Dilly - Das Nationalpark Resort — Hotel in Windischgarsten

We had booked the specific hotel mostly for the childrens' activities and facilities in the hotel as well as other activities in the area which were advertised on the hotel's website as being included in the price (the cost of the activities would be deducted from the hotel bill at check out), or at a discount when being a resident of the hotel. ||||Upon arrival I specifically enquired about these activities and I was told by a staff member (that did not speak english at an adequate level) that all information is on the website and that I should scan the QR code found in my hotel room to see the activities details. After scanning the QR code, I could not find anywhere on the website clearly which activities are included in the price, which were at discount and which are at full extra cost. Later on the first day (around 9:00-9:30 pm), I went back to the reception to ask for clarifications. There was only 1 staff member present in the reception area. This staff member seemed to be serving both the reception and the adjacent bar. I asked again for a clear list of activities and their prices / discounts. I got the same response that everything was on the website, so I specifically showed him from the hotel website some activities (summer toboggaging, high ropes course, cable cars and chair lifts) and he confirmed to me that these activities are included in the price (i,e, that you pay for them and then get these paid amounts deducted from your final bill). ||||The next day we went for the Wurbauerkogel Chairlift, and the toboggaging. While on the mountain, I called the hotel and the same staff member that I had spoken to the previous night answered the phone. I asked whether the archery activity is included in the price, to which he confirmed that it was included, and I specifically enquired whether it was fully deducted from the price or only a discount would be made and he confirmed that it was fully deducted. ||||In terms of the activities organised by the hotel and advertised on the website, again no list could be provided apart from the weekly schedule of the childrens club which was provided to us in German and we were told to look on the website for the English version. Upon a couple of enquiries at the reception for these, we were directed to ask the person at the Children's club, which we did, to realize that the person was completely unaware of some of these activities (footgolf, family golf, fishing for kids, chaos family puzzle hunt, snow torch-lit walks) and he was going to check and come back to us. He only called us back on the end of the day while we asked in the morning (bearing in mind that we had booked a 3 night stay), to say that these activities are not provided.||||Before reading the next section for context I should clarify that this is a family run hotel and the family is fully involved in running the hotel.||||We went to the hotel management (after we already had a couple of other chats with them when they were already not accommodating and impolite), to express our disappointment at the activities that were not offered, and at the difficulty in finding information about the outside activities. And that neither the staff, the website or on hotel brochures offered clear guidance in English. We wanted to ask if we could leave earlier than our planned stay and were shouted at by the owner (the father of the family) in a very unprofessional and disrespectful manner. We were told that some of the activities are not offered all year round (for example the snow torch-lit walks which makes sense but i will cover this point further down), with excuses as to why they were not offered during those specific days and saying that everything is clearly included on the website (which is not). For example the footgolf was not available because of an ongoing "golf tournament" and that we could have seen on their site the dates of this tournament. No such information was found on the website and when we drove around the golf courses there didn't seem be a golf tournament. Or for example for the fishing for kids we received no reply or clarification as to why it was advertised but not offered. In fact no-one on staff seem to know what this was. For the snow torch-lit walks we realize that this is clearly offered only during the winter, however we had inquired about this before booking and the hotel had confirmed that an equivalent torch-lit walk would be offered in the summer. When speaking on this one to the owner, he was being sarcastic towards us as if we were stupid not not understand that there cannot be a snow walk in the summer. We tried to explain (without being able to get through) that we get that there is no snow but a walk with torches was still confirmed to us. He also told us that the activities that we already paid for, (mentioned above - archery and toboggaging) and for which the reception had confirmed that they