The Place
Too small for a palace, or (with only 12 bedrooms) a grand hotel, but as the name suggests, the Burger-Palais is an imposing town house built in 1700 for an aristocratic resident of Ansbach, and it makes a romantic guest house. To complement the curvin Baroque facade, the interior was renovated in ‘high society style’, explains Stephanie Altrock, a key member of the team of dedicated people who look after the guests. Many rooms are delicately illuminated by crystal chandeliers and sconces. The guest rooms have painted furniture upholstered in velvet and silk damask, old paintings on the walls, marble in the bathroom (and, in one, a Jacuzzi).
Many long-stay visitors among the clientele is a tribute to the relaxed atmosphere. Summer guests congregate at the tables on the cafe-terrace, which borders a large garden prettily planted with roses. Four bedrooms overlook the garden, and, since the Burger-Palais is in the centre of Ansbach and rather noisy, these are the quietest. the guests (business people and tourists, with quite a few from Spain and the USA) make their own din in the cafe/Stube and the restaurant, which specialises in Bavarian food. Stylistically, these rooms make a surprising leap into the vernacular with tiled floors and every surface lavishly covered in wood panelling.