Johannesbad Hotel Palace

This hotel is more like a club hotel or hostel. Very busy, very noisy and basic dining. As a result the standard of accommodation, facilities and service is basic. Not good value for money and similar to an average 2 Star hotel. Children everywhere even playing football in the corridor outside our room. Location is good for access to the town of Bad Hofgastein and skibus stops in front of the hotel.

Horrible experince, staff was rude and the food wasn’t fresh. The rooms were small and they stank. DONT GO THERE!!!! They kept saying rude things and we wanted to go into the pool and they kept denying without a reason. We wouldn’t recommend to anyone it’s a waste of money.

One of the best ski hotels I’ve stayed at. Staff were great, spa facilities very good, food exceeded expectations and the drinks package was good value for money. Live music provided a good way to finish the evening. The cakes in the afternoon were an added bonus and were delicious. The rooms are a little dated, but the beds were comfortable and the room was very clean. Fab to have ski hire on site with a very personable professional to serve you. Communication about the activities going on each day was great and I would highly recommend this hotel.

Not a 4 star hotel. 3 is more accurate. Rooms very basic and very dated. Bed was comfortable. Bathroom light took about 10 attempts to switch on every time I presume because of a loose connection and light over shower went off several times I presume because of condensation when showering. The noisiest hotel I have ever stayed in. No soundproofing between rooms. I could hear whenever someone went to the bathroom each night. Doors were paper thin. Huge traffic on corridors and stampeding children was very disruptive. Very poor sleep despite bed being comfy. Ski storage not secure but adequate. Staff were very nice (except one extremely rude older lady who seemed to be in charge of housekeeping). Food was adequate but not wonderful, breakfast was nice with perfectly fine selection. Would definitely not stay again. Poor sleep and did not look forward to returning each evening.

Acceptable ski hotel, decent food, good pool, but issues with some staff/policies and compromise on location, albeit think this is reflected in price. We had an issue with the format of the rooms we had been allocated. Rather than seek a solution the reception manager was intransigent and refused to do anything. Luckily Crystal rep was excellent and sorted it. Also the drinks package doesn’t really work. For €8 per guest per day you can drink unlimited wine beer with dinner. The problem is you can’t take your drinks to the bar to finish them in comfort. When one of our party tried to do that they were treated as if they were some kind of criminal. Possibly down to language barrier in part but was embarrassing for the guest. The hotel is 20 min walk to lift, but busses from outside are regular, but stop at 5pm. Apres in Bad Hofgastine is limited to a couple of bars near the lift, didn’t see any bars in town near hotel. This means hiring locker in shop near lift or carrying skis if you miss last bus. Bar in hotel is fine , but a bit dull. There’s not much happening nightlife wise in Bad Hofgastine at all really, if you want more action Bad Gastine is more lively. Food is buffet and wasn’t massive choice or variety for the size of hotel, but was very tasty and good quality. Rooms fine if a bit small. Hotel might have been a palace when it was built, but a bit tired now, but clean and functional. Pool and hot tub is decent though. Ski school takes place in Angertal which means you have to get to the bad hof lift, then further 20 min bus journey. Buses work well though and give easy access to the other slopes covered by area pass. In summary this hotel comes with a load of compromises, (especially location) but we were aware of them when we booked and I think they were reflected in the price. The main things such as food, comfort of hotel etc are fine.

Good things: 1.the hotel is clean and the bedrooms are comfortable 2.warm showers 3. Excellent location for daily bus to the gondola Things to improve: 1. Rules rules rules…the hotel make you sit at the same table every meal. We were placed in a dining room with no windows which was a tad miserable when other diners had lovely views of the mountains so my wife and I and two small children decided to sit in the main restaurant for breakfast the following morning. We didn’t realise the table was reserved for a Dutch family. When they came to sit down we apologised and said we would move. The Dutch family were not bothered at all. The waiter rushed in and started to tell me off “you must sit at the same table”. He was very rude to the point other guests said to me “that was uncalled for”. To be fair we were given a table in the main restaurant after this incident for other meals but were told strictly to not move again…not sure what punishment there would have been if we had. We didn’t dare find out 2. Rules again! Avoid the “beverage package”. On the first night you are offered this. All you can drink from the beer taps, wine taps and soft drinks coke etc during dinner in the restaurant. The catch is you are only allowed one type of beer (kaiser) which is v average. But that’s fine. (The wine is not great by the way but what can u expect in this deal). The problem is they give you a 200ml glass so you are forever going up to refill. There is so much waste as the tiny glass means you can’t pour a proper beer and everyone has foam. An Irish family near us tried to take a bigger glass from the bar and use it in the restaurant (I think they even bought a pint in the bar to do this). The bigger glass was confiscated by the waiting staff! Not conducive to a relaxing holiday! Makes you feel like they’re trying to rip u off. 3. The food is bang average and very salty. Also don’t wear nice clothes in there as they end up stinking of food! 4. There is A very limited supply of afternoon cake! No drinks served with the cake. All the cakes taste the same! V high in sugar and a bit tasteless imo 5. Hotel is not family friendly at all. When we went there were hardly any families. Only ＞55 year olds it seemed

