After we ate lunch at L’Originel, we headed over to the hotel and checked in.  As I mentioned in the first post, I got one of the last available rooms at Best Western Hotel Le Schoenenbourg, which turned out to be a suite.  It was humongous!  There was a large sitting room, a bedroom with two TVs, and a huge bathroom with a separate toilet. The bathroom had a deep soaking tub and a large shower stall.  Our beds were originally twins, but they kindly pushed them together for us, although the beds were still dressed as twins underneath the bedspread.

Have a look at the photos!

I had my first bath in awhile thanks to this awesome deep tub.  I brought my own toiletries.   I didn’t try the ones offered by the hotel.

Twin beds pushed together.  The bed was comfortable enough, though I was kind of glad I brought my own pillow.  It would have been okay if I hadn’t, though.  These pillows were more generous than some I’ve found in other hotels in these parts.

A little couch in the sitting room.

A water bowl and treats for the boys!  

This was a nice surprise.

They also left us a complimentary bottle of water.

The minibar.  I didn’t check the price list, but Bill said it wasn’t that expensive.  There is also a bar in the lobby that serves drinks and hot snacks like quiche.

As you can see, the boys were very comfortable.

 

While I took a leisurely bath, Bill went shopping for stuff to bring home with us.  He tasted several wines at a couple of wine shops in town.  He also ran into a very aggressive cheese vendor who ended up selling him four different types of cheese and sausage!  I don’t eat a lot of cheese, so I hope his work friends don’t mind if some of it’s stinky.   He bought macaroons and cookies, but no chocolate.  🙁  Darn.  For this excursion, Bill bought a cooler that plugs into the car and keeps things cool without the need for ice.  It also provided a handy platform for Zane to stand on during the drive.

Best Western Hotel Le Schoenenbourg has a pool that was being used extensively yesterday.  They also have bikes available for rent.  I brought a bathing suit, but didn’t end up going for a swim.  Later, while Bill and I were enjoying drinks at the bar, I started wondering if the pool at the hotel had a rule about men wearing Speedos.  Apparently, many pools in France require women to wear bathing caps and men to wear skimpy bikinis.  I blogged about that last year and it’s one of my most popular travel posts.

The dogs were welcome at the bar, though that Astro Turf did a number on Zane’s paw.

Alsatian beer.  It was a surprisingly good wheat beer. 

And a local Jupiler on draft.

While we were drinking and enjoying the sunshine, we were charmed by an adorable little boy and girl who were siblings and appeared to be two and four years old.  The boy was older and clearly looking after his sister.  They spoke a language we didn’t recognize.  It turned out they were Dutch and they both had stunning platinum blond hair, giving them an angelic appearance.  Their parents were very fit and spoke perfect English, asking us if it was okay that their kids were hanging out near us.  I could tell the kids were enchanted by Zane and Arran and probably wanted to pet them, but were too shy to ask and didn’t speak our language anyway.  We ran into them at least three times, including when we had dinner.   They were so cute and kind of made me lament that I never had children.

A map of Riquewihr.

Breakfast tray.  The coffee was very disappointing.

My only complaint about the hotel was the breakfast.  They have a buffet that costs 13 euros a person.  I’d read that it was a ripoff.  We opted to have breakfast delivered to our room for 9 euros a person.  For that, you get a basket of breads, butter, jam, honey, Nutella, coffee and juice.  The breads were excellent and very fresh.  There were croissants, baguettes, and chocolate chip brioches.  The juice was adequate.  But the coffee, I’m afraid, SUCKED.  It was barely drinkable and much too weak.  Consequently, when we drove home this morning, Bill and I were both still very sleepy.

Other than the breakfast, I had no real complaints about the hotel.  It was super convenient and pet friendly, even when Zane and Arran got on a scent on the way downstairs this morning and started baying.  For our one night with drinks at the bar and breakfast in our room, we paid just under 200 euros.  Parking outside and WiFi are free.  If you want secure parking, you can use the parking garage, which costs 10 euros a day.