Hotel Orphee

This is an eclectic, almost bohemian hotel. From the entryway to decorations in hallways to rooms. Ours is a huge room with neo-antiques in French baroque style but with primitive wood table in the middle of the room (very useful) and chest in the corner. Plaster ceilings dressed in medieval decor. Has plenty of powerpoints, very strong wifi, and decent bathroom. The people here are wonderful, kindly speaking English when my limited German fails. Wonderful attitude. Restaurant review to be separate.

This hotel fits the classic description of "rustic and charming." The rooms and halls are quirky and old, but the beds are comfortable and the location, smack dab in the center of town, cannot be beat. We also really enjoyed the included breakfast, which was quality with several menu options and a lovely cafe to sit in.

Great central location in the old town (easy and flat 10 min walk from main train station) , quirky and full of character (take the hotel stairs and explore a bit!), spacious room and bathroom, water/wine/nuts/chocolates provided free in room, staff very friendly/helpful/present/available. If you want an older style, classic French movie set/artsy yesteryear atmosphere with furniture from early 20th century or before (some came from an old theatre) and where people are engaged in lively conversation with nobody sitting on their phones, then this place is a stand out. The walls are covered in posters from French films, photographs of film stars and various art works. This hotel is always busy (the restaurant is clearly a favourite for locals) with the restaurant and reception area buzzing day and night. Fresh bread at breakfast was delicious! Authentic French bistro menu for lunch/dinner. Rooms are all different (a bit shabby-chic in places) and while we certainly didn’t get a room that looked anything like the stunners on the website, it was quirky, comfortable and very spacious nonetheless. ||To be aware of: Pillows very flat (lacking filling) so we needed to use our clothes to bolster. Asked for extra pillow but it was just the same as the others! No fridge in room and no milk for tea/coffee (but we did get a paper cup of milk from the obliging staff at the restaurant). There is no safe to lock away valuables. The entrance is a large undercover smoking area so you have to walk through a thick fog of cigarette smoke to enter or leave the hotel, with the smoke drifting into the reception area and restaurant every time the door opens (which happens constantly - this place is busy!). No air con or fan in the room which didn’t worry us, but this might be an issue for some people in the heat of summer.

Interesting hotel setup- I stayed a block away from the main hotel which had a private locked entrance but no reception and no elevator. Room was very spacious as was the bathroom, shower was very small however. There was a pathway on one side of the building so it was a little noisy at night but was still able to sleep comfortably. Could have used better pillows. The hotel restaurant was excellent at dinner but the breakfast options were limited.||A very good value however- slightly more than 100 Euros per night which included breakfast.

I felt like Id stepped back in time when I had stopped by for coffee and light meal. After walking round in the rain and wind, I felt immediately welcomed, enjoyed the best quiche Ive ever had with delicious dressed salad, and soaked up the ambience of this sophisticated and well-run restaurant.

I’m torn about what to say about this hotel. Some good points and number of negatives. I post very few reviews but feel motivated to leave a review here for the benefit of others. The GOOD: fresh croissants and well made coffee at breakfast. Great location. The daily room cleaning staff were proactive and showed initiative, supporting how we used the room with small tweaks to furniture and bedding. We also had warm interactions with them in the corridors if we ran into them. Nice period features in the spacious room, which had been renovated in the last decade. The NEGATIVES: SERVICE: passable at best. Like many other reviewers, I found that they’re only doing just enough to get the transaction done. There is no hunger or desire to please or ensure happiness. There were many reception and restaurant staff, but there were few smiles. A telling example would be this: at breakfast each day - early at 7:30 for us - there would be easily 5 staff to serve only two tables of guests. It was not busy. The waiter would typically only visit the table twice: once to take orders, and again to deliver the plates. There were never any extra table visits to check on things… were we happy? Did we want more food? Nothing. Quite the opposite, we’d have to stand up to go and fetch things like sugar for the coffee or to ask for something extra. There was no lack of staff. They were always just at the bar talking to each other. This was the pattern day after day. Similar vibe at front reception, which by the way was behind a glass screen. It just had a very “roadside motel” feel to it. You’d say hello, they’d take the money, give you the key through a slot under the glass, and that was it. It was transactional only, no proactive helpfulness or warmth from multiple staff. It really seems to be a cultural thing at this hotel in particular. We had quite warm experiences at other restaurants or hotel cafes in Regensburg, so I don’t think the culture at Orphée is typical of the region - they just clearly have their own way of doing things at Orphée. CIGARETTE SMOKE: This has to be noted! The only way into the hotel is through an archway door from the street that opens into a semi internal-external room about 5x5 metres. It holds about 6 tables which were always full of people smoking. Not the same 2x locals, but somehow this seemed to be the place to go if you wanted to sit and smoke with a beer. Typically there will be about 6 lit cigarettes being smoked any time you pass. Maybe they think this is ok because it’s a semi-external room, but it does not ventilate well. The net effect is that the smoke flows into and fills the next room - the lobby with reception and lift access and stairwell. The lobby smells more strongly than the smoking room somehow. It seems to collect and store the smoke. The smoke then flows up the stairwell meaning the corridors outside the rooms also strongly smell of smoke. I know that smoking is more prevalent in Germany, but this place seems to be really supportive of smokers. Next visit to Regensburg I will be looking for someplace else.

Centrally located so big plus there. Hotel entry through wall of cigarette fug and depressing looking foyer. However, our attic room was a surprise, spacious and comfortable with water and tea/ coffee etc available. Comfortable beds, very warm and clean so no criticism there. Stained bathroom sink and over the bath shower. Hmmm. Not impressive. On our last night and indeed every morning, we ate at hotel. So breakfast is busy… seems like locals also walk in for breakfast so service can be somewhat limited as are choice options for guests. Bread, croissant , small cheese/ meat plate coffee and juice. Probably one of the poorer breakfasts we’ve had in our one month stay in Germany. Our last night’s meal before airport, was coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon with a mousse dessert. Pretty average despite French overtones of origin. Some attention to detail lacking and gaps in service despite being hotel guests we felt that our needs were secondary to those of ‘walk ins.’ Would we stay again? Probably not but if you’re looking for a reasonable but not spectacular place to stay for a couple of nights and you’re a fan of cigarette smoke, this could tick the boxes.

What a wonderful boutique Hotel. Beats any big 5 star Hotel hands down! Charming old Hotel, with huge rooms that are nicely decorated located in the heart of Regensburg. The breakfast deserves a Michelin star, never had such a good unique breakfast where everything is extremely fresh or made from scratch. Staff is very friendly and helpful

What a treat to stay at this beautiful hotel! I'm told by locals that it is the best place to stay in Regensburg and I could definitely believe it. It's located right in the old town district, very conveniently located for shopping and sight-seeing and getting around town. The rooms are spacious and gorgeous, though they definitely have a quirky and authentic European flare, as does the rest of the hotel in general. Little touches like complimentary bottle of wine and a chocolate on the pillow made the stay that much more enjoyable. Reservations include breakfast every morning in the restaurant downstairs, which is another local favorite. Standard breakfast includes bread basket, and a plate of meats, cheeses, yogurt and fruits, plus juice and coffee or tea. What a great way to start the day. The restaurant gets crowded at night for dinner and cocktails crowd, so it's a great way to end the night as well. I loved staying here and would recommend it to anyone.