We have just returned today from a week at the Alpenblick. From the moment we arrived we were treated like old friends. The family that own the hotel and all the staff are so helpful and will go out of their way to ensure you have everything you need to make your stay enjoyable. The food was excellent with a good variety and always hot (which I find personally important) and far better than some 4* hotels we've stayed in. The games room saved us a fortune. We played pool, table football and table tennis every night and its all free! We did brave the outdoor swimming pool once or twice but it could do with being a little warmer. Overall we had a great holiday. Thanks as well to the crystal rep John for some great skiing tours.

right Where do i start with this place?? MMmmm just returned after a week in the hotel and i have to say it was not great!! The food was SLOP my dog would turn his nose up at it !! last night for instance we got 8 cubes of beef and a blob of very bad mash with a drop of gravy over it on a plate!!! and it was not better before that!!! The bar man Karl was a freck! my daughter was really frecked by him ! We would have Slop (Dinner) then go to the bar for a drink but got the impression the bar man just wanted us to go to bed by 10 as he was swinging his keys around and yawning very loud!! He thought he was very funny by staring at my 15 year old daughter and she didnt know how to handle this! .......The Family room was ok it was clean, but the bathroom was really small you had to back into it... My son broke the door in the room a bit of wood broke off it and the handy man came up to fix it took him 15 mins to do and they want 370 euro from us to cover the cost!! I think in any mans terms that is day light robbery! My advice is DON`T stay in this hotel i could go on and on and on but about it read all the reviews and try and put 2 and 2 together .......

We did have some difficulty finding the hotel -- our GPS went a little “lost” on us! We finally stopped at the local TI and they gave us excellent directions. Once we arrived, we were made very welcome. Before seeing our room, we were given a complete tour of the hotel and options (spa, gym, game room, etc.). (Unfortunately we were staying only 1 evening, so did not take advantage of the options -- and, of course, were not in the skiing season.) The rooms were comfy, clean, with very nice bath. There was an elevator, also parking at the front. To use the hotel’s computer, the charge was 1Euro. You can walk downtown. Although the walk back can be a little steep, the path is winding so not too much trouble. Dinner at the hotel is available (again, we did not take advantage of that); you can choose from a small menu of available dishes before dinner time. The breakfast room was lovely with a great view; breakfast buffet was good. We were made to feel very welcome and would love to return.

I have stayed in some good hotels. Some offer fine and refined service. Some are in glorious mansions stuffed with antiques and art. Some are just well designed, clean, really efficient - totally fit for purpose. I have liked them all. But Alpenblick would not sit in these sort of categories.

I have stayed in any number of dreadful hotels; far too grim to elucidate upon here. I have been sufficiently exposed to poor hotels to know what they look, feel and smell like. Be assured Alpenblick is no where near to any of these sort of places either. No no.

This coming ski season, 2011, we have booked our 5th visit to Alpenblick because it suits us well and i'll tell you why. I will tell you why it may also suit you and along the way, I hope, if it would not suit you too. Because it is the sort of place that swings along just fine with the funny-old mixed bunch it attracts, it is better those who are looking for something kowtowing, trussed-up, disinfected and sanitised push-off elsewhere. They can read this and move-on.

This hotel has been in family hands since long before 'you-know-who' was marching about in silly boots and acting very badly. If you take a good look at their website you will see a really good portrayal of what you can expect. The website looks like it was made in 1963, before BMW had a serious pin in the map and VW was nothing but air-cool stuff. It looks like the earliest website in the history of the internet!

Bad Gastein offer really good intermediary skiing and loads of it. The main ski area is a short bus-ride away, (ski buses go to and from Alpenblick's front door), but if you are organised (or have a wife) you and your pals/kids will be up, washed, fed and on the bus in good time. Indeed it is better than having 'ski to and from door' because you just 'do it' rather than have time 'pressure-off' and someone/everyone fiddles about so lunch ends-up only a couple of run away (I know I've been and done it). The day can evaporate.

Directly over the road from the Hotel though is a darn good ski area which is a 5/10 minute walk and ski back to the door. But that closes before the end of March and the snow 'to the door' often goes before then.

The ski area includes the quite high and big hill of Sportgastein which is a little of an effort to get to on a bus thing so maybe then do splash-out on a cab. We go one or twice a visit. It closes frequently with high wind etc but the conditions now and then are just ultra-great. Good enough grub, etc at the main place in the middle of things too.

The main ski area Stubnerkogel links to a second large area Angertal so you will find all sorts of conditions and runs to suit. I enjoy visiting JUNGERALMBAHN for lunch (this is my top-tip). I do all the ski hire and locker-room stuff at TOP-RENT Schober worth the extra as they are at the bottom station and good guys (the on-site boss is the owner).

The town is a hansom looking place since it has been a tourist destination for 200 years. Many of the buildings are empty by the waterfall because an investment bank has been at work building a portfolio of large buildings to develop when a new list is built going right into the middle of town (I have the inside story). Many Scandinavians visit Bad Gastein which enhances the local beauty quota - girls and (I am told) boys too.

OK so about Hotel Alpenblick. The bar is a little too small. The lounge is eclectic but lacks real comfort. The dinning-room is ample and has a great view. The sauna and steam-rooms are first rate. There are dance studios and all sorts more too; games rooms and a labyrinth in the ground-floor.

The small out-of-doors pool is enough to have a load of fun and a little swim in the thermally heated waters, whatever the weather (fantastic when it snows). There are other cures the likes of which I have not got my head around, crystals, taking the waters, hot stones, gongs, smelly-oil massage, all and sundry. Not my poison any of it. A large brandy sorts me.

The rooms are all good enough, some with outstanding views and balconies. None as well furnished as I would really like to see them but, exhausted, large brandy, good mattress equals Zzzzzz. No alpine painted bedsteads necessary.

The food I have always found to be good, not disappointing, and plentiful. We always book half board and have never regretted it. Breakfast is ample and I take a roll or two to avoid bothering with lunch often. One makes a selection from a little menu each day for the next evening meal.

There is good car parking. Ski storage is well provided for. There are good walks for the injured to enjoy, all about, and excellent spars. Station is a taxi ride. Town is a walk of 20 minutes for a drink, miss the bus, exercise. Not so good if worn-out with kids and skis as there is a long climb to the door dependent on the route taken.

The staff look after you and the rooms are always clean (I complained once, ultra whiffy bathroom, and they changed my room). I have taken groups of friends every year since our first visit and always feel assured they will enjoy the character and atmosphere offered (especially at the price one must remember).

They do not have Wi-Fi because the radiation spoil the ambient vibrations - now I think your are beginning to really understand!

I skied in various locations in Italy and many times in Zermatt. I have not marked Hotel Alpenblick as 'excellent' despite that I love my visits and intend to also join them for a summer trip soon. Hotel Alpenblick is 'very good' in my opinion - excellent would be reserved for another place that I am still seeking but am yet to find.