Hotel Restaurant Schachenwald

There was no one at the front desk when I arrived, and the phone went unanswered at 11:00 PM. I rang the bell, but nobody came. There isn’t a 24-hour reception, despite what the listing information led me to expect. If you arrive late, you can only check in online at the entrance and pay by card. They charge your card first, then you have to work through the online check-in steps. That feels like a second scam. You can’t pay cash at reception either. Either Booking.com or the hotel is lying, and the advertising doesn’t match reality. Read the extra check-in rules carefully. At that point, the room and breakfast quality didn’t matter anymore.

We arrived on the afternoon of 26th Oct to an empty parking lot and most of the lights switched off. We found the key as the email instructed, but couldn’t figure out where to use it. After plenty of laughing, we got inside and found an elegant little hotel, with big, clean rooms and, most importantly, warmth. It took us a while to realize it was Austrian national day, which explained why nobody was there to greet us at reception. I wasn’t sure anyone would be around to serve breakfast in the morning, but I was very wrong. There were lots of options! For a few good hours, we had the whole hotel to ourselves, until another family arrived later. We had such a lovely stay that we booked the same place for our trip back from Italy. It’s also near the highway, in a really quiet area, so it was totally worth it.

The breakfast had a wide selection, and the pool was quiet and good for a quick dip. We didn’t try the sauna. Our superior double room was large, with a very comfortable bed, a nice balcony, quiet air con, and good WiFi speeds. The bathroom felt modern and had a nice shower, though the water pressure was a bit low. The room itself was very nice, but it was frustrating to have a smart TV without being able to use its smart features. Parking was a letdown. We were told on the phone there was plenty, but there were only three spaces when we arrived. Two were occupied by another car and too tight for mine, and the third was an awkward parallel spot. I had to take my time getting into it, and wasn’t happy after being told there was lots of parking. Given the location, you need a car, so parking matters. The bar was fairly decent, with a nice open-air area, though the restaurant closed quite early. Staff also made the stay less than a five-star one. At check-in I got no information about breakfast, checkout times, or anything else useful. At breakfast, a staff member told me I couldn’t sit at a table, then a minute later told someone else to sit at that same table. That’s why I’d give the place four stars rather than five.

The breakfast was the best part, with a good range of choices and freshly squeezed juice. But the room was pretty dirty, and it looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in a while. I haven’t seen ants in a hotel room for some time. I really hope the bedsheet in the picture was just worn out and not actually that dirty, but either way it shouldn’t have been used.