were fully refundable, were not actually included and that I didn't understand correctly what his staff told me. I then asked to bring me in writing what was included since there was so much misunderstanding, and the boss went missing for 10 minutes. He then sent his heavily pregnant daughter to talk to us. The reason the daughter was sent is because she was the one that had designed the website. She was sent to explain to us where on the website this information was hidden. When I showed her the section of the website that I checked (using the QR code they asked us at various points to use) she told me that you can press on the picture/link to go to another section to find the details, but when you pressed on the picture/link she told us, the link was not working. She even tried to click on the links but they did not work. To the question whether we could leave early we were told that we had to pay the full 3 nights and if we didn't they would bring the police. Another member of the family (the daughter in law of the owner) refused to talk to my husband because she said that the previous day my husband didn't talk to her politely. We firmly believe that the rudeness and aggressiveness was initiated by the owner and in part by his daughter in law who did not react well when we asked if we could check out early. We also wonder what sort of person would send his heavily pregnant daughter to an already heated situation. The interaction with the pregnant daughter was polite and cordial. Even if the information was clearly laid out on the website, I wonder, shouldn't a 4 start hotel be able to provide this information in person or written if requested? Is it so difficult for the staff members to know the activities offered?||||After this heated argument we went to have breakfast. The way it works is that at breakfast you order dinner so that the kitchen can prepare on time. When the time came to order dinner, only a german menu was available and when we asked for an english one the waiter (which was very polite) told us that he asked the reception and they told him that no english menu would be printed that day and we had to choose our food at dinner. The way we interpreted this is that management was punishing us for being unhappy about the hotel. ||||To pay a rate of more than 500 euros per night for this hotel and to be treated in this unacceptable way by the staff (whatever our complaints were), as if they are doing us a favour that we are staying at their hotel, especially from the owners, is simply unacceptable. We felt cheated and disrespected and advise anyone especially not german speaking never to go to this hotel.||||In terms of the outside facilities, after this whole discussion, they typed a list in word printed it and gave it to me. Why didn't they provide that to us on the first time when we asked so many times??? ||||After this incident, the son of the owner came to apologise for the behaviour of the rest and said that the activities that we had paid would be deducted from our bill on an exceptional basis, after he realised that the staff member indeed confirmed to us that these were for free. He was the only one that treated us with some respect. He also offered to provide us with the tractor safari (which is just a drive around the area in a tractor type car with no commentary) for free, when this is normally charged extra. He also drove us himself.||||In terms of the facilities, I have to say that the hotel looks much more impressive in the pictures that in reality. The reception is renovated however the rest of the areas are a little old fashioned. To get to the restaurant from the main building you have to walk a number of room corridors in the basement of the buildings connected by various stairs (going up and down) with absolutely no signs in the corridors in english ending up being lost in the floors were the rooms are (see pictures). In the teens room half of the games are not working (billiard cues missing, go karts are defective and most of the times not charged, other games are defective (see pictures). The go karts outside are also old and rusty and some of them don't work.||||I had booked two panorama rooms for my family and another family. Upon arrival we were informed that we were upgraded to a residence suite, which is much larger than the room we booked and was comfortable, however the room itself is more old fashioned and the bathroom is in need of a refurbishment. The bathroom shower mixer could only be attached on a specific stand on the wall and you had to hold it in order to wash your hair. ||||Food quality was very poor on the first night when it was a buffet, however the rest of the nights it was quite good when it was a la carte. Pools and waterpark where nice.||||Overall very poor and disappointing experience, feeling cheated for the amount of money we spent for this place. I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone, especially non...

