Golserhof

After 35 years in the travel industry and assessing more than 3,000 properties, I’ve never had service this insulting or appalling. I was so upset by the manager that I left at 8 p.m. in the dark to find somewhere else to stay. It was the first time in my life I’d ever left a property because of the way it was managed. This was the worst experience in my 35 years. The problem was the restaurant’s rule that men must wear long trousers. I have a skin condition that makes anything I cover break out in a rash from the heat, so I have to stay cool. That means I can’t wear long trousers, socks, or long sleeves, though I’d like to. I dress nicely, and I take medication every day and use creams several times a day to manage the condition. None of that mattered to the manager. He said the rules were the rules, there were no medical exceptions, and gentlemen wear trousers. His concern was apparently that someone might show up in shorts again the next day. I hadn’t been asked about this when I booked, and guests shouldn’t have to discuss their medical conditions at a hotel. Still, his attitude was so rude and hard to believe that I showed him my skin and what happens when I cover it. It made no difference. My bare legs weren’t allowed in the restaurant, though I’d had them under a table with a large tablecloth and no guests were bothered. The only alternative offered was to eat in my room, segregated. What kind of hospitality is that? Imagine being made to wear trousers in 35-degree summer heat. I can’t see many guests liking it, especially people whose medical conditions make that impossible. This was the manager and his policy. If you plan to stay here, it may be best to avoid the warmer months, from May to October. The experience was the opposite of making guests feel at home. The host applied rigid rules without understanding when they were appropriate, and this isn’t an industry about enforcing rules. In the meantime, I overheated and got very itchy anyway. At my new hotel I had a pleasant meal in shorts without being hassled, though I was still agitated from the encounter. I was looking forward to a cool bath there. Update: The manager has responded, and it only shows his attitude and lack of understanding further. He said I could wear his clean trousers, but I can’t wear my own trousers either. It’s not that I don’t own any, it’s that I can’t wear them. He also seems to think forcing a guest to eat in their room is an acceptable solution just because his rules are so rigid. Then there was a petty remark about my leaving without paying for half a glass of wine or for the pool. Send me a bill for €4.50 and I’ll pay it. But I should never have been put in the position where leaving was my only option after being treated so appallingly.