First of all Mount Buller is a total rip off. If you want to spend money on a ski holiday - do it properly: go to Europe, New Zealand or Canada.

All hotels are overpriced with little or no value for money. Non of these could survive in an international skiresort. Pension Grimus still has a nice old world feel. But this place needs a renovation! The shower in our Suite did not work properly. The furniture is worn and the bathroom needed a proper clean and we spent 1200 $ for 2 nights on a week-end.

Breakfast will only start at 7.30 - when some of the ski races and courses start at 8.00 - so we could not even enjoy the nice breakfast. We know from friends that the other hotels & places do not offer better value for money. Sking is nice for a week-end if you want to experience skiing in Oz but the slopes will not satisfy good skiers for more than a day.

Mt Buller reflects the state of Australian Tourism in a lot of places - totally overpriced - little value for money. In combination with a strong Aussie Dollar that will send tourism into trouble.
I understand that they have a short season at Mt Buller and need to make the money within three months. But that does not mean they can not balance it with good value.

We stayed at Pension Grimus while in the snow last July and loved it! It was much cheaper than other hotels so we were expecting it to be bad, but it was great. The website did not advertise that there was a free hot breakfast, so to our delight we ate every morning! The breakfast was fantastic- you ordered what you wanted, rather than selecting scraps from a dish.

The hotel is very dated, but that is what they are going for, and it was so clean, so it worked. The room was fantastic, everything worked well, although the TV was tiny and we could barely see it from the bed, but that didn't bother us at all. The room had a spa which was great, and we were really close to the bar (also great!).

I wish I could personally thank the woman who assisted us from reception, as she was the nicest, friendliest, most helpful hotel receptionist I have ever come across. There was an older woman at reception too, who wasn't so nice but this young woman well and truly made up for it. She told us all we needed to know about snow passes etc, helped us with enquiries- no matter how silly and even rang us up to let us know we had slept through checkout!! and didn't charge us more. The hotel was a much greater experience thanks to her.

The local was fantastic- right near the lifts and snow school, and right ontop of a ski gear shop, which you got a discount at if you stayed in the hotel. The staff there seemed frustrated/angry/rushed (even though we were there pre-peak season) and there werent many people in the shop.

Definitely stay here, we were absolutely thrilled with the experience.

This is definitely the best location on Mt Buller. A few steps to the Ski School and Holden Chairlift. This hotel has the old world charm of an european ski lodge. We stayed in room 15 which had a seperate sleeping area for the kids. Basic furnishings etc, but very clean and everything we needed. The kids loved the computer room and TV Lounge. The spa and sauna area that you can pre-book was great too. The cooked breakfasts were really high quality and it was lovely eating overlooking Bourke Street. Note - it is very expensive to stay on the mountain with true ski in and out facilities, so dont compare prices and facilities to city hotels. We had the misfortune of having a sick child whilst we stayed and the staff were so helpful and caring. It was not bother to come and change bed linen twice during the night! The hotel even refunded us our unused ski hire as we decided to take out sick child home one day early. I can't recommend Pension Grimus enough. Well done and thanks!!

My husband and I stayed at the Pension Grimus last week – our first trip to the snowfields of Victoria. We stayed in Room 8 – with a spa and balcony. The room itself was large, with a king bed (made of 2 singles zipped together) , a trundle of 2 singles, a couch and dining table as well as bathroom and separate toilet.

The Grimus is an institution on Mt Buller and has been there since the 1970’s and is styled like an Austrian lodge; I believe the owners are from Austria originally. The feel and decor is reminiscent of this with character lighting, decor and restaurant. It has a homey lived in feel that is welcoming.

A previous reviewer mentioned that the room spa was difficult to get into – I would disagree. I am 5’2 think that it was perfectly fine. I would mention that as the hotel is spread across multiple levels it is not really suitable for the elderly or infirm – essentially neither is a ski resort.

There was also a Spa, Sauna & Plunge pool located on the first floor that was available to rent free of charge in ½ hour allotments. The spa is about 2 metres square with many mirrors and a very powerful set of jets. The sauna is a dry sauna and very relaxing. The plunge pool was cold, very cold.

Our Likes;
1. Heated floors
2. Large Spa in room
3. Room layout
4. Abundant doonas & pillows
5. Breakfast to order is part of the tariff
6. Complimentary use of washing facilities as well as Spa & Sauna
7.Free internet and lounge with Austar TV
8.15% discount on ski rentals

Our Dislikes;
1.Noisy bar fridge
2.Shower temperature and pressure varied a lot
3.TV was small and some channels disappeared
4.The fuses blew twice when a light bulb died
5.Housekeeping didn’t replace tea and milk on two occasions

The location was one of the best – about halfway up next to the Holden Express chairlift. The view was spectacular and the noise was minimal – the double glazing even kept out the snow machine noises. We paid about $480 a night and overall the hotel was quite nice. A few upgrades and maybe a microwave in the room or shared areas and I would give it 5 stars.