This hotel is advertising with 4 stars but this might simply mean it can put a check behind the basic necessities to get to 4 stars but without looking at the actual quality of the facilities.

Here follows a short description of our impressions (from a young family):

When you arrive the hotel likes fine with its bright yellow facade, but when you come closer you get a bit of a feeling that is is not that well maintained. The hotel is located along some very narrow streets and directly borders on the premises of another large hotel. There is parking available directly in front of the hotel for about 10 cars (most of which underneath a roof). Just outside the premises, along a narrow (but calm) road are several parking spots available.

The swimming pool is direclty next to the main entrance in the front of the building. The pool is very, VERY small. When we were there the water temperature must have been well over 30 degrees celcius, which meant that you weren't really cooling down from taking a swim in the small pool. (the hotel actually advertises that the pool is always kept at 29 degrees, but with outside temperatures above 30 degrees the water becomes too warm). There also seems to be insufficient water overflowing so that the surface of the water isn't cleaned well enough, hence a large number of dead insects and a glow of suncream on the surface. The water looks murky. There are two shower cabins but they look very unhygienic. The doors are partly rotted away. The whirlpool (of which we saw a nice picture in their brocure) looks rather doubtfull. At the edge there are some pipes/tubes that turned black from fungus. In case you have children you hardly dare to have them play in/near the pool as typically some older visitors were sleeping there and you get the feeling that the hotel is mainly aimed at 60+ visitors. If you see the different pictures available on several websites the pool looks rather large, but count the number of chairs next to the pool and compare it to the fact that it is a 42 room hotel. Get my point? Towels are available at the reception and after your swimm you are expected to take them back to your room.

It is also surprising that this hotel has no airconditioning. Don't be fooled by comments that you will get a room on the mountain side. It can get very hot in Merano also on the mountain side!

In all fairness the food was OK and dinner included 6 (small) courses while you can choose either fish or meat for your main course. Next to the plates that were served there was a buffet with several salads etc. We did notice that the people serving are sometimes making comments like, "you don't want to eat your vitamines" or "you didn't like it" etc. which we couldn't appreciate. The dining room, with its salmon colors, looks like a dining room that was fashionable in the 80s.

The room we had was one filled with old furniture. We had 3 chairs, a table, a desk, a double bed, two bed tables and a sofa/bed in a fairly small room that is offered for 2 to 4 people. We had the feeling we were staying with someone's grandmother. The alarmclock at the side of bed (big Grundig with huge numbers and build in radio must date back to the 70s). I give this example so you get a feel for what you should expect.

Please note: Besides the small pool there is literally nothing to do for children on the premises on anywhere near the hotel. The hotel is located around 20 minutes walk from the centre of Merano (and not 10 as advertised).

Conclusion: Don't count on high quality facilities or service. Definately avoid when you are traveling with children. More suitable for older visitors that might not be using the pool and that use the hotel as a base to visit the Merano area, but for these requirements the hotel can be considered expensive! Therefore: AVOID!