Hotel Hollweger

Okay, let’s start with the good points. The hotel was immaculate and comfortable and well located. We stayed in the annex, which is fairly modern (but take your own USB adapters and a cooling fan as there is no air conditioning). Although facing St. Wolfgansee, we could not see the lake but instead had a very nice, relaxing view of a vineyard. The hotel stands on a slight rise above St. Gilgen, a typical Austrian small town situated at one end of the 11 km long lake. It took about 10 mins to stroll into the town. The owner of the hotel was pleasant, courteous and helpful, which makes this a really difficult review to write. At the time of booking the hotel I did not realize that a buffet dinner was served. Buffets are a cheap and nasty way to serve food which often dries out and hardens. We stayed for two weeks and there were a few nights when the food just looked so unappetising that we did not have dinner. The side dishes were bland and unimaginative, and prepared with very little skill. There were a couple of nights when we were not offered a drink with our meal – can you believe that? - the waitress being more concerned with clearing the tables and preparing them for breakfast. There are other places to eat in St. Gilgen or, if you have a car, you can drive to Strobl at the far end of the lake, or further to St Wolfgang town itself. The breakfast, I have to say, was quite good with all the usual items. However, the toaster broke half way through the second week and was not replaced. We stayed during the last week of August and first week of September 2004 when day time temperatures were 28C to 32C. We spent a few mornings in the gardens reading but, despite the temperatures, no one offered us a drink. We went to the bar only to find that it was not staffed during the day. Finding staff was like playing hide and seek – and losing! The hotel is seriously under-staffed. Let’s be clear, this is not a cheap, 2 star, city centre, back alley hotel: it is an expensive 4 star establishment that has been in business for decades. Unfortunately, in many ways it does not live up to expectations and the management need to take a long hard look at what they are offering. It falls well below the standards we expect of Austrian hotels and, sadly, we will not be returning.

Booked this hotel after seeing their web site and was duly impressed. The entrance to the hotel was just as on the web site. The room originality allocated did not have a walk in shower but that was quickly changed to an excellent room, overlooking the town and lake with a large bathroom with walk in shower. The bar area and terrace were very pleasant. The let down came with the evening meal. The web site stated "Fine dinning" and showed a picture of one main course dish well presented. In fact the evening meal consisted of a self service buffet with the main course in metal trays rather like school dinners. The consistency of the food was also similar to that of school dinners. There was only one member of staff waiting on tables but her job was solely to collect discarded plates on the tables. As a minor point the web site shows a picture of the dinning room with each table laid out with a table cloth. This was not the case as each table had just a ***** of cloth on it and the serviettes were just paper ones. We had the buffet meal on the first night as we had had a long day traveling. We tolerated the second night to see if the evening meal was as bad as we thought it might be and it was. As a result for the next five night we ate out in local restaurants. The hotel was an enigma; the hotel, bedroom and lounge/bar were excellent but the evening meal was the opposite and did not match the rest of the hotel.

We really enjoy ztayinghere. The taff are friendly and polite. This is a family busness and it shows. The food is always very good . This is our third visit Nd we cant fualt it. The views from the rooms looking out over the lakesare breathtaking.

From the warm welcome to checkout staff could not have been more friendly and helpful. Enjoyed beautiful room with small terrace in Annexe which is very accessible by enclosed glass walkway, stairs or lifts. Stunning setting; enjoyed lunch and drinks outside with beautiful view. Full complete choice of delicious cooked and cold food at breakfast buffet. Wonderful selection for dinner buffet. Lovely walk through town to the lake and boat dock for lake trips. Great location for bus travel: went to Salzburg and Bad Ischl. My first 'Solo' trip. My stay was 100% perfect in every way.

If you are visiting the lovely town of St Gilgen, then this is the place to stay. This family-run hotel has superb facilities (pool, gym, spa, access to private lake bathing area) and excellent food, not to mention stunning lake views from your balcony. The staff are lovely and always welcoming and friendly. From the hotel is a pleasant short walk into the small town for access to the gift shops, lake (for boat trips), cable car and numerous walking paths in the area. Salzburg is only 50 minutes away by bus and the bus stop is right outside the hotel. I highly recommend this place.

In my long life, I have stayed in hundreds of so-called First Class and “executive” hotels around the globe for both business and leisure, but I can honestly say that the wonderful Hotel Hollweger in St Gilgen Austria is the place where I have genuinely felt the most relaxed, where you are treated as a trusted and respected guest throughout one’s stay. Family run by Gerda Hollweger and her friendly and efficient family members and staff who mostly speak English very well, the rooms and facilities are very comfortable, well-equipped to a high standard and spotlessly clean. The food is absolutely excellent with restaurant views over the beautiful Lake Wolfgang and surrounding mountains. A large buffet breakfast is included with room stay and there is a superb nightly buffet offering as well as an a la carte option. All guests have free access to the large swimming pool and spa area which offers various sauna and steam room facilities, there is even a hot-cold-hot footbath walk to improve foot circulation after a long day’s hiking! You also have a key to Hotel Hollweger’s private jetty on the lakeside which has a hot shower, toilet and a changing room, a perfect place for summer swimming into the crystal-clear lake water. There is also a gym inside the original hotel near the conference / seminar business area. The hotel has accommodation in three areas, the original hotel, the new block reached by an air bridge and also the “Das Lisl” Landhaus which is a separate building in the grounds; the hotel website has good photos showing all the options. Prices are very reasonable for the high quality of accommodation on offer. The location of Hotel Hollweger is excellent for exploring the Salzkammergut area (The Salzburg “Lake District”) as St Gilgen is equidistant between Salzburg and Bad Ischl on the very reliable 150 bus route. An essential tip is to download the “Salzburg Verkehr” app to check the exact bus times / connections, and you can buy the correct tickets on your phone, all in English, and you then just show the driver your phone ticket(s). Hotel Hollweger has plenty of car parking spaces and it’s a short stroll into the pretty and quiet town of St Gilgen on the lakeshore where you can get the boat ferry to places like St Wolfgang which has more shops and restaurants. The boat ferry also has a stop at the cog railway up the Schaffberg mountain for astounding views. St Gilgen also offers a fast and efficient modern cable car up the Zwolferhorn mountain. My wife and I are currently planning another visit to Hotel Hollweger, it is highly recommended.