Hotel Tirolerhof

Totally fed up with the weather in the UK I booked a last minute holiday to Zell am See in Austria and chose the 4* Superior Hotel Tirolerhof. The booking was for a Junior Suite with Balcony and I looked forward to my vacation. Unfortunately, our plane was delayed and there were further delays at Salzburg Airport which meant we arrived at the hotel just before midnight and missed our first meal. On previous visits to other hotels such as the Hotel Schloss Lebenberg in Kitzbuhel or the Orgler in Kaprun they left us a cold platter in the room but there was nothing in our room when we got there and we went to bed hungry. The next morning I was rather disappointed when I stepped out to the ‘balcony’ and noticed that it was just a an area with uneven grey concrete slabs and a open metal fence separating it from the balcony next door. It was not very attractive and offered no privacy; it was more like a smoking area in a factory and not an inviting place to relax and sit there and read a book. Ideal for smokers and guests who arrived with their four legged friends but not for me. Inside the room was fine apart from the shower over the bath which clearly was in the wrong place with no shower screen or curtain making it virtually impossible to have a shower without splashing the water all over the bathroom. The public rooms and the leisure facilities were very good and and the position of the hotel just outside the ‘Pedestrian Traffic Free Area’ and very close to the lake was excellent. However, and this is the main reason for giving the Tirolerhof a 3star rating, the included Halfboard dinner was one of the worst I have encountered for a very long time. The aptly named ‘Recommendation of the Day’ never changed for THREE days and, whilst we were there, offered the culinary dish of ‘Pulled Pork Burgers’ or a ‘Spaghetti Dish’. Apparantly it is only changed three times a week with the remainder of the menu never changing, so the charming Italian waiters told me when I questioned it. I admit that I never tried these ‘burgers’ as I hate any meal containing ‘pulled’ meat but my wife actually ordered this recommended ‘Burger’ and rated it as ‘horrible’ and ‘unedible’. Like I said, I never experienced that in a hotel previously and I can only assume that they get away with this as, in summer, they seem to cater mainly for package deal customers who don’t seem to mind the repetiveness and the choice. As for me I got rather bored with the food and was just glad that I only stayed for one week, any longer and I would have had to go out for my dinner. Upon checking out the young lady just took my credit card to pay my bill and told us to leave our cases in basement. There was no smile on her face and she never asked us if we enjoyed our stay or wished us a good journey home. Politeness and a smile don’t cost anything but can make all the difference. It is mainly for the lack of selection and the fact that the daily menu of the evening meal stays the same for three days that I graded my rating down to the 3star as I consider this unacceptable for a hotel with a 4* superior rating and I seriously doubt that I will stay at the Tirolerhof again.

Very good hotel in a good location with excellent transport links. The food served in the restaurant was excellent although the chef's recommendations should be changed every day. The standard of the room was very good and all staff were very helpful. Our room was equipped with a shower cubicle which was a little small.