Austria Hotel

The fabric of the building is very good, rooms are nice and kept clean. Very good location in the village, Unfortunately it only takes a couple of things to spoil a hotel, first and to my mind the most important are the towels, and I have to say that I should be taken up under the trade description act for calling them towels. I have never seen towels so thin, I have thown out thicker towels!!! you could almost see through them, plus the food was very average. To pay £700 per person for one week I expect much better, and a friendlier face at reception would be nice, I refer to the older lady who I think is the owner.

The hotel is rated as 4 * but do not make the mistake of expecting it to be compatible with expectations of the eqivalent rating to our own. The hotel I would rate as a high 3* compatible with the equivalent of our rating becuase I feel that there are some european customs & aspects which may fail to meet some expectations. POSITIVES The hotel & room were clean, warm & comfortable. The food is excellent; breakfast was the regular version of a continental type consisting bread, ham, cheeses, cereals, fruit & yoghurt, juices etc.- somewhat repetitive as this meal was never varied but there was choice and plenty of of it. Dinner, given a choice of 3 main courses, one being a vegitarian meal and decided at breakfast time, provided for 4 courses - the only complaint is in relation to the regular Friday night Farmer's Buffet, for there being no salad course and the meal forced upon you as no choice or alternative was provided for. The location is perfect - opposite the ski school area, the lift station and next to the bus stop if you wish to venture to Oberau or Auffach; each are included in the lift pass and the bus is free. The ski hire business is underneath the hotel and the storage of skis/boots is provided free of charge as the hotel and the ski hire are owned by the same family. The facilites are good - the hotel pool was generally empty, has heat room & sauna which are free twice weekly. NEGATIVES - somewhat niggles rather than complaints. No tea/coffee making facility in the rooms. Towels were not provided for the pool, using towels from bathroom and then the inconveniece of asking reception for replacements - cotton robes could be hired at cost of 2.50 euros per day, 2 euros for 4 days + - would have been cheaper to buy one. Internet access is 4 euros per hour, booked at reception. The exchange rate of £ v Euro is not very encouraging at present & therefore 'extras' could prove expensive. You may have to share tables which could be difficult if dislike who you sit with - but surely people can get along with polite, general converation for an hour or so.

We have stayed at the Austria many times and wouldn't stay anywhere else. It is ideally located, with an excellent range of facilities, including a sauna and swimming pool, for a hotel of its size. Niederau is a place people come back to time and again, and this hotel is the same. Its rooms are comfortable, most with views across the valley or the village, and spotlessly clean. The a la carte restaurant offers an excellent range of Austrian specialities, and you can set off your half board dinner allowance against a meal in the restaurant if you wish. The half board menus offer good variety and include a vegetarian choice. Breakfasts are traditional with cold meats and cheese as well as cereals etc, but boiled and scrambled eggs are available too. This is served buffet style and you can eat as much as you want to. The hotel has its own ski-hire service downstairs, as well as a sports shop. If you are planning to buy ski boots, wait and get them here: you will get expert advice and fitting. Hotel guests have access to a boot room and free ski store, as well as a 10% discount on ski hire and 5% in the shop. The ski school is great fun for people of all ages and also recommended.

