Hotel Tauernstern

We had a wonderful stay, and the price felt fair for the quality, warm welcome, and location. Our room was spacious, clean, practical, and had a great mountain view. The hotel shows real care for detail. We also ate at the restaurant, where the friendly people served good food made with local ingredients. I don’t usually write hotel reviews, but I’m happy to recommend this place.

We travel around the Alps every year and stay somewhere different each night. This hotel stood out: the rooms were spacious and clean, the staff super helpful and friendly, and the little touches gave the place character. I’m not sure why some earlier reviews were so scathing; it deserves all its stars. I’d definitely recommend it.

We stayed at Tauernstern for six days, but the facilities felt very average, and in my opinion it shouldn’t be presented as a four-star stay. The sauna was a major reason I booked, yet it was open for only two hours a day, from 15:00 to 17:00. Breakfast had some good points, with good coffee and plenty of cheese and fruit. But eggs were missing eight or nine times out of ten, no matter when we came down. I was also disappointed to find a small charge printed on the water bottles in the room, which I hadn’t noticed. I’d expect water to be complimentary as a gesture of hospitality, especially at a four-star hotel, but I had to pay €10 for the water in my room. I didn’t have cash and wanted to pay by card. The woman at the desk said card payments were accepted only for bills over €50. She called someone, then suddenly allowed me to pay by card after all. Three stars at best. This didn’t feel like a four-star stay to me.

We stayed for a week, and the clean, spacious rooms and generally good maintenance were positives. But the service made it an unpleasant place to stay, and we won’t return. In my view, it should be listed as a three-star hotel, since the service seems better suited to a lower standard. On arrival, we had to argue to get the Kärnten Card, which gives access to nearby attractions. The listing clearly said it was included for stays of six days or more, and we were there for seven. We did receive it the next day, but there shouldn’t have been a discussion over something promised. It was a very unwarm welcome. Breakfast ended at 09:30, and even arriving at 08:30, we found many items already gone. The water in the room looked free, but a tiny price was printed on the bottle. At a four-star hotel, a bottle should simply be included. Card payments under €50 weren’t accepted either. That felt very outdated for 2021, and we had to argue about that too. This doesn’t feel worthy of four stars.