Zeitgeist Rathen by STEIGER Hotels

The hotel is very charming and the booking process went very smoothly. The hotel rooms had everything we needed(except for a kitchen, but the restaurant fully compensated for that) and were clean. The restaurant offers an extensive amount of dishes, enough variety for 2-3 days stay, and wasn't overcrowded(in November). The wellness area was a great addition after a long day hiking, although it's relatively small

Thought the restaurant is free, all the drinks are to be paid for. Not taking any drinks makes you feel unwelcome in several ways: either you eat everything dry and feel uncomfortable or you go on with the policy and waste the money. It's also important to note that the bathrobes for the wellness area were provided, but the bath slippers are only available for purchase for 3 euro, which hints at the intent to somehow tax all the free facilities provided.

No staff for check-in or questions. Only in the restaurant. They were very helpful though.

Fotod, wellness center, nature.

Parking is in the other side of river.

Staff was exceptional; food was fabulous for buffet style - excellent salads and delicious main meal; excellent location, and very comfortable room.

Location was great.Food was very good.Staff were nice.

The room could be cleaner

Great location, easy to find.

The pool/spa/sauna is very dirty and smells horrible. There is excessive mold smell and the tiles outside the sauna have a heavy layer of scum. We care because we have knowledge specific knowledge about pool maintenance.

Stunning location right on the river. Comfortable room, lovely views and great breakfast.

The whole place is EXCEPTIONALLY clean. It is located directly on shores of Elbe and is beautiful and very quiet. From whichever room, the view is beautiful. Our room was rather small, but with the big comfy bed (and additional one). The bathrooms were spotless and spatious enough. The water was very warm. Breakfast and dinner are fabulous and plentiful (dinner is not ''a' la carte'', but rather meal of the day, nevertheless, very nice and tasty). We came in winter, so we very much appreciated how warm it is in the hotel. The Saunas/Spa and the swimming pool are fantastic, warm and relaxing. The staff is very friendly and helpfull. The whole nature area is beautiful and the location is great (in 2 minutes, one is already hiking and trekking). Stay also includes free ferry ride and discount on the parking. WiFi is very good.

Well... this has somewhat to do with the hotel itself, but rather with it's location... so, the hotel itself, although in a very beautiful natural location, is located somewhat... hm... remotely (it is the last building on one side of the village). The hotel is on one side of the river Elbe, but the parking lot is on the other. Railway station too. So, if you come by car or train, you have to park (parking is susidised by the hotel, so you pay less than the stated price; 8 EUR for the day, at the time this was written, Dec.2024), take the ferry to the other shore and then get to the hotel. From the hotel's side, to get across, one has to walk some 150m from the hotel to the ferry, take or wait for the ferry (this can take literally 5 minutes, or it can take 20 if the ferry is on the other shore or if it just left... it is a very short ride, Elbe is literally 50m wide at that point, was it not winter, I would have swum) and get across. Same is for going back. The ferry is available every day, however only until 23:45 o'clock and from as early as 05:XX o'clock (forgive me, it was vacation and I had no intention of getting up so early to find out). When one has some luggage, it is rather impractical to carry all that and the whole ordeal between parking one's car and getting into the hotel can take more than half an hour and be somewhat phisically challenging. The ferry is also not covered (against weather elements; rides are completely free for hotel guests), so... if it's raining or snowing... you have to endure it.Also, Oberrathen (the place where one parks) has some rather intense railway traffic (both passenger and cargo), so waiting to get in or out of the village can take quite a while (we once waited almost 20 minutes on the railway crossing, since there was only one road). Railway is not bothersome and cannot be heard from the hotel, at all. However, from the traffic point of view, one has to count on being patient.

I had wrongly booked for 4 people instead of 5, and I was able to fix the situation with a reasonable price thanks to the very helpful manager. Loved the hotel, their food and their spa !

They didn't have air conditioning and it was too hot.

It is a very nice hotel with great staff. The location is right at the river bank, close to the walking trails. The food is very good with a variety of meat dishes, side dishes and salads. Home-made bread and jams for breakfast are amazingly delicious! We would definitely stay there again

Location BUTSwimming pool ok but short opening hours

If you get a room at the back of the building you have no view and extremely noisy pipes. No air conditioning and no option to open the window. So recommended to check exactly which room you book.

location, breakfast buffet was nice, too

our room didn't have a view, but I knew that when booking. Get a balcony, even if you are only there for an hour :-)

The decor of the entire hotel was well thought out which made it a very relaxing ambience. The buffet meals provided a good selection of choices and the AI Cat waiter was fun to watch at breakfast. The location is idyllic for those who like to get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life.

Only a suggestion, Rathen area will likely attract more English speaking guests, therefore it might be useful if the Hotel Information envelope has English translation.

The hotel’s location is excellent. It’s a 5-minute walk to the entrance of the Bastei Bridge, and there’s a pedestrian street right behind the hotel. It’s also close to several hiking trail entrances. The hotel itself is quite nice. The bed is very comfortable, and while the room isn’t large, it is well-arranged, making it an ideal place for a short stay.Sauna is simple but enough.

Do not book the partial Elbe view & balcony room because the partial view is not as big as it appears in the pictures; it’s just a narrow gap and the view is obstructed by a column. Therefore, I recommend booking either the river view or the city view roomsSwimming pool is small

Very comfortable room and access to a lovely swimming and leisure centre

We didn't find anything to dislike lovely hotel in a great location

Breakfast buffet with a great choice of food and drinks. Everything was fresh, with a lot of vegetables. The breakfast and restaurant room with a nice tables and comfortable chairs. Amazing food served by the chef in the evening, with different choices every day. Rooms are spacy, we got a nice one on the fourth floor with a side view of the river. Spa and pretty big swimming pool however at certain times it was pretty busy. Hotel is located on the bank of Elbe river, accessible by the ferry. Best for trails in Saxon Switzerland National Park and only 30 minutes walk to famous Bastei and Basteibrücke Bridge.

Nice hotel, relaxing atmosphere, tasty food. Excellent location. Comfortable welness area.

Water in swimming pool was too cold...

Great room, especially the bathroom. Like the pool too. Terrace with a view over the Elbe is of course a big plus.Staff were great, although there are a few (guys) that really need to take a bit more initiative spontaneously.

The terrace of the room is unusable due to swallows that have nested there. I know they're a protected species but then just don't sell your rooms 'with a terrace'.I expected more from the food: the desert is sorbet, every day. At breakfast I missed some pastries.

The location, breakfast, the view from the room - everything was just perfect. The pure balm for our hearts.

The sauna was a little bit cold. And the bathrobes along with the bath shoes were made of very tactile unpleasant material, synthetic, and full of static electricity.

Modern facilities, sauna and swimming pool super cool and open after dinner.And the breakfast is really exceptional as they say.Location nice and very calm

Nothing really. We just had a room with the view on the other side of the hotel and not on the river.