The Hotel Austria couldnt be in a better location for all your requirements for skiing. The Boot/Ski hire shop is underneath the hotel and can be accessed directly via the boot room in the Hotel. We booked with Crystal and therefore used the Red Ski School which is opposite the hotel and the slopes are a two min walk (in Ski Boots!) to the meeting place and the Gondola. We recieved a friendly reception upon our arrival at the hotel. The rooms are of a very good standard, our room was very clean, it had a shower and a lovely large bath to soak your aching limbs in after a days skiing. Our room had a balcony that looked out towards the Red 19 run and in the direction of the Bars, we didnt suffer any problems from noise from any extended apres ski!! We booked on a half board basis. The breakfast was your typical continental with bread, cheese and meats, fruit and yoghurt and you could eat as much as you wanted. You needed to order your evening meal at breakfast (happens in most hotels), the meal included salad, soup, a choice of three main dishes (one veg) and a desert dish. All the food was of an excellent standard. We arrived late on Sat 7th Feb (dinner served 6 - 8 pm) and had missed the evening meal times but they prepared a meal for us in the restaurant. We shared our table with a nice couple and we had to keep the same table the whole week which wasnt a problem at all. The staff were attentive and courteous at all times. There is a pool and a sauna at the hotel which I didnt make use of but it all looked very nice. The Hotel Austria is very cosy and quiet and full of local charm with a restaurant and a bar. The main seating area by the reception is non smoking. This was my second year skiing and ended up on the black runs by the last two days of the week!! The Red ski school is great for progression, the ski area was big enough for me and my partner who is more experienced. Some of the runs were quite challenging. We enjoyed Neiderau and the Hotel Austria so much we are booking again (never heard of before as we like to try different places) and would definatley recommend the resort and this hotel to others.

4 of us went to the Hotel Austria for dinner. The restaurant was not busy but the service we got was awful. After ordering our drinks, starters and main course from an arrogant young waiter (who was only interested in how flash his watch was) we were left totally alone apart from delivery of food. I chose a salad from the help yourself salad bar and at the bottom of my bowl found a round metal nut which nearly broke my tooth. When I told the waiter this when he delivered our main course he just shrugged his shoulders and walked off. After finishing our main we waited and waited for the waiter (or anyone) to come back to our table. The arrogant one turned up eventually and when we asked to order a desert he said that the chef had gone home and the kitchen was closed. The cost for this experience was 125 Euro - as I said in the heading, Terrible service and value for money. I would not return to this restaurant or recommend it to any of my friends.

Broke the habit of a lifetime by staying in this hotel for the second time, we never usually go to the same place twice. Love everything about Neiderau, small and intimate. The Austria is perfect. Its meters from the slopes, great food at all times of the day, friendly service, not expensive and really nice facilities. 5* it is not but it has no pretences either. Boot shop sorted out my aching feet i had had for 6 years! discount if you stay in the hotel. Its not flash, not lively but good old fashioned Austrian hospitality with a capital H, great for families, they also have baths for a good long soak

We stayed at this Hotel in Soll with Leger Holidays, the hotel was nice and clean, the food was quite nice and there was 2 choices of evening meal every night. The bedrooms were of a fair size and the bathroom was all clean and tidy although our towels could have been changed a little more than once a week. Between 6 and 10 pm was free soft drinks, beers and wine so well worth the holiday. All in all a good holiday.

