Hotel Zum Stern

We had a good stay overall, and the hotel gave us a welcome discount at checkout for the inconvenience. The place feels authentic, sits in a lovely quiet spot, serves very good food, and most of the staff were friendly. A few things could be handled better. The safe in our room didn’t work, and the cold water problem came back right after the maintenance person tried to fix it. The front desk should take ownership of issues like these instead of passing them back to guests. We paid good money for the room and didn’t want to be told to use the wellness facilities as a workaround. The adult wellness area should be adults only. They did put up more signs after people complained. It might also be nice to have a bottle of water in the room on arrival. I couldn’t figure out the minibar offer: the first refill was supposed to be included, but it was empty from the start. None of this ruined our stay, just some things I noticed.

The spa ended up being a big part of our skiing holiday. We spent many mornings by the pool, often with the mountain view all to ourselves, and the wellness room with water beds and headphones was lovely. The saunas are nude, which I think is normal in Austria. We also really enjoyed the food. There was a generous salad buffet each night with things like soup, bread, pasta bakes and salads. Some evenings had buffets, while most were served at the table. The kids had their own buffet, with choices like schnitzel, chips and chicken nuggets, and there were pastries for afternoon snacks. We had beef cheeks, chicken and venison during the week, all beautifully slow cooked. It was the food we looked forward to each day, which isn’t usually the case for us at a half board hotel. I’m gluten intolerant, and they made sure I had homemade gluten free rolls, which was such a thoughtful touch. The food wasn’t labelled, but staff were happy to explain ingredients and allergies. Everyone was lovely and smiling. Learning a few German phrases for dinner might help, but we managed fine. The hotel was very clean, with no faults there. Rooms were cleaned every other day, and you could ask for daily cleaning. We liked having the same table at every meal. There were some nice, low key activities, including a traditional band on a couple of nights and a welcome party with outdoor fires, gluvine and sausages. The traditional sauce was amazing, and that party was our favorite. The Ukrainian woman at reception was especially helpful and cheerful, though sadly I didn’t catch her name. The hotel is quiet and relaxing, just right for a peaceful Austrian stay. Free buses to town and the ski areas stop outside and run about every 15 minutes, which is handy since taxis are quite expensive. You can also walk into town. The area is beautiful, but I wouldn’t call the slopes beginner friendly. Some blue runs join red ones, and some blues felt like reds. We found a few we could manage, though the icy conditions and lack of snow weren’t great. February might be better. One downside: coffee at dinner costs extra, and tap water is charged too, so we filled up at the drinks machine. We had a lovely week as a family and would recommend the hotel.

The hotel staff made our family of four children feel welcome all week. Every one of them went out of their way to give us wonderful hospitality, and the food was excellent, with different meals and buffets each day plus a buffet lunch daily. It’s a great base for skiing if you don’t need to stay right on the slopes. The local bus stops at the hotel, and there’s a family sauna you can book as well as an amazing adult sauna, better than many I’ve tried. We had a week of relaxation and fun at Zum Stern. Thank you for all the hard work. We hope to visit again.

The location is excellent, and the staff were helpful with great service. Parking is secure but costs 4 € / day, and the hotel is pretty expensive. The WiFi was poor and the pillows weren’t good quality.