Berger Sporthotel

Didn't like this hotel at all. Our room was small, dark and poky. One couple in our group paid extra for a larger room but the radiators were cold. The engineer said there was nothing wrong with them and they spent a cold week with nowhere to dry their clothes. It was also very noisy in the rooms at night from the disco and nightclub which went on until the early hours. To say it was supposed to be a four star hotel the decor was unimpressive and the hotel needed refurbishment. Wouldn't go back there again!!!

Stayed in Berger's Sporthotel as part of a ski package with Crystal holidays(Jan 19th - Jan 26th 2008). After reading the reviews on tripadvisor prior to my holiday i was really dreading my stay. I am delighted to say i couldn't fault the hotel at all!! I was with a group of 20 friends, and of us all the only downfall would be some of the rooms were a little small (but thats comes with every hotel). Location was perfect(right beside ski lift, ski school, shops, bars), food was very good (have skied a number of times in Austria over the past few years, and this hotel had the best food so far), noise level was not a problem(my room was on the main street side - never heard a sound - there is a niteclub, I was on 2nd floor never heard the any music), staff were great. Going back to Saalbach in Jan 2009, will definitely stay in Berger Sport hotel.

Love Saalbach as a village and ski area - shame about this hotel though. I don't understand how the hotel is classified as 4 star, it really does not deserve anything near this rating. Starting with bedrooms - the standard rooms are tiny and the bathroom we had consisted of a cupboard sized area which was probably no more than 2ft deep. To get into the shower or sit on the loo was a tight squeeze (literally breath in) - more like being on a small cruising boat than in a hotel really, Decor was pretty grim and very tired, and there was nothing like enough storage space. The public areas were as bad - the decor was loud and very unAustrian like - I think the person who christened it the "Porn Palace" was pretty close to the mark. All of this was insignificant however - the real delight of the place is how guests are treated by the hotel management and staff who appear to be so used to complaints that they have their excuses and apologies down to a fine art. In my particular case the horror night was New Year - our bedroom was directly above the bar and restaurant area which had loud disco music both après ski and after dinner each night, every sound of which could be heard in the bedroom. Normally this finished at around 12 but on New Year it continued and continued, leading us to call reception on a number of occasions to ask for it to stop or at least be turned down. About 4am I actually ended up getting dressed and spent a very unfruitful half hour at reception trying to get it stopped, being told by various staff individuals that it would be finished shortly and did I not know it was New Year and all that - it eventually finished after 5am, but as you can imagine it was very hard to get to sleep for the couple of hours that we left in the night! Our problems were small compared to our colleagues who had a room in another area or the hotel - directly over the night club which generally ran until about 4am and on New Year until 6am. There they discovered involuntarily the joys of house music which reverberated into their room ever night until they finally got moved after night four of the holidays - every night they complained and every day they looked to be moved until eventually the hotel management gave in - and presumably gave the offending room to a new unsuspecting guest. After the treatment we had it is hard to say much that would be positive - however I will say that the food itself is quite good and the location excellent but this does not in any way mitigate for our treatment by the hotel. The place has plenty of other idiosyncrasies included the waiting staff at one stage trying to avoid giving us jugs of water to force us to buy expensive mineral water in tiny bottles, a boot room that doubles up as a night club cloakroom, a stairs to the boot room that is narrow and steep with the door to the street at the top locked for no apparent reason, and a breakfast buffet laid out in such a fashion as to make it impossible for more than one person to get access at a time to most of it. This place is so bad as to be funny - we had a great holiday despite the hotel - so if you are some kind of a masochist do stay here - but don't expect any sympathy for the staff or me as...you have been warned!

I have just returned from a weeks stay (over the New Year) at the Bergers Sporthotel. We ski twice a year usually Austria and have never been disappointed until now. Yes it does look like a ' 70's porn palace' and the rooms are 2 pushing 3 star. In some rooms (our second room after we moved) the showers in your room (not in a bathroom). It is NOT 4 star. We arrived on the 29th Dec foolishly expecting usual 4 star Austrian standard. We were offered a choice of 1 of 2 rooms and selected the one with a bath as it was slightly more modern. Initial thoughs totally disappointed!! However little did we know, at 10 pm until about 4:30 AM the nightclub thumping started. Everynight boom boom boom. In the bathroom you could feel it through the floor and hear the DJ. As you know after a demanding day on the slopes sleep is very important but if you are in one of the rooms over the nightclub forget sleep (earplugs and excess alcohol do not help). Please ask from a room on the front (side) ideally the 4th floor. Or a room on the inside of the hotel (not at the back end) We were in room 216 and 217 was exactly the same, as they occupants told us. As it was New Year and resort was packed we had to endure 4 days of Hell. Complained everyday to Hotel owner & Rep. When we finally moved rooms 4 days later, the room was smaller ,then the noise of the people coming out the nightclub between 3 - 5 am shouting etc...woke us up!! The hotel is in need of decoration and upgrading. The Food was the only thing that was ok but we shared a very small table forced in a corner. Thankfully the two other familes forced in the same corner were great company (bless you). You may find it hard to locate the boot room as it doubles as the nightclub cloakroom ! The Sauna & Steam room were ok (did the job) Bit smelly though. Pool small. I think the fact that we only saw one other person there demonstrates how ok the facilities were. Nearest lift is only about 5 min walk. The lift to the best area is 10 min walk up hill and queues but probbly as it was New Year and lots of people around. I wish we had stayed at the Panther (our orignal plan). I have returned home to catch up on sleep (totally shattered). On the ABATA website now.....