As a group of four 30, 40 & 50 somethings who have never been skiing we wanted a hotel that offered everything for the novice and was close to the nursery slopes - you won't do better than the Hotel Austria. The ski boot & poles hire shop is on the lower ground floor, which is well run and all the staff are happy to help you settle in to your boots. The main ski shop on the ground floor is well stocked if you need anything from a pair of socks to a full ski/board outfit. The public areas & rooms are all clean and well kept. The restaurant has a good selection of tasty meals, however the food can be limited if you are on the half-board basis ( you choose your evening meal at breakfast time). Some of the meals were on the small side for those with a larger appetite, and pork is a staple meat on offer almost every day. Tyrolean minestrone soup & a couscous dish are not what you expect them to be! Continental breakfast was good, some of the meats are delicious even at 6.30AM. The Apres-Ski snack varied from soup, mini bread with meats, salad and apple strudel. It is not overly advertised and we didn't realise the snacks were for general consumption until the 3rd day! The food stays out until 5pm then gets whisked away. The pool is a great way to relax the aching bones at the end of the day & the use of the sauna was put to good use. It is free twice a week, but you can pay to use it at other times for a charge 6.50 euro. The cooling off showers were great - but remember naked is the norm, however you can keep your towel on. The room we had was adequate - a small seating area helped in the storage of large bags and airing ski stuff, but we didn't use it to sit and relax. If you are facing the Church be warned, they chime avery 1/4 hour all day & night - the entire village gets an early wake-up call daily at 6.00AM - enjoy :) The all female family owners are pleasant but not overly friendly - the bar & food staff who come from other parts of Europe are nice enough but orders can get lost in translation from time to time, but any hiccups are soon resolved. At the time of our trip, the white stuff had not fallen for quite some time and sadly was very thin on the ground - what snow we had lasted about 3 days before turning to slush and the 2 of the 3 nursery slopes had to be closed Our instructor Dave who was with the Red Ski School based across the road from the Hotel was excellent. With his tuition & guidance he was happy to take us to the top of the mountain after 4 days where they still had some snow (and a lot of ice) as we found out! We were hoping to go for a snow sleigh ride & toboggan run but these were cancelled to due to lack of snow. The Sport Cafe (marquee!) is THE place to go for Apres-Ski drinks and some bonding with fellow skiers and instructors. Party time begins about 4pm and by 5pm you could be dancing on the bar, wearing an assortment of silly hats, making music with some odd looking instruments that appear from above the bar area, and generally making your holiday go with a swing. The Cave Bar at the bottom of the slope behind the Austria is another place to head for if you want to carry on partying until the small hours. If your lucky, you may get to see a 'Full Monty' show! We booked our holiday through Thomson. The rep who met us at the Hotel on our arrival was pleasant and gave us the basic info on ski passes etc, but overall, we didn;t see much of the reps at all. Thomson apparently no longer issue the Hotels with an A4 folder documenting the things you may need to know about the area, or about what trips they run., but post items on to an information board - the Hotel Austria does not allow a board to be erected, so Thomson guests will have to do some leg work by going to the Hotel Vicky just down the road to find out anyting. Reps do visit the Austria daily - although after asking 3 different Thomson reps all in 1 day what time someone would be at the hotel, none of them knew! Overall, although we didn't really get to play in the snow, we all learnt the basics of how to ski, we had fun learning, and as a first time visit, the Hotel Austria suited our needs very well.

We went to Austria in January 2006 on our first ski holiday as complete beginners. The flight with Lauda Austrian Airlines was excellent - fresh smoked salmon meal with as much wine as you could drink. The transfers to and from Niederau was approx 1hr and were very efficient. Be warned - Innsbruck airport check-in on our return journey was a disaster. We queued for about 1.5 hrs with only about 20 people in front of us. We were not checked in until 0745 hrs and the plane left at 0810!!Everyone seemed to be in the same boat - it didn't make a difference where the flights were going to. However, this was the only blip. The Hotel Austria was quite basic and the reception was a bit smoky. However, it was very clean apart from that and the location is the best in the village. There was also a free apres ski snack every afternoon but no entertainment at all in the small bar. It is 1 minute walk to the nursery and beginners slopes, to the gondola and ski school and the free ski bus stop is right outside. The hire shop is right underneath the hotel with a separate ski storage room and heated boot room provided for those staying at the Austria. All of the staff seemed to speak quite good English and were very helpful when needed. The restaurant is quite good - breakfast is a selection of meats, cheeses, cereals and juice and the evening meal is four courses - self-service salad, soup, main and dessert. The evening meal was different every night (although a lot of pork) and there was always a veggie option (you pick your evening meal in the morning at breakfast, choice of 3). Wine with dinner was approx 3 euro 50 for a 1/4 bottle of wine which was quite cheap. We also made use of the sauna and swimming pool but remember that in Austria, nudity is the norm for the sauna/steam room! Our room and bathroom was quite small but had a balcony looking over a lovely view of the church, village and mountains. However, the bells in the church ring at all hours. Again the room was clean but quite hot and there was no shower curtain. On our last morning we left very early and the hotel gave us a breakfast pack the night before consisting of rolls with ham and cheese, a flask of tea and fruit. Our ski lessons at the Wildschonau Ski School (the reds!) were with Phil (from Yorkshire) and they were excellent. The lessons were varied and a lot of fun and on the last two days he had us on the easier parts of red runs. The snow was also excellent for this time of year. We went tobogganing and on the horse drawn sleigh ride both of which are excellent. If you aren't a skier, there seemed to be quite a few people at our hotel went walking instead. Apart from that there is only a couple of shops in the village but there are organised day trips to Salzburg and Innsbruck. The Cave Bar is ok but the best bar is the Sports Bar next door to the Austria. The atmosphere is great with a mixture of music, including karoke and is frequented by locals, tourists and ski instructors. This is a very friendly resort and we met some great people which added to the overall enjoyment of our first ski holiday. Some we spoke to had been coming to Niederau for years. On the Thursday our ski school held a time trial ski race with an "awards ceremony" on the Thursday night at the Hotel Hafernwirt. Great fun, everyone got a gold, silver or bronze medal and some got trophies. Every Sunday night the ski school holds a ski demonstration which lasts about half an hour but is worth seeing - good entertainment for all. We would recommend Niederau and the Hotel Austria for first time skiers especially as you don't want to be put off the first time trying to walk too far in ski boots and carrying skis and poles, and also for the excellent ski school. We have already booked the same hotel, resort and lessons for next year. There are probably better hotels in the village but I doubt that they could beat the Austria for location.

