Grand Hotel

We had reserved a superior double room which was confirmed. When we arrived we were told that the reserved room was unavailable, but that we were "upgraded" to a "panorama suite". The panorama suite was a very small apartment which did rent for 10 Euros more but contained two small, cramped rooms with low ceilings and an extremely small window, only in one of the bedrooms. There was not air conditioning and the rooms were stifling hot. When we complained that we wanted the room that we had reserved, they stated that there were none available in that cagetory. The reservation manager stated that there was a nice room available in their sister hotel in Zell called Hotel Salzburgerhof. However, the only room in this hotel was about 50% higher in cost. The Grand Hotel refused to do anything about reducing this rate (even though both hotels are owned by the same family), and thus we had no choice but to stay at Hotel Salzburgerhof at this higher rate, which we did enjoy (the hotel, not the higher rate). We feel that the Grand Hotel should have honoured their original reservation. If we were cynical, we could conceive of the hotel maintaining this "panorama suite" just for the purpose of "upgrading" guests who reserved a superior double room. They would all would find this unsatisfactory and would be referred to other accommodations at this sister hotel for substantially higher rates. Thus, I would certainly not recommend the Grand Hotel in Zell-am-See as they do not honour reservations, and are very unhelpful in customer service. PS. When I told the manager at the Grand Hotel that I did not expect such poor treatment in a hotel that had been listed by Frommer's Austria as "one of the best luxury hotels in Austria", she stated that this listing was just a reflection of how much the hotel was willing to pay Frommer's for the listing. We wrote Frommer's to inquire whether hotels pay for being on such a list, but we never received a reply.

Have been skiing in the Alps for many years and after a few seasons in France we decided to give Austria a try again. Unfortunately this is not a good snow year for the Austrian Alps but since we can't control the weather I am glad we decided to choose the Grand Hotel and Zell am See for our vacation. Even if you tire of skiing there are a lot of other things to do and see in and around the area. There are very good paths for walking, biking or jogging. The town is big enough to spend a day shopping thru. And it is a short easy train trip (1.45 hrs) to Salzburg. As for skiing, I would say that the slopes at Zell am See are varied enough for all but the system isn't really that big (especially when there is little snow and no off-piste skiing.) The free ski bus takes you to Kaprun (30 min) where beginners will find a great bowl for easy practise. The hotel is just what you would expect for a 4 star hotel. With this I mean it is not as posh (or stuffy) as most 5 star places. The environment is elegant and the ambiance is very informal and familiar. It was easy to feel right at home. All the staff from front desk to waiters and even the maids were very friendly and helpful. Our room was in the main building and we had a balcony with a fantastic view of the lake. As the hotel is built out on a peninsula I would guess that all rooms have a lake view even if all do not have a balcony. Odd number rooms seem to be on the south sunny side of the building. Our room was modern and well styled. Bathroom I would guess was newly renovated with marble from ceiling to floor. The only problem with the bathroom was the lack of lighting (ladies dependant on make-up beware) and the odor from the kitchen fans on the roof above. I was a bit disappointed however that we didn't have the traditional feather down comforters that I am otherwise used to in Austrian hotels. Dinners in the restaurant were varied where some courses were served and others from the buffet. It was very warm in the restaurant so you might want to pack light for evenings. The bar was large and never over crowded, great service and live music every night. Unfortunately smoking is allowed in the bar area (even cigars). The pool is fantastic. Large enough for a swim and with comfortable deck chairs all around. The sun floods the pool area until late afternoon and it was bliss to lie there reading and dozing. All in all I can definitely recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a great winter vacation in the Austrian Alps.

Fab food, fab location, fab staff...what more can i say!! only downside was hearing people had paid the same price but got a much n nocer room, or even "suite" in the main hotle, but we were in the annex. that said however, it was linked by a walkway so not a problem! there are quite a few children at the hotel, but didnt reallt bother us apart from all seme to descend on leisure facilities early evening.

We were booked into the Grand for 11 nights and enjoyed the stay. The room was a family suite with living area, bathroom bedroom and a bizarre bunk bed in a cupboard (which our son liked). Lake view was stunning. Food on a half board basis was excellent, also had free packed lunches. Bike hire was also free. Bar was fine, with a terrace, and some entertainment most evenings (if you like that sort of thing). Bar prices were expensive compared to the bars in Zell. On the downside, there is no air conditioning and in 32+ heat was pretty unbearable during the night. The pillows were also very thin (was told it was a typical Austrian thing, but not the big fluffy pillows I prefer). One other point to watch out for is the railway line passes right in front of the hotel, so if you have a room on that side, you may have a sleepless night! We really loved Zell Am See and is a really good base for exploring the region and for just about every activity you want - not just cycling and walking (at all difficulty levels), but also water sports, paragliding, white wate rafting, the list goes on. Recommend a trip to Grossglockner along the alpine road - on a clear day it was magnificent.