If you book with a tour operator, you might be given a cheap rate, but they give you the worst room of the hotel. Especially when you are a single, then you are not allowed to book a suite. My room type was called a "bio zimmer", which basically means "as cheap as possible". ||||It came to my attention that I had the oldest, least attractive room of the resort that still hasn't been renovated yet. A room without air-conditioning, tiny bathroom and without a minibar, although they put a pricelist for the minibar on your desk(oh the irony). The walls were so dirty you didn't need a UV lamp to see it's not a good idea to touch it.||||Oh yeah, the lock on the door didn't work. I thought I locked it in the early morning, but housekeeping still came inside my room while I was sleeping. And they came back every 45 minutes or so. Unfortunately, this hotel has never heard of "Do Not Disturb"-signs either.||||Sleeping was hard because of the heat in the room and the noise from the hotel bar terrace and I had no choice to leave my sliding door of the balcony open because my room didn't have any airconditioning or ventilation. The bed was nothing special. The TV only had German or Austrian channels and not even CNN or CNBC. ||||The sofa in my room had some dirty stains and a bad smell. I mentioned it to the house staff who got it replaced the same day. ||||All-inclusive the tour operator said. But actually it's just full board with some free cheap softdrinks and water that you have to take from the drinking fountains. Also after 9 P.M you're no longer allowed to take a free softdrink. Instead all guests are pushed to go to the hotel bar and spend their money there. There's very little to none night entertainment and nothing is given for free at the hotel bar.||||Even worse, the coffee is free from the coffee machine in the restaurant, but only until 4.30 P.M. After you had your dinner, the waiters ask you if you want a coffee or a cappuccino with your dessert. What they don't tell you is that they will charge you for it, and you're only about to find out upon check-out (unless you read the small letters on the hotel description). ||||The restaurant buffet is of high quality but very limited. I was so disappointed that there was so little choice everyday. During dinner, there's just a salad bar and a selection of cheese and soup, and the waiters bring you a starter and a main dish. Food is very fresh though and prepared deliciously.||||Beware, most staff speak German, and they keep speaking German to you everyday, even though they know you're not a German native speaker. Even though they know you prefer to speak English, they keep putting a German menu on your personal table at the restaurant everyday instead of the English version. Very annoying.||||The wellness areas and the pools are great though. And the view on the mountains is fantastic. Unfortunately they assigned me a boring table in a corner of the "Kaiserstubbe" inside where I was supposed to eat my breakfast and dinner. A German Bundesliga football team came there also to prepare for the next season and it was sometimes mayhem with all those press people and cameras for interviews on the hotel terrace.||||I went home after seven nights feeling cheated. I'll never come...

Das Hotel befindet sich zweifellos in einer traumhaften Lage und überzeugt mit einer stilvollen Architektur und einem hohen Anspruch an Design und Komfort. Doch bei einem Übernachtungspreis von rund 500 Euro pro Nacht (inklusive Vollpension und Direktbuchung) muss sich ein Haus auch an den Standards messen lassen, die in dieser Preiskategorie international erwartet werden. Und genau hier liegt das Problem: Trotz einzelner Highlights erfüllt das Hotel die Erwartungen auf diesem Niveau nicht durchgehend.||⸻||Anreise & Check-in||Der Empfang war zunächst vielversprechend: Wir wurden mit einem Getränk in der gemütlichen Lounge willkommen geheißen. Leider folgten dann 20 Minuten Wartezeit auf Schlüssel und Informationen – ohne Erklärung und ohne dass andere Gäste anwesend gewesen wären. Das wirkte unkoordiniert und ließ den Service holprig starten.