On our second sking holiday in Niederau, we stayed in the Hotel Austria on a ski holiday package with the UK tour operator Inghams over New Year. We chose the hotel because of it's excellent location in the centre of the village and just across the road from the ski school and main lifts. Bobos and the Sport apres ski bars are both within staggering distance and The Cave Bar, the only late opening bar/nightclub in the village is just 100m down the hill in the basement of the Staffler Hotel. The Austria has good facilities inc a small swimming pool and sauna, a skiwear & gift shop and a ski hire dept, although a further and we think better ski hire shop is located just across the road opposite the ski school office. It has in-shop ski storage and boot dryers available for a small extra charge. The hotel has a small quiet bar (no entertainment), public restaurant with an excellent menu and a guest restaurant. As with most hotels in Austria the guest restaurant is only available from 08:00 to 09:30 for breakfast and 18:00 to 20:00 for dinner. Service can be frustratingly slow even when the retaurant isn't full so if you have arranged to go somewhere after dinner allow plenty of time. We waited 45 mins on a main course and walked out in the end as we wanted to see the ski instructors display on the slope just across the road. You also have to sit at the table allocated to you for the duration of the holiday and may be asked to share with another party if there are three or less in your party.(pretty normal in resort). Breakfast is typical Tyrolean fayre with a buffet selection of cold meats and breads, museli,yoghurt,some cereals,cold boiled eggs,'tinned fruit'tea & coffee. If you want to sleep late forget breakfast, or if you want a hot English style breakfast or even a few slices of warm toast try the Staffler Hotel Restaurant down the hill and Nick will sort you out if you're there before 09:00 and ask him nicely. The quality of the food on offer for dinner is excellent but is a fixed menu with limited choice of usually two main courses which you choose by ticking a card at breakfast time.(again,common in resort) The hotel staff are very friendly and most speak English. Our room was an an 'OK' size, warm and comfortable with TV showing BBC/Sky News/CNN/Eurosport and various Austrian & German channels.We had a small seating area leading to a wooden balcony with beautiful views of the village and surrounding mountains. The bathroom was a bit cramped and the short hose on the shower head and the lack of a shower curtain made showering an interesting experience. Our only other gripe about the room was the lack of radiator space to dry off wet ski clothing. We would stay here again,mostly for the location and the fact that we had no major problems or issues. Niederau is a small and very friendly ski resort which we are growing to love and I don't believe from talking to others that we could find a significantly better hotel in the area although we might consider a self catering holiday next year. If you are used to and expect 5 star luxury and service then perhaps not only is the Hotel Austria unsuitable but Niederau is maybe not for you.