I stayed in the Berger Sporthotel from 20th-27th January 2007 on a half board basis. My fiancé and I travelled as part of a group of 26 people from ages 5-60. I arrived in Saalbach at about 1900 hours on the Saturday evening. I had a banging migraine from travelling and felt really ill. My first impression of the hotel was that it looked like a 1970’s ‘porn palace’, what with the chandeliers, mirrored walls and ceilings and of course the red carpets. Check-in was manic due to the size of our group and I spent most of it sat in a corner with my eyes shut so couldn’t comment on its smoothness. As soon as we got our room keys I went straight upstairs to bed missing the evening meal. However, it wasn’t long before I was woken up to the sound of the disco in the bar downstairs. Definitely not a good first night! The bedroom was small and the décor was in serious need of updating. It did have a large wardrobe and desk with a colour TV but it was fairly basic. The most redeeming feature of the bedroom was the beds. They were so comfortable and the quilts and pillows were feather filled. The bathroom was newly fitted and very nice. It was large with double sinks, a bath and a shower. Unfortunately we didn’t get to try out the sauna and steam room during our stay. We did attempt to one of the days we didn’t go skiing but after getting wet in the pool and expecting to dry off in the sauna – we found that they didn’t turn it on until 1600 hours. We knew that by that time it would be packed full of naked Germans so didn’t bother. Instead we got dried and trudged back to our room disappointed and cold. I have to say that breakfast was the best part to our stay in this hotel. It consisted of a choice of six cereals including cornflakes, sugar puffs, bran flakes and muesli. There was a selection of cold meats, cheese and yoghurts. There was also a range of bread, croissants, pastries and preserves. The hot selection consisted of toast, scrambled and boiled eggs, bacon and beans. Sausage was available on alternate days as a replacement for bacon – not both I’m afraid. I also found the evening meals to be very good. Dinner was four courses – salad bar, soup, main course and dessert. The main course always had a good cut of meat, mostly pork, beef or veal, but never chicken. I could definitely recommend eating at the hotel most nights, in particular the Wednesday carvery and the Friday steak night. I did find however that you didn’t get a very much vegetables and the food was a bit too salty for my liking. The waiter service is very good but I would give a word of warning to watch what you are being charged for the drinks. The prices depend on which bar you order from and which waiter serves you. Expect to pay about 2 euros for a glass of water, 4 euros for a large beer and 6 euros for a soft drink. Oh and I forgot to mention the added extra – there is a window in the dining room which separates the restaurant from the changing rooms of the sauna. There is no curtain blocking the view and the German guests liked nothing better than flashing their ‘tackle’ to those eating their dinner. Brings a new meaning to the phrase ‘meat and two veg’!! We did treat ourselves on two of the nights and ate out at some of the local restaurants. I can highly recommend the Vitrine Asian Wok restaurant which is in the Alpenhotel – just down the hill from the hotel. We paid 100 euros for a two course meal with extra rice and vegetables and a bottle of wine. The food was excellent and the service first class. We also went to a restaurant just up the hill from the hotel on the left hand side of the main street. I can’t for the life of me think of the name but it is painted green and has lots of nice looking pastries in the window. The food was also excellent here too and a lot cheaper than the Asian restaurant. The hotel is centrally placed and is only a 50m walk to the Schattberg Express. This area offers good slopes for the more experienced skier and easy access to the Hinterglem. I did find that the slopes to the right hand side of the hotel were harder to access as you had a 200m walk up the hill. This would be difficult for those with children as it was tiring and very slippy in the snow. The beginner’s slopes are also on this side of the mountain. There is a supermarket next door to the hotel and lots of sports shops in the surrounding area – although you will need a bank loan if you wish to buy anything. The prices are EXTORTIONATE!!!! A bobble hat cost 189 euros. And no it wasn’t gold plated. Bauers Bar is particularly good for après-ski. It gets packed during the afternoons but the prices are reasonable and the food delicious. There is a good range of bars close by - in particular the Albino bar, Otzi’s bar and Absolute. All of these can all be found a short walk up the hill from the hotel. In conclusion I found that this hotel was very traditional and although it looked appealing from the outside, it was a little bit in need of a face lift on the inside. The staff were very friendly and welcoming but German guests were given preferential service. It was the food that stood out most for us at this hotel. We both like our grub but at this hotel the meals made the décor all the more bearable. My only recommendation to those looking to stay at this hotel is that you do not stay on the first or second floors. The noise from the disco keeps you up every night until at least 0100 hours and the German guests thought it was funny to shout obscenities and knock on everyone else’s doors as they were walking to their own rooms. My opinion – now that I have been to Saalbach I would not go again. And if I was pushed to return, I would not stay in the Berger Sporthotel. Definitely a three star hotel but no more.

