Hotel Matschner

We spent 5 nights in this very charming and friendly hotel. There was a beautiful weather and the accomodation was perfect. We rented two e-bikes KTM from the hotel and they were very polite to adjust the rear brake to use it more safety. We used every afternoon the wellness area of the Dachstein Bad which is directly contented with the hotel Matschner with a short underground tunnel. We had accomodation with halboard so we eat delicious dishes in all mornings and evening. There was a special services in all afternoons: the Cafe in the wintergarden. We hope to return to here again!

I made the mistake of booking our rooms directly with the hotel (I recommend to only book through *********** to avoid the fiasco caused by the hotel). First they booked the wrong dates (2 months too early), then they booked the wrong rooms, then they booked the wrong dates again. Each time I responded by email with the correct details of what we were trying to book. When we arrived, their system showed us booked for the following day! Of course, it was peak season and they were completely full. So we had to find a hotel in a nearby town to stay our first night. I requested from the 2 staff helping me that they make sure that our last night gets cancelled (since they had the whole booking off by a day), and could they talk to management to make sure we get reimbursed for it. Two days later, I mention to the staff that our last night still looks like it isn't cancelled. The staff member said she couldn't cancel it because "what if I change my mind". She instructed me to speak with the owner, but she couldn't tell me when the owner would be on staff. For two days I went to reception to ask to speak to the owner, and each time was told I had missed her. Eventually everything was fixed when speaking to the owner the day before our departure. We travelled from overseas to spend a week skiing in Austria, and chose this hotel because 5 years ago I had a lovely experience at the hotel. Due to Covid, we were not able to come a 2nd time in 2020 (having lost our full deposit). We finally were able to return this year. The breakfast buffet offerings were great, although lining up for 10 minutes for coffee was unreasonable. Eventually we figured out that you can request a carafe of coffee for you table. It would have been nice if the staff had mentioned and offered that. The cake offerings in the afternoon were also lovely. But we really missed the savory offerings of 5 years ago that included gulash, frankfurter, and other similar items. Something savory was offered with the cake, but usually it was just some pasta with a dash of very plain tomato sauce on it. Dinner, on the other hand, was a disappointment. It started with a soup and salad buffet. 2 of our 4 nights there was no soup left and it wasn’t replenished, even though we arrived between 7-7:30pm. Plus the soup offerings were so plain and meager. One was always just a plain broth where you could add a topping… yet never was leberknödel, or frittaten, or backerbsen offered, despite being in the Steiermark. Some well known and loved Austrian soups would have been a joy, but not what they offered here. 2 out of 4 nights we waited for 10-15 minutes for the salad bar to be replenished, to no avail (even though it was never past 7:30pm). We finally gave up and went without salad, as the items left over were clearly not favorites. Each night there were 3 main course options (one meat, one fish, one vegetarian). The fish or vegetarian option alternated between which one was 90% pasta. The main course always

Stayed for a week in mid March and can't fault anything really. Stayed in a Ramsau (south facing) room on third (top) floor and were very happy with it. Balcony caught the spring sun which was nice. Room was nice and clean with all we needed. Hot water to shower was consistent with no trouble. Wi-fi was also fine, with one small exception when signal cut out one evening - seemed to get sorted - perhaps just needed a reboot. The food was good with a buffet dinner on Saturdays and a small dinner menu to choose from on the other days - always with one vegetarian option if that's your thing. Breakfast was a large buffet with lot's of choice, also served was afternoon tea and cakes - this also included a savoury snack, sometimes hot. This meant the 3/4 board option could pretty much fulfil all your meal requirements. Nice restaurant area with fixed table places and a sunny terrace for afternoon tea. Pool/fitness/sauna area was a bonus, with full size pool for lane swimming and smaller play pools. Note - the sauna is 'the real deal', mixed and naked - could be worth researching etiquette if your home country is different. Walking in in your bathers raises a few eyebrows! The staff were all great. Reception answered lot's of queries for us on various winter activities and provided our langlauf passes/winter cards. We took a snowshoe week deal in March which provided great value, including all the meals mentioned, 3 days guided snowshoeing with equipment and a full body massage! We also did cross country skiing, with intersport over the road providing simple cheap equipment hire (pre-book online). The Dachstein glacier is well worth a day trip and be sure to rent a rodel to sledge back down from the cable car to hotel Matschner! Bus to Schladming for a days Alpine skiing/boarding as also very straight forwards. The weather was spring like in March and was worried the snow might be melting by then. I needn't have worried. Even in the warm weather the trail maintenance kept things in good condition - with the bonus of al fresco eating and drinking. Highly recommended.