Achental Gstehaus

A few days ago we spent two nights here. The room was a good size, the location worked well, and breakfast was good. The owner was generally very friendly, and it was easy to reach places from here. But there were several things that left us upset. There was a strange smell in the room, like a dead rat under the floorboards. We wanted to leave the windows open, but other guests were allowed to smoke on their balconies, and the cigarette smell came in, so we had to keep shutting them. We don't smoke and it made us feel sick. The trains were another problem. Several times an hour one would pass, sounding its horn right outside the hotel, even late in the evening. It was far too loud for me. We were told cash was required for the city tax, the dog, and anything taken from the hotel's drink fridge. When I asked how much cash we should have, the receptionist said about €30: €15 for the dog's stay and €3 per person per night for two nights of city tax. At checkout, though, she charged €30 for the dog. We were clearly told €15 for the stay, so I don't understand why we were charged twice when rooms aren't cleaned during a two-night stay. I regret not going back to challenge it, but my husband paid while I was already waiting in the car. There wasn't even a sausage at breakfast for the dog, or a dog bowl in the room. Since nobody cleans the room during a stay of over two days, we ran out of toilet paper and had to use our own, luckily we had some in the car. Reception closes after 6 pm, so there was no one to ask. The bathroom soap dispenser was empty when we arrived, and we had to ask for it to be changed. We didn't even get an apology. If you don't get a parking spot out front, you have to park farther away, though still in the hotel's parking spaces. The room was a decent size, the location was good, and breakfast was good. But the dog charge felt like a rip-off. If we'd been told €15 per day, I'd have understood, and expected daily cleaning or some dog treats. Instead, we were told €15 per stay and charged €30. Having to pay cash these days was frustrating too. Smoking shouldn't be allowed on balconies when paying guests have to deal with it. And those trains were much too loud.