Hotel Jagdhof — Hotel in Gemeinde Mittelberg

We returned to Riezlern, Austria in the Kleinwalsertal for a week of wellness and hiking in October. We had been there over Christmas 2015 and loved the area and village, but were not happy with our hotel so decided to go back and try a different hotel - thus choosing the Hotel Jagdhof. The location in the village is ideal, being right on the "Casino Platz" where the free regional buses stop. They link Riezlern with 3 other villages, allowing one to start or end a hike useing the bus system - the gondolas are also free when you stay in a local hotel. ||||The hotel itself was very clean and bight, decorated in the traditional light wood and red and green fabrics that are typical of the Austrian rustic style. We stayed in a 30m square room facing west so had lots of mid to afternoon sun. Beds were comfortable and had THE best bedside lights where one could actually read by - a big gripe of mine in the 12 years we have been doing wellness vacations in Austria. My only complaint with our room was that the walk-in shower was really a small "square" enclosure and with a bar/grip to accomodate older guests mounted on the wall, even being a relatively thin person, I was always hitting that when turning around in the shower. ||||Food is always a big part of any vacation and the 3 course dinners served were excellent EVERY night! I ate the vegetarian option every night and never got bored with what was served - and always creatively presented on the plate. My husband had either the fish or meat option and was also happy. Diningroom service was also very good but none of the servers wore a name tag, didnt introduce themselves the first night nor did they explain for first timers like us at the hotel, how the "flow" of the evening meal went (i.e. Which courses were selve serve and which were ordered - I had to ask the first night). The breakfast buffet, with freshly made egg dishes, as well as breads, cereals, meats and cheeses was also very good.||||As we book our hotels for the Wellness facilities (i.e. Massages, beauty treatments, etc and not sauna) we were very impressed with the small but beautifully decorated spa area. The two ladies there (who DID wear name tags and did introduce themselves!) were VERY good and the prices very reasonable.||||Other reviewers complained of issues with the staff which concerned me having booked here for the first time. To me they were friendly enough but maybe didnt go out of their way like we have experienced at other Austrian wellness hotels. Again with no one wearing a name tag nor introducing themselves from the beginning , I think this sort of keeps a guest from feeling really welcome. When you stay at a hotel a week you want to greet people by their name or even give them credit for something nice in a review like here - but unfortunately that isn`t possible. However with so many positives about this hotel, this will not keep us from crossing this hotel off of our list - in fact we enjoyed it soo much that we WILL be going...

We stayed for one week with two small children. ||||The hotel seats on a great spot: in front of the bus station, 25 m from the first slopes, 50m from the only supermarket in town - without being on the main road. ||||We had a great room with lots of space. ||||Breakfast was delightful: fresh bread, croissants, lots of different jams, salty buffet with some cheese and local hams and even eggs baked by the hotel Director!! Decent tea and coffee. ||||Lunch bar buffet was available from 13-14: usually a warm soup and meat dish. They are sharp on time so dont go at 14:02 because the lunch buffet will be gone.||||Coffee, tea and pastries are available at the bar buffet until 17:00. We did not taste the pastries.||||Dinner is served as from 18:30. One chooses in the morning from three suggestions. No room for specials.||||Children menu varies from fried chicken nuggets to fried fish nuggets, pizza,||spaghetti bolognese or fried schnitzel and french fries. No veggies AT ALL.||||Portions are poor and small - after one day of skiing one can eat some more!!- kind of 'nouvelle cuisine' but without the charm or taste.||||Everything swims in cream. Meat was always overcooked. Even fish was overcooked. ||||Salad buffet was quite boring and vegetables were soaked in a kind of vinegar watery liquid. ||||Cheese plateau presents old pieces of cheese placed one on top of each other with no care for taste differences nor indication of names.||||Deserts? We ve never made it to desert....||||The pool is nice and opens on the outside.|| Children love to step out and throw snow in the warm pool. Pity that it faces the blue side wall of a public covered parking.||||Children room was obviously never cleaned nor organized. Broken toys were lying everywhere and dust covers the less used toys.||||The hotel is reasonably clean but dust nets hang from corridor lamps or wall corners. ||||Same in our room although the room is made everyday. The bath linen are changed. ||We had to move the children beds to get a piece of Lego and regretted to see what was under the bed.... Furniture could be moved once a year for some proper cleaning i guess!!||||Staff was clearly divided in two leagues: the old Austrian team and the new Yugoslavian (Croatian?) team. It was painful to witness their fights and exchanges of (bad) words.||Clearly a heavy atmosphere where staff members seemed to suffer from an unpleasant and frustrating situation. ||||Restaurant staff was effective but unfriendly and sometimes rude (throwing plates on table or clearly annoyed by requests such as "may we have some bread please?"!)||||The hotel Director was always present. He helped and accommodated every and each request. In the most effective and smile deprived way. Like the rest of the staff.|| ||Can one complain if nobody smiles but all do their job?! ||||Conclusion: effective but unpleasant service, poor dinner meals, great breakfasts, great location, nice spacious bedrooms, good sized...

I've stayed at the Jagdhof 6 times in the last 6 years, always for skiing and to celebrate the New Year. It's a quaint family hotel, very child-friendly, lovely rooms, excellent food (expansive buffet breakfast, delicious gourmet dinners serving austrian and european food) and wonderful staff who will bend over backwards to make your stay special. What I like most is that there's a ski lift right next door so you don't have to lug your skis far to enjoy the Kanselwand mountain, and the hotel is also located right on the main street if you feel like shopping or taking the bus to other areas of the valley. The swimming pool and spa are fabulous too. |It's worth to check the rooms first before checking in- they have different layouts and some might be more suitable for you than others.||Negatives- they don't refill the breakfast bar after 10am, there are no tea-making facilities in the room, some rooms have the toilet far away from the bathroom (plus for some?), the spa treatments offered are a bit pricey, and the restaurant does not do ala carte but has a 3-course set menu with different choices every night. English is also not widely spoken- having a German speaker in your group is a must! A gripe that I have with most European hotels- it's always 2 single mattresses pushed together to make a double bed and the pillows are always too soft and floppy. Bring your...