Having stayed at this hotel in 2005 with my wife and 2 children,(both under 10) we found the proximity to ski school was a big bonus but the best thing for all of us, including a family of four we met over there, was the friendliness of the staff, the choice of food was commendable and to be recognised from the year before by the owners just added to the great time we had, hence we have booked to go there again this year, this time 11 of us are going. I would and do recommend this hotel to any and everybody thinking of going to Saalbach!!

I am a coach driver for wa Shearings holidays, I formerly worked for wallace arnold. Over the last fifteen years I have visited the Bergers sporthotel Saalbach many times. In all the times I was there I always found both the owners and the staff to be very good. The hotel owners always try to meet everyones needs, wether it be the rooms or special diets. I have taken hundreds of people to this hotel and have always had good feedback from the passengers regarding the hotel. The family Berger take pride in trying to make sure everybody enjoys there visit. Mike WA Shearings

This has got to be the worst hotel I have ever stayed in! Don't be fooled by the 4 stars!!! It is really no more than a 2 star hotel at UK standards and that would be pushing it! This hotel is directly over a night club, not just any night club but a table dancing one !! Very Classy ! Not! The noise actually vibrates through your pillow as you are trying to sleep and goes on until about 4:30 am, every single day! It could have been a little compensation if they played some decent music but as with the whole resort it is just Euro trash rubbish!! The rooms are also something that can only be believed once you have seen them! They are so small that they are barely big enough for one person and are very dated and shabby! The hotel is constantly noisy at all hours as it seems to be the hotel of choice for Austrians to take their very badly bahaved, rude and very loud kids! So my advice is to avoid it at all costs! Better still avoid the resort. The skiing was great but I would recommend maybe staying in one of the near by resorts or another less mainstream and tacky resort! Never again!!

I first went to Saalbach on a School trip in 1992 and fell in love with the place, so when in 2005 I had the opportunity to take my wife and 8 year old son skiing for xmas, I chose Saalbach and the Berger Sport Hotel. The Berger Sport couldn't be better placed, it is owned by the Berger Family who are committed to making your stay perfect. I was amazed that the waiters, the Berger Boys, have never learned to ski because they have worked 7 days a week throughout the season all of their lives. After the first day they know what you drink, you know which table is yours and the food is amazing. In the Hotel itself the decor was good, but a little dated. The thing that clinched it for me, and the reason that we will only go to the Berger in future, not to mention the most amazing Skiing in Europe, was that on our first night, Xmas eve, we were late arriving. The tour guide said that most Hotels stopped serving food at 9PM, but they may leave out some cold meat. We arrived at the Berger at 9:30PM. We were shown to our rooms and told that the resturant had been kept open for us. Now it is 9:45PM and they were prepared to cook us a 5 course meal with all the trimmings. At that time we couldn't eat all that, but that level of service and sencerity brought a tear to my eye and I will never forget them and hope see them all again soon.