||⸻||Zimmer||Unser Zimmer im Haus Phyraus war zweifellos ein Highlight des Aufenthalts: stilvoll eingerichtet, gut durchdachtes Layout, modern und dennoch behaglich. Dass bei Ankunft jedoch Kuchenreste im Schrank und eine leere Bierflasche auf dem Balkon zu finden waren, trübte den ersten Eindruck. Solche Versäumnisse sind in dieser Preisklasse nicht akzeptabel. Zudem sei erwähnt, dass wir das Zimmer nur durch eine kurzfristige Umbuchung erhalten haben, da unsere ursprüngliche Buchung vom Hotel verschoben wurde – wohl zugunsten eines Fußballklubs. Die angebotene Lösung mit Upgrade war fair, brachte jedoch organisatorischen Mehraufwand unsererseits mit sich (z. B. Urlaubsumstellung und Kinderbetreuung). Zudem gibt es keine Kaffeemaschine, Wasserkocher oder Bügeleisen im Zimmer. Nicht tragisch, aber eigentlich eher unüblich.||Zudem wurden während unseres gesamten Aufenthalts die benutzten Trinkgläser im Zimmer nicht ausgetauscht oder gereinigt. Das ist aus hygienischer Sicht enttäuschend und entspricht nicht dem Standard, den man in dieser Hotelkategorie erwarten würde.||⸻||Lage||Die unmittelbare Nähe zum Gleinkersee ist ein großes Plus. Die Umgebung ist idyllisch, ruhig und bietet hervorragende Möglichkeiten zur Erholung und zum Naturerlebnis.||⸻||Service & Gastronomie||Der Service war bemüht, aber deutlich überlastet. Die gleiche Bedienung hat mich innerhalb 5 Minuten mehrmals begrüßt, nur eine Floskel oder Nettigkeit? Lange Wartezeiten – oft 15 Minuten oder mehr, bis zur ersten Bedienung – waren leider die Regel. Das Personal wirkte unterbesetzt, was auch offen vom dem Angestellten kommuniziert wurde. Auf die höfliche Bitte um einen Platz (weil uns unserer Tisch zu eng war) in einem anderen Restaurantbereich wurde mit Verweis auf eine angebliche “Erwachsenenregelung” abgelehnt, obwohl dort zu diesem Zeitpunkt ebenfalls Familien mit kleinen Kindern saßen. Eine inkonsequente Kommunikation, die für Gäste nicht nachvollziehbar ist.||Getränke, Suppen, Vorspeisen und einige Desserts müssen selbst geholt werden – bei einem Preisniveau dieser Klasse unüblich. Manche vegetarischen Speisen waren qualitativ enttäuschend andere Hauptspeisen hingegen Top. Die glutenfreien Produkte beim Frühstück waren großteils abgelaufen. Besonders negativ fiel ein Frühstücksglas mit schimmeligem Joghurt oder die Insekten im Orangensaft auf – der Hinweis darauf wurde an der Rezeption lediglich mit einem knappen „Okay“ quittiert. Keine Entschuldigung, keine Reaktion. Auch das ist nicht akzeptabel.||⸻||Spa & Hotelstruktur||Der neue “Nature Spa” (Adults Only) war hervorragend – stilvoll, ruhig, modern. Der ältere Spa-Bereich hingegen wirkt deutlich in die Jahre gekommen und weniger exklusiv. An drei Tagen sah ich mehrfach Pflaster im Wasser treiben, ohne dass tagsüber Reinigungspersonal anwesend war.||Die Hotelstruktur mit mehreren Gebäuden ist etwas unübersichtlich, hat für viele aber sicher auch “Charme.” Trotz Beschilderung gestaltet sich die Orientierung mühsam, insbesondere durch häufige Stockwerkswechsel zwischen Restaurant, Spa, Rezeption, etc.||⸻||Familienfreundlichkeit||Das Angebot für Kinder ist ausgesprochen vielseitig: Kinderbetreuung, Indoor- und Outdoor-Spielbereiche, eine Elternküche, Bastelmaterial im Restaurant, Streichelzoo und mehr. In diesem Punkt lässt das Hotel keine Wünsche offen – hier wird wirklich mitgedacht.||⸻||Fazit||Das Hotel bietet eine schöne Umgebung, beeindruckende Zimmer und ein hervorragendes Kinderangebot. Doch auf dem geforderten Preisniveau sind die zahlreichen Servicefehler, organisatorischen Schwächen und Qualitätsmängel schlicht nicht akzeptabel. Einzelne Punkte wären verzeihlich, doch in der Summe wird das hohe Versprechen leider nicht erfüllt. Für einen Aufenthalt in dieser Preisklasse erwarte ich einen anderen Standard – sowohl im Service als auch in der Reaktionsfähigkeit auf...