Sporthotel Kalcherhof — Restaurant in Wipptal - Alta Vall'Isarco

We stayed here in a family room at the end of May 2018. Situated directly on the roadside on the Jaufen Pass route between Brenner/Sterzing and Meran/St. Leonhard in Passeier. (be particularly careful with small kids while arriving and departing) Typical mountain hotel with partially new and modern style facilities, and partially old and worn-out rooms/fixtures/fittings. I found the pool/sauna/horse riding/tennis court offering quite good, for such an average hotel. Great views across the valley to the mountain panorama from the restaurant and rooms on the valley side. We were on the road side of the house where the view was not so good. OK breakfast buffet and good 5 course evening meal included in the half board rate. Free towels at the pool and sauna. So far, everything relatively average. However, the friendliness, cleanliness and general upkeep are definitely below average. We've visited hotels a guesthouses in Austria and Italy for over 20 years, and the low level of enthusiasm, professionalism, and appreciation of the guest here really stands out. And I'm talking about the family who own and run the place. The hired staff we interacted with (mostly from eastern Europe) ranged from disinterested to doing their best but amateurish. Would it hurt to smile once and a while? Poor cleanliness of the rooms and corridors really jumped out at us. Carpets not vacuumed, bits of food, dirt and other refuse from previous guests on the floor, light switches with the same stains after 4 days, moulding fruit in fruit bowls...... The chambermaid didn't replace the used drinking glasses and ashtray from the room. We never got the second room key we ask for on the first day and it took 3 days for them to come and fix the broken window shutters (which looked like they were out of order for quite a while already). The shower door was also missing, and the bathroom door handle was broken. At the breakfast buffet, both food and things like plates, bowls, teapots were often not replenished. It can't be so hard to get these simple things right. And if gotten right, this place could be a really great...

Just got back from 7 days vacation in South Tyrol and we stayed at the Sporthotel.||We were in a group of 8 traveling from Switzerland after hearing about this part of Italy which is amazing place to be.||The hotel has a full program for the week, that includes hiking trips, wine tasting, disco night and other activities.||There were literally a cancelation everyday of at least one event and sometimes two which makes of a terrible vacation.||One day we were having breakfast and we were approached by the owner who asked about our stay so far, when one of our ladies start sharing with him about our experience in a very nice and respectable manner, he got very angry and became very defensive....completely embarrassing the guest and making a fool of himself.||One evening, we were coming back from a night out to town and we saw the owner talking to one his employees in a very demeaning manner, she was almost crying.||One of his waitress in the dining room who was amazing and probably the best thing about the hotel, after we got to know her she starts sharing about how she has not taking one day off in more than three weeks.||I will for sure go back to the general area but never again...

The hotel has many facilities (indoor and outdoor pool, sauna, turkish bath, tennis courts...), but none of them is particularly good. The "spa" is very basic, with no relax area (just a few plastic beach chairs) and no atmosphere at all. The swimming pool would be nice, with very warm water, but it was small and packed with noisy children all the time. The rooms in the dependance are super-small (and I mean REALLY small!) and VERY old, carpets are torn and dirty, and the corridor and stairs smell of smoke (I suspect it's hotel employees leaving downstairs and smoking in their rooms...). And: it's true that the dependance is just 10 meters from the main hotel building, but you have to cross a (relatively) busy street in your bathrobe and slippers to get to the sauna (no changing room there: big problem if it's cold or rainy!)... And no zebra crossing nor lighting at night, so you have to be very careful! Food was average (good antipasti buffet on Saturday though!), water too expensive (4 euro for a bottle!). All in all: if you are looking for a basic and relatively cheap place to stay in the area, it's fine, but stay in the main building and don't...