The three of us ( My girlfriend and I, and my best freind ) arrived at the Bergers Sport Hotel in Saalbach on Sunday Evening. We received a very inadequate welcome by the hotel owner. We were shocked to find that the room we had been allocated was a family appartment with an annex room. This was totally unacceptable as the annex room was only ideal for child and the hotel admitted to having made a mistake on the booking form and thought my friend was actually my son. Which did make us laugh as he is 3 months older than myself. The hotel management also made a monetary offer directly to my friend in our absence, of 30 euros to remain in the annex room allocated until Tuesday 22nd August, when they would move him to an alternative room within the hotel. When we discovered this offer , we were disgusted with the hotels attitude towards us. The annex room offered to my friend consisted of basic facilities, i.e. a double softa-bed, 2 worn and shabby arm chairs, a table, television set, bed side cabinet and lamps, it did not offer a separate bathroom or any storage space and therefore to gain access to these facilities he would have to enter our accommodation which in turn infringed on the privacy of both parties and was totally unacceptable even for such a short time period of 2 days. Eventually after much debate , we resolved the issue by stating that we were a young courting couple, who merely wanted their own privacy, and as paying guests were fully entitled to that privilege. The same for my friend who was entitled to the single room that he had paid a premium for at Berger's Sport Hotel. Hotel management eventually admitted their error and informed us that a room in the Saalbach Hotel opposite would be made available for my friend to utilise after the evening meal. The inconvenience this caused to us after a long 12.5 hr journey was both physically draining and exceptionally disheartening; on top of this within 30 minutes of arriving we were ushered in to our first evening meal in the Red Salon Lounge, which had been temporarily altered to accommodate us. We were made to feel like second rate guests but we were informed by management that this was only a temporary arrangement until Tuesday when the hotel would become quieter and less occupied. Our first dining experience consisted of a very bland main course, due to staffing time constraints and a dessert which we opted out of due to the lack of service; which was below standard and exceptionally slow. This meal did not even offer a complimentary glass of water; instead we were forced to pay for one! Eventually at 11:00pm after viewing the room made available to my friend for ourselves and making sure he was happily settled in his new environment, we informed hotel management that the resolution was temporarily acceptable until Tuesday when a room was guaranteed to be available at Bergers Sport Hotel. We then decided to have a nightcap in the Bergers hotel disco bar before retiring for the night, only to be confronted by an extremely drunk barman who quite clearly was consuming the alcohol direct from a bottle right in front of us. It took him over 15 minutes to take our order at which time we paid in advance and then some 10 minutes later had to remind him of our order. It was during our first morning that we were then able to fully appreciate the delights of the apartment we had been allocated. . 1.Dusty surfaces - both high and low; 2.Television and remote control exceptionally dirty. 3.Remnants of toothpaste residue inside bathroom glasses 4.Stained bathroom ceiling. 5. Body hair from previous occupier on back of bathroom door and sink 6.Disgusting toilet brush complete with ammonia staining, waste product remnants and smell 7.Extremely worn and shabby arm chairs. Our evening meal commenced in the Berger's Sturbel at 19:15pm; this dinning area was adjacent to the hallway leading to the indoor swimming pool and every time hotel guests opened the hallway door, our dinning area was filled with the fumes of very strong chlorine which was very off putting and ruined the whole dinning experience. On retiring to our apartment at 11:00pm we were greeted by several children in the opposite family room running riot, without any supervision, this disturbance continued until midnight and I was forced to complain to reception using my basic German language skills, but I must state that this experience was made more difficult as the receptionist was unable to speak any English! Eventually our noise problem was remedied at 12:15pm and an apology was received. Our evening meal on Wednesday was described and sold to us as an Austrian “Farmers Buffet”, which would be served from the Disco Bar on the ground floor; each table being invited in turn by the head waiter to visit and choose from the selection provided. Our table waited over 30 minutes from the end of our soup starter to be invited down to the Disco Bar, needless to say the food on offer was limited and the carvery chef kept us waiting in line for over 5 minutes whilst he had an in-depth conversation with an Austrian lady and her child behind us in the queue! Eventually whilst consuming the meal I was disgusted and horrified to find a 6 inch strand of jet black hair in my meal, a hair of which did not belong to either myself ,my girlfriend or my Best friend; this discovery not only ruined the remainder of the meal for myself but also the entire table. A complaint was made to the head waiter, who reported it to the kitchen and after 5 minutes the Hotel owner appeared asking if the there was a problem. We explained the problem only to receive a terribly poor excuse of “ these things happen “. She seemed very unwilling to discuss the matter further in the dinning area as many of the hotel guests were still consuming their meals and she asked us to meet her in reception later. We waited in reception for 15 minutes however, the owner did not appear and the non-English speaking Receptionist was totally oblivious to our complaint and due to the language barrier unable to assist us any further. Following the eventualities of the previous evenings dinner experience and for the lack of an acceptable apology from the hotel we felt unable to consume any further evening meals at the Bergers Sport Hotel as we were extremely worried about the hotel’s inability to adhere to good food preparation guidelines and hygiene. Owing to this our evening meals for both Thursday and Friday were spent at a very good local restaurant just opposite the Berger's Hotel On retiring to our apartment at 10:30pm we were again greeted by the same children in the opposite family room running riot. This disturbance continued until 11:00pm when I was forced yet again to complain to hotel reception. Eventually this problem was remedied at 11:05pm and no apology was received for the inconvenience. I would also like to point out that in the summer periods it is very quiet in Saalbach. Saalbach is a winter resort and during the summer many businesses are closed and the local bars are very quiet and the for the party person Saalbach in the summer could be very boring. Saalbach is a very beautiful place and i would recommend a cable car ride on the Schattberg X-press Berger's Sporth Hotel from the outside looks like a warm an inviting place but on the inside its just horrible. There are Mirrors everywhere - Also a very tacky Disco Bar and the Prosecco Bar opposite the hotel lobby just looks like they had employed Cruella De Vil ( 101 Dalmatians ) to decorate. Holiday at Berger's Sport Hotel at your own risk.