We visited Hotel Burg Bernstein more than once because it is a great place for relaxing - especially when you have to travel a lot for business and fed up with sleeping in the ordinary 4star-hotel rooms. So we enjoy this very special and authentic place.

The owners, Andrea & Alexander Berger-Almasy, are charming and hospitable. They made us feel welcome from the first moment till the last minute of our stay. All rooms have a wonderful atmosphere of history and quietness, each one has its very one character. The fabulous meals and fine wines are served in the candlelit drawing room, very romantic (even for a long-time couple as we are)!

The castle once was one of the most important and oldest fortifications in Burgenland. As hotel guests we were amazed and very impressed by the wonderful view over the rolling hills of southern Burgenland and Eastern Styria, the history and ambiance of the whole castle. It has been continuously in use by the same family for hundreds of years and is now a family run establishment (which helps pay for the family to continue to live there). It was turned into a hotel in the 1940’s – be sure to ask about the ghost who lives in the castle. The movie and book about the English Patient, Count Almasy, was based on the life of Count Almasy who grew up and lived at this castle, until he went to war (see the movie to find out how that turned out for him). The hotel is not cheap, but it is well worth it. Be sure to have a great meal in their amazing, romantic, candle lit dining room! We planned so we spent our anniversary here with our friends on a trip in July 2009. The owners, Andrea & Alexander Berger-Almasy are charming and hospitable and made us feel welcome from the moment of our arrival. They made us feel they went to extra effort and thoughtfulness for anniversary. The rooms drip with a tangible essence still from the lives of those who lived in the rooms.

The only complaint I have is that about 6 am there were women chatting away while they were pulling weeds from the flower bed under our room. Since we slept with our windows open, their incessant voices carried right into our room, making it impossible to sleep. In a way though they did us a favor since we ended up taking photos of the sunrise over the incredible valley. Staying here one can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have lived in that castle. Burg Bernstein is very special and we were very glad to have made the journey to stay there. We hope to come back again to enjoy the countryside, the family, and the overall hospitable and living historic atmosphere.

We visited Hotel Burg Bernstein for 4 days as a side trip to a business meeting to Frankfurt. The owners, Andrea & Alexander Berger-Almasy are charming and hospitable and made us feel welcome from the moment of our arrival, when we enjoyed a bottle of wine and wonderful assortment of "snacks" in the sunshine in the courtyard. The hotel is a 9th century castle, and has been in the family for centuries (including the original English Patient). It is a destination in and of itself, and the grounds are a fabulous place to enjoy the hilltop views and lovely gardens. It is a very casual yet elegant place, steeped in history, and our host and hostess pulled it all together with fabulous meals and local wines served in the candlelit drawing room. Burg Bernstein is very special and we feel very fortunate to have visited and enjoyed the countryside, the family, and the overall congenial atmosphere.

I booked a room with Alex Berger-Almásy in mid-April.
I had never been to Austria before and was finding it difficult to work out the best way to travel to the castle.
Politely, I asked for advice about transportation (buses/trains etc.) ...and after three email exchanges I received this response just a few weeks before our planned stay:

"dear annie
this is rediculous. this not a journey into africa!
I will not hold the room any longer.
please, find another hotel.
sorry"

There is no excuse for such behavior.