Hotel Merano

The rooms were awful, not very clean and poorly equipped, and the bathrooms were beyond comment. The toilet seat was broken in half. There was a bunk bed that nearly collapsed as soon as my partner climbed onto it, so we had to put the mattress on the floor to sleep. They charge €9 a day for parking and say it’s video-monitored, but when our car was scratched, nobody accepted responsibility. I’ll never stay here again, I wouldn’t feel safe doing so.

The location is excellent, right near the sea in a nice area, and the staff were friendly overall. I still gave the service three stars for their kindness. Breakfast was very basic, but it was enough for me and I was happy with it; the people serving it were helpful too. My biggest issue was housekeeping. At 10:30 on our first morning, a cleaner knocked without saying anything. I answered “yes?” several times and got no reply, then she opened our locked door. Luckily, we managed to lock it in time. She didn’t apologize, either then or when we left the room. That felt very unprofessional. The hotel itself doesn’t feel like a 3-star place. I’ve stayed in better maintained hotels of that rating, with nicer rooms, more hygienic bathrooms and soundproof walls. This felt more like a 2-star hotel. We were there for two nights, and for what we experienced it wasn’t worth the money. I probably could have found somewhere better for a little less, but that’s okay. The days were pleasant, though waking up with a stiff neck two mornings in a row wasn’t.

The only good part was the two women at reception, who were very kind and helpful. Otherwise, the hotel was horrible, and that barely covers it. It’s terribly neglected, and the photos don’t show what it’s really like. It feels like they’re trying to milk it for all it’s worth. I’ve seen hotels with fewer stars that were much cleaner and better kept. Not even a deer at the door when it rains. I’ll never come back.

We picked this hotel for a wedding, including because we needed to take photos on site. The actual place looked nothing like the website photos. There wasn’t even a refrigerator in the rooms, not even in the bridal suite, and you had to ask for the towels to be changed. Breakfast was nothing special; I’ve had much better. They quoted discounted parking at €9 per day and said it was 500m away, but it was more than a kilometer on foot. Nearby hotels had discounted parking 500m away for €2.50 a day. Sorry, but it was a terrible experience.