We stayed here for a weeks ski holiday, picking this hotel as it appeared to be reasonably good value. Essentially, you do though tend to get what you pay for. We has a small double room on the second floor with a balcony. It is by modern standards very basic and not at all up to that of a 4 star hotel. A very basic double bed with one side right against the wall. There is no kettle or facility to make drinks in the room. On the opposite side of the corridor is a staff office. As such, the housekeeping staff are coming and going from early in the morning, chatting away in the corridor. Vacuum cleaners starting at about 8 am when breakfast goes on until 10. In short, not much consideration for guests that may not want to be up early to catch the first gondolas etc. In the landing area next to the lift, it smelt of cigarette smoke most of the time which isn’t pleasant. Dining is again a fairly basic affair being self service. Food is plentiful but bland , could be compared to school dinners . The pool area is nice, the whirlpool is colder than you would expect. Normal hot tub temperature’s are about 38, this was probably about 33-35 at a guess. Saunas are ok. Bar staff are efficient and friendly enough, as are reception. Shuttle buses which are included in your lift pass are efficient and the nearest stop is convenient,right next to the hotel. Great ski areas and mountain restaurants. In summary, I would return to Bad Hofgerstein ski area but would probably opt for a different hotel or chalet/apartment.

Stayed here during school holidays in February so as you can imagine the hotel was full and very busy. I didn't use any of the spa pool or wellness facilities as all the time we devoted to skiing so I won't comment on them. I'm not a fan of buffet food so I thought I would not like this aspect of the hotel. Unfortunately it was worse than I expected. The queues for the food and drinks made it feel like a dinner hall rather than a 4* hotel. Some of the combinations of foods were confusing. For example one evening for a main course there was a tasty meat dish in sauce but the only vegetables on offer (except potatoes) to compliment it was a half roasted tomato with cheese?? I would have expected some carrot batons or some fine green beans for example. There was a drinks package available where residents were invited to 'drink as much as they can.' This was actually said too us when we checked in!! Some of the guests took this literally and regularly came back to their tables with wine glasses so full they were almost spilling in their way back to the tables. Breakfast was a similar affair with queues at every station with always at least 4 persons waiting for a sole coffee machine. They did provide coffee butlers (jugs) but the coffee was not as hot or tasted as good. Two mornings scrambled eggs was emptied onto the warming trays icy cold and was particularly unpleasant. This must have been a mistake as it was not repeated again. The room was fine and always kept clean and tidy. Tea and coffee making would have been nice but not a deal breaker. The ski room was always busy during the start of the day to be expected and a couple of extra seats would have been nice. The heated boot rack only started working on the final day. Was it broken previously or has someone not bothered to check if it has been switched on our whatever?? What I found particularly unpleasant was the many places around the hotel which smelled either of smoke or stale smoke. The combination of a hotel offering 'wellness, health and spa' facilities and the smell of smoke doesn't go together. I'm not sure if there are smoking rooms or if it is the staff having sneaky cigarettes, it put me right off. As a country Austria needs to join with lots of other countries and segregate people who want to smoke away from people who do not wish to smell it. Hotels however can create their own rules and get ahead of the game which would also give them an advantage over their competition.

This is a very nice hotel , close to the gondola and just a 5 minutes walk to the city center. We had a spacious quiet room with a balcony with a comfortable bed and a large size bathroom. The food in the restaurant was excellent . Our waiters couldn't do more for us, special big thanks to L.Szabosh and R.Gregor! The spa facilities were also good, including thermal jacuzzi bath ;)