One of the most unique features of the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy is its aim to recreate the intimate atmosphere that characterized both teaching and performance practices of the past.

Both faculty and participants are hosted as guests in the private mansion of Dr. Pons and Mr. Hönisch, a stunning 1892, listed (i. e. as a national monument), Gründerzeit villa. This allows participants to be in contact with faculty members beyond and outside the scope of their hours of instruction. The faculty's privacy is ensured, however, to the extent that they are hosted in an independent floor, fully separate from the participants' rooms.

There are a total of four studios. The main salon, where masterclasses and house concerts take place, features a 2009 Yamaha grand piano. The living room in the second floor, which is exclusively shared by faculty members, features a small Kawai grand piano. Two additional Yamaha up-right pianos are located in the villa's music library and in the office.

The villa is located on the bank of the Rhine river, and offers a stunning view of Burg Katz. A small beach is located directly across form the villa. To the back, the villa is surrounded by an imposing mountain with a densely wooded area.

The villa is flanked, to the left, by a hotel which is now no longer operational, and by a private home; however, the distance to both properties is enough to guarantee the uninterrupted ability to make music.