Specified room (for Good Friday) with lake view+ balcony. Lake? Yes. Balcony? No. Demolished, large terrace area below was a building site. Back to Reception, 2 receptionists totally unaware of this & inclined to disbelieve me. Given other room - it had someone's luggage in it! Same reaction at Reception. Given upgraded room on next floor, better but didn't like design of it - 3 levels; loo/bathroom, living area, stairs to tiny, claustrophobic bedroom area. Ikea? However, good view of lake + a balcony. Saturday 7.50 am 4 workmen started scraping, banging, shouting below our balcony, exactly where the balcony of our first room would have been! Building site! At check out Receptionist asked if the room was better. I said it was but told her about the work starting at 7.50am. 'Oh no,' she said. 'Not on a Saturday.' I suggested she should go & have a look. Again she said it as not possible. I did not care for the implication that I was lying. She actually rang someone to check that I was telling the truth! The person confirmed that I was not lying & I understood with my limited German that she was told to give me a cheaper rate. I know because she questioned this! She put the phone down & told me & I said I'd understood her phone conversation. She looked quite surprised. Restaurant. We booked for 8 pm & were shown to table close to another couple. Horrible overcrowded room. Most people were obviouly on a half-board menu & were being serve the same food. We were ignored - apart from being given menus & the table being laid while we sat at it - so at 8.30 we walked out. I would have objected to paying for quite expensive a la carte food in a canteen atmosphere. Good points - situation, breakfast (Good), rate reduction.

just returned back from a week Skiing.. The Hotel was exceptionally Good. We stayed in the main part of the Hotel not the Annexe and didnt go in there so cant give you any info ,,All i know is that there is separate dining in there.. Got upgraded to a bigger suite with its own Sauna, which was a god send after struggling through Ski School.. As it was the busiet time in the resort the Hotel was Full.. The Staff were very helpful, the food was 5 star ..kids were catered with there own meal ..my only gripe was that they assume all kids like chips with everthing the balance was not right. Pool was fine. Going back next year either at the Grand or thier Sister Hotel The tirolahof.. The walk to the Main Gondola to take you up to the slopes is about 5 min walk which was not a problem ..there is lockers on the main slopes so you can leave boots etc up there

Basically our hotel was a bag of crap so we visited this one for a "coffee" every afternoon while i used thepool and the internet but neva got to see the rooms but our frnds hu styed in it wen we was there sed thy loved the annex prt of it. rite by the lake with gr8 wlks for WLKERS!!gd nerby playarea with a leisure cenre and sick shops which were groovy. Neva tlkd to staff- they seemed so serius. fit byz sty there as well !!! so it is gd plc 4 sngle girlzz emO camxxx

We stayed in the Grand Hotel on a skiing holiday in 2004. It was beautiful. The rooms are lovely, the facilities are great, the food was absolutely gorgeous. I have absolutely no complaints or negative points and if I were to return to Zell-Am-See I would definitely stay here. We had a superior room - it was on two floors, the bedroom bathroom, toilet and sauna (yes private sauna!!) on one level and stairs up to a living room area with tv and a mini-bar. Also had a balcony looking over the country side. The room was on the top floor and the floor under that. As a skiing resort Zell-Am-See is beautiful. The only minor fault is that the hotels in town are a five minute bus-ride from the bottom of the lifts. The nightlife is good, and there is a good choice of bars and shops. would highly recommend

This is our second stay at the Grand Hotel and our fourth stay in Zell am See. We booked the cheaper mountain/part lake view room with a UK ski travel agent. When we arrived we were given a superb corner mountain/lake view room with spectacular views of the frozen lake and mountains beyond plus the nearby ski slopes behind Zell itself. This was offered to us at no extra cost. The room was very spacious and comfortable. The room could have done with a refit as it was showing some signs of age. Nevertheless, it was still very clean, modern and we could not complain too much in view complimentary upgrade. The hotel itself is tremendous. Very Grand as the name suggests. We were on a half board arrangement and we dined in one of the two main dining rooms. The food was tremendous. Five or somtimes six courses with a choice of dishes, salad bar and variation each night with different themes. Our only complaint during our whole stay was children in the dining room. We dined late to avoid this conflict, however, despite sitting down at 8 pm , there were still children running around the dining room playing with kids from other tables until 9.30 pm. Parents seemed oblivious to the fact and I think the staff were afraid to say anything. The discipline was appalling. Without sounding too pompous, children in hotel dining rooms should be seen and not heard - this is not Butlins! We have taken this issue up with the hotel direct. All the staff were very courteous and helpful. Could not be faulted. Our table waiter was excellent and could not do enough to help. The house maid was cheerful and helpful and nothing was too much trouble. Facilities at the hotel were excellent with an indoor pool, gym, sauna etc. All nicely appointed and open till 10 pm. I had the place to myself between 9pm and 10pm. The hotel is in a great position right on the lake front. It isn't as near to the ski station as other hotels in Zell but really you are talking a ten minute walk maximum to the gondola station. If you are booking a holiday with a travel agent I have no doubt there will be cheaper hotels in Zell on offer. Pay that little bit extra and book the Grand - it is definitely well worth it. Zell am See itself is a supurb base for a winter holiday. My wife and I take three days skiing, two days winter walking in the valleys and this year we took a day trip by rail to nearby Ljubliana in Slovenia. Other years we have had day trips to Vienna, Salzburg and Munich. Next year we will definitely return again to the Grand. We would recommend this hotel to anyone wanting to make their holiday extra special at an affordable price.

I stayed for a week at the Grand Hotel Zell am See on a half-board ski holiday. The Hotel was excellent in almost every way. Great facilties, very good food, spotlessly clean and in almost all cases superb staff. The one quiblle I would have was the roof-top Wunderbar where the staff member on the one night I visited it was more pre-occupied with her boyfriend and trying to get the bar closed up than displaying the excellent customer care skills that were evident throughout the rest of the hotel. However, I would not let this detract from what was generally a five-star experience.