My 20 year old godson and I had a five night stay here in late July, 2006. Neither of us had been to Germany before, but a poster of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria made us decide that we wanted to visit it. We originally wanted to stay in Fussen, the nearest town to the castle, but the prices were sky high, and the location of most of the hotels was not very appealing. We discovered the Aparthotel San Marco by searching the internet. It's on the lakefront at Hopfen am See, a small and very pretty resort only two miles from Fussen,and about five miles from the castle. The hotel has a number of self catering apartments and three twin rooms. We decided on a twin room, as we intended to eat out, and therefore didn't want to pay the extra for the self-catering facilities. We collected the hire car at Munich airport, and made the drive to Hopfen in about an hour and three quarters without any problems. The San Marco has its own garage at the rear of the premises. There is no extra charge for this, a change from many of the hotels I've stayed in. The very friendly and efficient staff showed us to the room, which was simply superb. Clean,bright, very well cared for and well decorated. All the rooms and apartments have a balcony or a terrace, all overlooking the lake. Our room was right at the front, with a view to die for - right across the lake to the mountains, most of which are actually in Austria, as it's very close to the border. The hotel has a fine restaurant with an outdoor terrace, which we took advantage of on several nights, but you are welcome to dine at any of the other hotel restaurants that line the lakefront, or, as we did on one evening, drive into Fussen to sample the fare there.
Breakfast was served in the hotel restaurant., and is included in the cost of the room A large and plentiful supply of meats and cheeses, plus coffee and cereal, but neither Mike nor I can quite manage ham and cheese for breakfast, so we tended to have just a coffee, then drive into Fussen, where a bakery in the old town did fresh croissants every morning. With fresh ornage juice and a fresh apple pastry to follow it made an ideal breakfast. The young lady in the bakery and Mike spent much time eyeing each other up, and they were both disappointed when we had to leave at the end of our stay!
Hopfen is a perfect location for a touring holiday, as it's so close to many of Bavaria's tourist attractions. Apart from Neuschwanstein Castle itself, it's only a short drive to the Linderhof palace, and to various places such as Oberammagau and Mittenwald. Also Innsbruck in Austria is only an hours drive, as are many other alpine lakes and attractions. We spent the last two nights of our stay in Bavaria in Munich, but on reflection I think we'd have preferred to have stayed longer in Hopfen. Both Mike and I fully intend to return to the area one day, and when we do, it will be the San Marco that we stay at!