Consider combining a night or two in a good hotel with the simple guest house accommodation that is easily found along the walking trail. Weekend rates are substantially lower than midweek. The Hotel Zumnorde in mediaeval Erfurt is new, chic and central double rooms from £75 including breakfast. The gracious old Sachsischer Hof in Meiningen has doubles from £70, and for total indulgence, the famous Elefant in Weimar, impeccably restored, starts at about £120 for two, breakfast extra.
For further information contact German National Tourist Office, 65 Curzon Street, London WIY 7PE, tel 0044-171-4953990, fax 171-4956129, or the Thuringian regional tourist office at Stauffenbergallee 18, Erfurt, tel 0361 602212, fax 0361 646 1475.