Hotel Bergkristall

A real 4s star hotel,

“It’s just the way it is”

The response given by Patriarch of the Wrann family and hotel owner when asked how they could advertise a fitness suite as a 4*S hotel when it is completely unusable to anyone above 150cm tall. A response which sums this hotel perfectly.

First to the wider review, after all, this shouldn’t be some skewed review hell bent on highlighting a single issue. To the positives:

Location - like all hotels in Ober Lech it is well situated. Having stayed at the Burg and the Montana I’d suggest whilst not ‘on the piste’ it is arguably better in location with very impressive views from the upper floors. Access via the tunnels could be improved but all in all great location and access.

Rooms - the first redflag, we had a room on the upper floors (hence the great view) however it’s clear the upper floors has not benefitted from any form of refurbishment unlike lower floors. The room was extremely dated, lighting was extraordinary - a cross between council-run car park and an operating Theatre. Chipped sink in the bathroom and a water temperate in the shower which fluctuated between tepid and scalding was only offset by an extremely comfortable bed.

Hotel - Bling, everything is grey, a darker or lighter shade of grey, mirrors and sparkly diamanté things. Fake plants on dinner tables and more tea light holders than you can shake a stick at adorn every surface. The bar area is pretty cool, a lovely walk through wine display and largely comfortable furniture.

Food - As half board guests and nearly 20 year veterans of half board in this part of Austria we have always been stunned by the quality of food in different hotels. Sadly the Berg Kristall seemed confused. Breakfast was perfectly reasonably however queueing up for eggs or pancakes is unusual for a 4*S hotel. The juice machine is a good touch but is not ‘staff’ operated so went wrong as guests failed to use it correctly. The evening meal is where things went awry, for the four evenings we ate there the menu bounced around all parts of the world. Now, if this was part of a single themed evening then that would be super however the world tour happened nightly - Tacos alongside Sushi rolls and Cheesecake. This ‘buffet’ sat alongside a set menu which seemed to be on perpetual repeat - ‘wok vegetables with basmati rice’ appeared twice in four days. TIP - ask your waiter for the ‘secret Schnitzel’

Facilities - Another mixed bag. On the positive the spa area is super. Well appointed, a good size and has most of the facilities you would hope for - however, the Spa is split between two buildings and a 70m walk across several flights of stairs. The issue this causes is the lack of a plunge pool/jacuzzi near to the Sauna’s. This means to ‘cool’ from the Sauna, one needs to step outside and sit half naked on the balcony. On calm weather days this is ok but we can imagine pretty horrid during a storm.
Disclaimer - This next bit probably doesn’t apply to 90% of visitors, that said I’m training for a marathon and therefore needed the ability to put some miles in on a treadmill. If I hadn’t experienced this myself I might not have believed this was happening.

On arrival we were shown around the ground floor of the hotel by the receptionist. The ‘first’ fitness suite was shown and could only be described as an ante-room or wide corridor where a lonely treadmill was placed. This corridor had low head height and when I tried to use it there was an almighty thump as my head hit the ceiling, unless you are very short or a child you cannot possibly use this machine without clattering your head on the ceiling. Onwards we go to the ‘second’ fitness suite. Here we had a dedicated room about the size of a small en-suite in a residential home. Ceiling height still very low and so using the ‘stepper’ resulted into yet more head banging. The middle machine was a cycling machine which was useable - just. The third piece of equipment was a rowing machine that only just fit into the width of the room, end result being should you attempt to row your back (and the already damaged head) would hit the wall behind. Basically, aside from the cycle machine nothing useable. You have the question what the point of having this equipment is. It’s almost like it’s a box ticking exercise to gain that 4*S rating. I suppose on the whole this box has been ticked albeit by a toddler using a crayon.

Which brings us back to the Wrann family’s response. When I asked at reception for an alternative (perhaps another hotel gym to use etc) the response was a straight forward no with the inference that I should be thankful for what had been provided.

To summarise: could be worse, equally could be a lot better. Tweak the quality of lighting and decor in the rooms, pair back the menu and focus on fewer dishes finished to a higher quality, a plunge pool in the actual Spa. Oh, and a working fitness area - then you would have a truly brilliant hotel in Ober Lech.

Extremely highly recommended. This was my second stay at the Hotel Bergkristall and would be my top choice when I next return to Lech

Wonderful as always.

Service und Lage perfekt. Die Küche, gerade im Bezug auf das herrichten der Speisen, hat noch gut Luft nach oben. Speisen mit Meeresfrüchten waren schlecht. Rest der Zubereitung war OK. Das Bad war gut, das Zimmer leider in die Jahre gekommen.

Grundsätzlich hat sich ja nicht viel verändert.. alles freundlich und nett

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Ein wunderschöner Aufenthalt bei Ihnen

Wunderbare Tage - wie immer - !! Danke an Familie Wrann und Team

Gut angenehm schone Ski gebit