Pension Helvetia

We were a party of 14, and the living room had plenty of seating. The accommodation was basic but clean, and the chalet staff were polite and helpful. They did a great job with breakfast and dinner, plus a fresh cake each afternoon for when we got back from skiing. It’s an excellent base for the Arlberg ski area, less than 100m from the Nasserein gondola, with a couple of ski hire places at its base. The one downside was that the entrance sometimes smelled of smoke because the owners run a taxi business there, though it didn’t disrupt our holiday. A fridge in the shared area, or access to one, would have been useful. The group arriving after us didn’t look pleased that we were still there when they showed up before we’d left, but we’d arrived first!! :)

The hosts were the biggest problem. They were rude and unwelcoming, and after we complained, their response was aggressive and unpleasant. They made claims about our behaviour that we felt were untrue, and said they had called the police but provided no evidence. I assume there were more lies. We were led to think we had the whole chalet, but the owner and hosts lived downstairs, and other people came through the shared spaces during the week without explanation. The rooms didn’t lock, so we had nowhere to secure valuables, and the hosts complained about noise from the communal living room. They also refused to run the sauna in the morning or evening, and it was downstairs too. The chalet is in a great location, a few hundred meters from the lift, and was generally in good condition. But the beds weren’t comfortable, and we only found out on arrival that the fireplace didn’t work. The sauna hours were very limited, mostly when we were skiing or getting ready for dinner, so it was largely unusable. Quiet hours were said to begin at 23:00, but on one of the first nights they asked us to quiet down at 22:30. We were sitting together talking and playing games, without loud music or excessive noise. Some of the group went to bed earlier and slept fine. Housekeeping was very poor. The rooms weren’t cleaned and the bins overflowed. We left towels out to be cleaned midweek, but got fewer back, and they refused to provide more. Some people had to share bath towels, hand towels and bath mats, and there were no extra towels for the sauna. There was no welcome drink or afternoon tea, despite it being advertised. When we raised this afterwards, they said they had provided it. The food was very poor too. More than once there was no gluten-free meal for our celiac friend, or they forgot to cook hers until we asked, so she was served after everyone else had finished. They also lied about this in their response to our complaint. It was a shame their attitude spoiled the experience, but their delusional and aggressive reply to our concerns was shockingly unpleasant.

We were a big group of 16 close friends, and after many years of trips together, this was our first clash with hosts. Pimm and Thea completely ruined the experience, and I hope other guests get different hosts. The chalet is very close to the lifts and ski rental shop. There’s also a kebab and pizza shop nearby if you can’t eat the food provided. It was advertised as a whole chalet, but on arrival we learned that people lived downstairs and there was a noise curfew we hadn’t been told about. We were complained to while playing cards before the curfew. When we pointed out that we’d rented the whole chalet, the host said we had, from the ground upwards, which clearly wasn’t the whole building. The hosts’ friends, or friends of their lodger, also came through shared areas several times. We had to treat the place as non-private and couldn’t leave valuables out. The meals were worse than school dinners, with mains that looked like slop, and some of our group went out for food afterwards. Allergies were forgotten, or a gluten-free option took 30 minutes to prepare. Vegetarians got veggie burgers as their protein substitute for the week. We paid for welcome bubbles that weren’t there, and afternoon tea was provided only once, after we complained. They said it had been put out every day, though at least one of us was there each day. The fireplace didn’t work, some room items didn’t work or hadn’t been professionally cleaned before we arrived, and they refused to issue more towels even after complaints. The sauna was available only at restricted hours, which wasn’t advertised, and was switched off after dinner. This list isn’t exhaustive. They wouldn’t acknowledge the issues, and their responses included claims we believe were lies. When we asked for proof, none was provided. The welcome notes said they would pay for a good review, which seems telling given how few there are. They only began taking some responsibility after a bad review was posted, and customer service after booking was poor.

They don’t clean during the week, or even empty the bathroom bin. The food is homemade, and the attitude is poor.