place badly needs renovation, and I felt bad giving so few stars, but that's the best I can do. We were passing through near Bruchsal and, for two nights, the three of us were the only guests. Our rooms were clean but overdue for renovation. We had two of the better rooms, though they looked into other rooms. Since our shower wasn't working, we had to use the tiny bathroom in the second room. Breakfast was very limited with just the three of us, so we quickly went and bought bread rolls from the bakery next door.

The reception staff were very friendly, and the room and bathroom were a decent size with dated but usable furnishings. You can pay in cash or by card. There's plenty of parking, although the hotel is right on a busy main road. Still, I can't give the room any stars. At first glance, both it and the bathroom looked unclean: there was a cigarette butt in the toilet and ash in the sink. The non-smoking room I'd booked smelled strongly of nicotine, as did the hallway and reception area. Either it hadn't been cleaned after the previous guest or the staff or owners had smoked in it.

We slept well in the excellent beds, even with the window shut. It had to stay closed at night because the functional room was noisy right on the street. The bathroom was tiny, with no toothbrush cups and just one towel hook. There isn't a hotel key, so at night you have to ring the host out of bed, though that worked fine. Far too expensive.