Osterreichischerhof Hotel

We booked this holiday at the last minute and so were a bit nervous, however we were not in anyway disappointed. Food first class, service first class (our 2 year old asked for chocolate cake for desert one night, and the waiter went down to the café and got some) and location excellent.
We didn’t try the hotel pool because we were in the Alpentherme everyday. A day ticket was 25 Euros per Adult, as entry was free to us we really felt we got our money’s worth. Even the days we were out on trips, it was nice to come back and have dinner and go for a swim for an hour or so. It was an excellent way to pass an evening if you have a small child. The Alpentherm itself is great. There is truly something for everyone from children’s pool to proper lane swimming for adults. The underground link from the hotel makes it very easy to use and enjoy, and the facility itself is very high quality
We had a superior suite, which had a separate walk-in wardrobe. This was excellent, because we could get unpacked and had somewhere to put the suitcases and buggy out of the way. Tiny criticism – the TV had only one English language channel, but at least it wasn’t CNN (it was the BBC). Frankly, as we were out most of the time, I didn’t really miss it. The room was clean and well decorated with good space for 2 adults and a small child. We didn’t use the lounge area, and I wasn’t aware of anyone else using it, but I suspect this would be different in ski season. The hotel was right in the heart of Bad Hofgastein, so it was easy enough to get round the town etc. Generally it was quiet on our side of the hotel, which is not necessarily to everyone’s taste, but there were cafes, bars etc. within a very short walk of the hotel.
The buffet breakfast was excellent, as was the evening meal. We were initially put off by the fact that the evening meal was a relatively fixed menu (i.e. only three choices for your main course and no choice for any of the other four courses). However, all the food was well presented and tasty, so we didn’t really have a problem eating well! We did ask for meals that were suitable for a 2-year-old, and this was catered for with no problems. They stop serving in the early evening (about 7.30pm), so you don’t really get a chance to linger, but again this was not a problem for us.
This hotel and location are not for everyone, but for us it was great. There were other young families there, but I wasn’t conscious of older children. I suspect that during the ski season this also would change, but for the right type of teenager or family, this hotel and location would still appeal at any time of year