hotel harfenwirt

looking at booking in niederau for next week and hotel harfenwirt is one option.Only thing putting me off is a few reports on trip advisor!!anyone advise me or recommend other hotels.cheers dave

goppy wrote:looking at booking in niederau for next week and hotel harfenwirt is one option.Only thing putting me off is a few reports on trip advisor!!anyone advise me or recommend other hotels.cheers dave

It is a useful tool is trip advisor, how many bad reports does Niederau have ?

never checked that mate!lots of good reports on here so just going with those!!!

Ian Wickham wrote:

goppy wrote:looking at booking in niederau for next week and hotel harfenwirt is one option.Only thing putting me off is a few reports on trip advisor!!anyone advise me or recommend other hotels.cheers dave

It is a useful tool is trip advisor, how many bad reports does Niederau have ?

they were't left by a sock puppet were they? with recomendations to visit some place in the Ziller valley :lol:

to be honest my dilemma is do i book in the harfenwirt and save £80 or go for the hotel austria or the sonnschein! tight northerner lol

I had heard that Herbert and his Harp is a feature of the Hotel Harfenwirt that should not be missed! We did not stay there but in the old Hotel Vicky taking our meals in the Hotel Schneeberger. Some unusual menus at times but the food generally ok. With the deals for the Harfenwirt you are sometimes placed in a nearby Guest House with meals taken in the Hotel.

Are you first time skiers? If so Neiderau is a good choice. Dave Mac, a Jet2 Neiderau fan will be there next week if my memory serves me right.

Hi Goppy stayed at the Harfenwirt last year on a late deal ( say stayed in but were in one of the nearby guesthouses which suited us fine). Found everything about it great, there were 11 of us, extended family ages 4 thru to early 60's couldn't fault the place. Like you i read up on trip advisor and had some doubts but Herbert was great always took time to ask how everyone was etc. True you get sat with others but got to know a few other people at the hotel and everyone was having a great time. Fab new pool area there too, small changing area if you don't have a room in the hotel itself but otherwise great for relaxing in. Herberts wife Gill who's English runs the Sonnschein, went there for a drink a couple of nights and made welcome, is a newer hotel but not having stayed there can't comment on it's food/pool etc. Either way think you'll have a great time and do try to catch Herbert and his harp playing one night. Skiing area can be limited but bus can be got to 2 other ski areas as well but Niederau though small is very friendly and has a great small town vibe. Hope this helps a bit in any decision making!

PM me if you want any more details but if you're thinking of booking thru Inghams who I know have deals on to both at the mo then assuming they've kept the same reps then they were fantastic as well!

We stayed in the Harfenwirt last year, booked through Inghams. Agree with Jenno - Inghams rep was very good. Now, about the hotel. We were put in the guesthouse (this wasn't made clear by Inghams at the time of booking). If you are in the guesthouse, you have to walk to the main hotel for all meals. Although not far (couple of minutes' walk), I found this irritating. You have to make sure you have everything that you'll need during the day with you when you go to breakfast, or waste time going back for it. The room quality in the guesthouse was basic, to say the least. It was generally clean, but the bathroom could have benefited from being updated - grotty tile grout - I know that's not really proper dirty, but doesn't look good. I just have very high standards of cleanliness! Let's say that the main hotel is 3-star standard, but the guesthouse is nearer 2-star. Halfway through the week we had a lucky break. While we were out, the plumbing in our bathroom went wrong and they were unable to fix it, so they moved us to the NEW WING of the main hotel. That room was fantastic! Really, really nice. So, if you are as fussy as me, try and get a room in the new wing. The Inghams rep gave me a little tip. When you are checking in at the beginning of your stay, make it clear to Herbert that you would like an upgraded room. The upgrade charge is paid directly to him, not to Inghams, so he gets the cash. If there are vacancies in the main hotel, he will oblige.
Herbert himself is fine if you take the trouble to talk to him. I thought the negative comments on tripadvisor were ill-judged. Yes, he is a bit disorganised, maybe a little eccentric, but the guy works his lederhosen off from dawn to dusk. I don't envy him dealing with customers.
Food was ok - there was plenty of it - 3-star standard, usual fare for Austrian hotel (soup, salad bar, main course, dessert). My husband struggled a bit as he's a vegetarian and they couldn't cope with that. One night they gave him things that looked like Findus vegetable burgers - unfortunately still a bit frozen in the middle! Having said that, if we queried anything, they were very quick to try to put things right.
In terms of location, the Harfenwirt is a good 10 minute walk from the main gondola and nursery slopes. At the end of the first day, we thought we were going to die from exhaustion walking back up the hill to the hotel! There is a boot room at the hotel, but most people left their gear in a room beside O'Malleys pub, which is beside the gondola station. There is a slope opposite the hotel, which our instructor took us to. It's unpisted apparently, and probably too easy for 99% of people on this forum, but we found it challenging enough! As I said, the ski schools meet in the village. There is a ski bus stop outside the hotel, which takes you to Auffach and Oberau - we didn't get that far.

The Hotel Austria is probably in the best location in the village, being directly opposite the gondola station. If we were returning to Niederau we'd probably try to go to the Austria. We had coffee in it one day and it seemed pleasant enough. Might I suggest that the price difference you mention might be due to being in the Harfenwirt guesthouse, not the main hotel, so if you paid for an upgrade it becomes a similar price?

I hope some of this is helpful. If you have any other questions, let me know.
Allie