Sporthotel Kalcherhof

The goulash was superb, and the Cordon Bleu was sublime. The view was lovely too. Service was friendly and attentive, especially from Wahlid.

The road to the property was closed when we checked the route just after booking through a third party. We called the hotel about ten minutes after making the reservation; they said, “German or Italian,” then hung up. We told the booking site right away, and it asked the property to refund us. After a week of back and forth, the property offered a refund, but the booking site had already issued one because even they were having trouble with the hotel staff. The whole thing was unnecessary and stressful. If that's their idea of customer service, I'd sleep in my car before staying here.

We spent seven summer nights here and really enjoyed the stay. The hotel is family friendly, with welcoming staff, modern, spacious, clean rooms, and plenty to do: daily guided hikes, horseback riding, volleyball, and indoor and outdoor pools. Breakfast was excellent, with local specialties, lots of fruit, and fresh orange juice. Dinner was good too, with a choice of three menus, plus a salad buffet, soup, and dessert. It's a nice base for mountain activities.

We stayed in a family room at the end of May 2018. From the restaurant and the valley-side rooms, the mountain views are great. We were on the roadside, where the view wasn't as good. The hotel sits right beside the Jaufen Pass road between Brenner/Sterzing and Meran/St. Leonhard in Passeier, so take particular care with small children when arriving or leaving. It's a typical mountain hotel, with some updated modern areas and some old, worn rooms and fixtures. For an average hotel, I thought the pool, sauna, horse riding, and tennis court were quite good. Breakfast was OK, the included five-course dinner was good, and towels were free at the pool and sauna. The upkeep and cleanliness, though, were below average. Carpets hadn't been vacuumed, there was food and dirt left on the floors, light switches still had the same stains after four days, and fruit in the bowls was going mouldy. Our used glasses and ashtray weren't replaced. We asked for a second room key on the first day and never got it, and it took three days to fix the broken shutters, which looked as if they'd been out of order for a while. The shower door was missing and the bathroom door handle was broken. At breakfast, food, plates, bowls, and teapots often weren't replenished. We've stayed in hotels and guesthouses in Austria and Italy for over 20 years, and the owners' lack of enthusiasm, professionalism, and appreciation for guests really stood out. The hired staff we met, mostly from eastern Europe, ranged from disinterested to well-meaning but amateurish. A smile now and then would have helped. These are simple things to get right, and if they did, this could be a really great little hotel.