Sporthotel Austria

A superb traditional hotel in a peaceful setting just 10-15 mins walk from the centre of beautiful St Johann. We were very happy to be allocated a stunning top floor corner room, which was very spacious and had a huge balcony with spectacular views. The staff were incredibly friendly, helpful and attentive ..... a special shout out to the Manager/Receptionist (Sonja) and the brilliant Sanja and Monika in the restaurant, who all work tirelessly in the heat to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Overall, the food was outstanding for a standard half board basis; the chefs did an amazing job. Breakfast buffet was extensive, plentiful and continually replenished. At breakfast every day, you choose your dinner (choice of 3 main courses) for that night from a daily five course a la carte menu. Drinks are reasonably priced and added to your room bill every day so you can settle one bill at check out. Be aware that the hotel does charge for tap water with dinner, but it is freely available at breakfast and there is a refilling station at the pool. There is a weekly BBQ on a Thursday and on Wednesdays, the restaurant is closed allowing guests to eat out in town – where there are plenty of great restaurants. It should be noted however that if you are travelling with Inghams, you do not get a credit for this weekly missed dinner on a Wednesday. All other guests do but not those travelling with Inghams, which turned out to be a very strange and ambiguous arrangement. During the first week of our stay, the weather was extremely hot due to a massive heatwave all over central Europe. This is obviously no reflection on the hotel itself, but it did highlight a few issues that people should perhaps be aware of as this very hot weather could now become a regular occurrence in summer. There is no air-conditioning in the hotel at all ...... temperatures of 35 degrees are (or at least used to be) extreme and the hotels in the Tirol primarily service the ski season. However, you can imagine how uncomfortable it was at times, especially trying to sleep at night. We understand the practical and cost implications for installing air-con but ceiling fans would have at least been very welcome. We also felt that a fridge in the room would have been a huge advantage in the extreme heat. We only discovered at check-out that this could have in fact been requested. A limited number of portable fans are also available to borrow on request, but they were all taken. There is a refreshing pool downstairs, which is inside but leads out to a garden with sun lounders and parasols. The heat in the first week did limit activities somewhat but there are some fantastic walks nearby, the Gondola is withing easy reach on foot and excursions to Salzburg and Berchtesgaden are a must. Dinner is usually eaten in the garden when the weather is good, which was a relief as the dining room was stifling on the two occasions we had to eat there in the first week. It is more work for the staff, and it can be difficult to plan if the weather forecast is uncertain, but it is a beautiful setting and much cooler. There is no entertainment in the hotel and the bar area appeared to be completely closed during our stay – and although you can order drinks from the restaurant and sit in the lounge up until 11pm, we felt the hotel could do more to create a better evening atmosphere as not everyone wants to go out after dinner every night. The main door is locked at 10pm when staff leave but you have a key to get in through a side entrance after that. Housekeeping is daily except Monday and were brilliant overall but for some reason seemed very reluctant to top up coffee & milk daily (despite asking frequently) ..... great to have the kettle & cups in the room though for early morning. Hot & cold water in the shower/sink was very sporadic, presumably due to old plumbing. It became impossible to have a quick, consistent shower. Lots of airlocks and water pressure and temperature changed constantly with every shower, which was obviously quite uncomfortable. Hotel Wi-Fi was very poor and erratic. The main issue was that whilst moving around the hotel, it kept disconnecting you and you had to re-connect manually every time. I used all my data in a few days without realising initially as it seems you are only able to stay connected at certain locations within the hotel/room. The hotel is in a generally quiet area on a side road off the main road but despite this, there were a surprising number of extremely (and unnecessarily) fast and noisy vehicles accessing other properties...... obviously not the hotels’ fault but irritating, nonetheless. Other than these minor issues, we had a really pleasant stay in the stunning Tirol; the Sporthotel was spotless, welcoming, relaxed and we would not hesitate to recommend it. St Johann has an authentic feel, is a little hub for the area, a great base for exploring and less touristy than nearby Kitzbuhel. The free local train travel is fantastic and a great saving. However, the free local hiking busses are very infrequent coming back and to have only one gondola ride included for a 14-night stay (when you even get one for a 3-night stay) seems nonsensical and a bit stingy. The Inghams rep was friendly, helpful and informative but does not visit the hotel at all ...... they offer a WhatsApp service only, even for booking their excursions. This was fine for us (when we could connect to the Wi-Fi) but was a struggle for some guests we met who didn’t have the right technology and/or data package. Once connected and joined with the WhatsApp group, the rep checked in with us personally every few days and supplied daily updates and suggestions. We flew to Innsbruck on the dedicated Inghams charter from Birmingham. The transfer to St Johann was almost two and a half hours ..... a very scenic journey and you get to see a lot of other resorts, but very long. Opt for the Salzburg flight if you prefer a much shorter transfer. Inghams have strangely changed their branding from general Lakes & Mountains to “Walking” holidays. We don’t understand why and feel that it would have been better to retain the original, long-standing holiday type as it now confuses people and not everyone is there to walk every day. We even met some people travelling with TUI who were historical Inghams customers but thought that the change of branding suggested they had to join a programme of “compulsory” group walks. The 6-night half board arrangement is ambiguous, and it seems that all other guests (except those with Inghams) get a credit to compensate for this, even though there is a sign in reception stating that everyone receives it. Sonja in reception did her very best to clarify and resolve any confusion but we were very disappointed with Inghams’ response to a simple message requesting clarification .... and we’ll leave it there. Otherwise, a professional, well organised, old school tour operator who actually has a rep on the transfer!

A wonderful hotel close to village centre. Lovely comfortable bedroom. Very friendly staff. Meals are excellent with good choices for breakfast and dinne

Part of a coach tour. Very charming hotel. Bedroom clean, comfortable bed. Pillows poor. Very friendly staff. Lovely garden surrounded my majestic mountains. Good food breakfast and dinner. Barbeque last night was excellent, plus 2 male Austrian musicians, great entertainment. St Johann Town had lovely shops, bars and restaurants. We had beautiful weather. Easy 10 minute walk to town centre. Beautiful area.