The hotel is situated on the outskirts of St Gilgen, a lovely lakeside resort, it has wonderful views of the lake from the terrace/garden area. We had a room in the newest section of the hotel and in fact paid a bit extra for a junior suite. The room itself was clean, contemporary in design and very spacious. However, it lacked on having a small fridge/mini bar - not that I'd buy from a mini bar, but as we were on a walking holiday it would have been nice to store our water/drinks. There was also no tea and coffee facilities (travel kettles are essential). I'm aware this is as there are strict fire regulations re electrical equipment in timber buildings in Austria. In addition the shower was powerful and lovely to use except the shower screen did little to keep the water in.

Service in the hotel was very inconsistent, on arrival we were taken to our rooms and the facilities such as the pool were pointed out as being in the building over there, but we weren't really ever shown how to reach it from our room which was in the new annex. This meant we always had to go through the bar area to reach the pool, and it wasn't until our last day we discovered we could have reached it by an underground corridor. Furthermore when going to the dining room for the first time, we weren't welcomed by the staff, shown where our table was or giving any help in the whereabouts of the buffet (our table was not in view of this). Ordering drinks at the table was a bit of a hassle as the staff never came to us and asked if we'd like to have a drink, instead we'd have to try and grab a member of staff's attention, and this was at times difficult as some always appeared to be in a rush. It didn't seem customer focused. Having finished your meal you had to wait for a chitty to be brought to the table to be signed and this took considerable time on some occasions. These chitty's were totaled and you settled them at the end of the week. Sadly unlike other hotels the chitty's didn't demonstrate a running total, so you have to keep your wits about you in terms of what you're spending especially as the prices for drinks etc were high. The food itself was of high quality and very tasty with only an odd morsel or two which didn't appeal to the palate. Some of the waitress staff were lovely but the most friendly staff in the hotel were the cleaners.

There is a lakeside area, some 1/2 to 3/4 mile away from the hotel itself, it's decking and there are swimming pool steps off a jetty giving you access to the lake. Like many things the information re this wasn't obvious and we discovered its' detailed whereabouts having spoken to other guests. There is a boat house beside the jetty and you can use the rowing boat, though you're not told about this, again it was another thing discovered by talking to other guests!

In essence I felt that we weren't welcomed at the hotel as I'd have expected (no welcome drink), and this feeling was heightened when we saw German speaking guests arrive who were given a tour of the hotel, shown where things were and on occasions given a welcome drink. A coach party arrived and the hotel appeared to drop everything to cater for their needs and guests who had been sitting in the same table until the coach party arrived were moved and the coach party were treated with higher preference. This is galling when we are all paying guests!

Despite the negatives mentioned above I would stay at the Hollweger again due to it's location and the facilities available (once you discover them), it is a hotel in a beautiful area and is a great base for walking.

Although this hotel is in a fantastic location with a great view of the lake I was very disappointed with the standard of the hotel. Meals were ok. Actually they were more than ok on the whole. Service from the head waitress was very poor as she was always rushing around and I saw her being rude to more than one guest. The head waiter wasn't much bet.ter and be warned if you don't specify which wine you would like he always brings the most expensive. All of the other staff were really friendly and very polite. Pool was lovely and the sauna was nice if you don't mind old men dangling their bits in your direction. Exercise machines must have been bought in the seventies though and were dropping to bits. Bed was as hard as nails and we were only supplied with one small soap for a 7 night stay and the shower gel ran out after 4 nights. I suppose they would have supplied more if we asked but you shouldn't have to. The other problem with the room in particular was the lack of tea and coffee. We were forced to go to the hotel bar for that and at €3.30 for a cup of tea that soon adds to a large tab. The drinks in general were very expensive so we always went elsewhere. We have been to Austria 5 times now and for the price of the holiday this is the most disappointed we have been with a hotel. Hotels in Austria have been spot on in the past and it appeared that the recession might be hitting this hotel hard as certain things looked a bit tired. My top sheet on my bed had a penny sized hole in it just below the line of the pillow so the maid must have seen it. St. Gilgen is a lovely place but if you want 4 star be advised look elsewhere.

It is probably over ten years since I stayed here before in this delightful location above the village of Sankt Gilgen int he Austrian Salzkammergut. At that time I think it was relatively low season and though I had a good room with a wonderful view, I felt the hotel service was not at all geared up for individual guests. In those days it seemed to me to be essentally a package tour "Lakes and Mountains" hotel. I recall being singularly unimpressed by the service, the restaurant, and the wines. What a difference a decade and a recession makes!!! I stopped here for an overnight driving back from Lago di Como to Vienna. I simply got too tired to go the last three hours and with the Salzburg Festival started decided St Gilgen was my best hope. In fact I must have had the last room and it was not a nice room. Though the reception member of staff was welcoming and helpful and gave me a "special rate" of €88. Still an awful lot fo the quality of room. But hey ho for one night it is OK. A small window with a view over a tin roof and a car park with the supermarket in the distance- A tiny bathroom with no bath. Room smelled of stale cigarette smoke (a non smoking room!) and even though the standard rate is over €100 a night for B&B there is no air con. So on the face of it I decided I would stay just the one night and then get home. Overpriced, and under resourced? But I warmed to this hotel when I took dinner here. Although there were half board and package guests this time I did not feel I was being treated as second class. I was given a nice table on the terrace, with a wonderful view. I was offered the salad buffet which actually was very good and vastly better than most of the standard buffets offered in hotels like this which cater for the "all in" packages. I ordered just a Viertel of the open wine which turned out to be a very palatable Grüner Veltliner. I am not sure it was Weinviertel DAC but it was certainly a quality wine and not what I had remembered from so many years ago. Williams Schnaps with coffee (Koffeinfrei available) was a respectable quality. But what impressed me overall was the service. Breakfast slightly less impressive as when I arrived and was asked for my room the member of staff simply disappeared - I guess I was not on her list - and I was left standing for a few awkward seconds. Surely she could have shown me to a table before she rushed off to do her paperwork? But yes I was bone fide and I was admitted! There is no real table service except for coffee and one is not offered a top up. The coffee is just about OK. Eggs are simply on the buffet - where the best Austrian hotels tend to cook to order and this is claiming four stars after all - but the Scrambled egg was not bad. Although it is not cooked to order it is at least "batch cooked" so it does not sit there for three hours getting to resemble leather. There was some Austrian bacon. Wonderful cheeseboard - what a shame and sheer waste that is not marketed as part of the dinner menu. I would have gladly paid for that and ordered a glass of Zweigelt to go with it so would have made them money as well as giving me a treat. I think cheese plate was on the menu but this is not the same at all. So rare to find decent cheese in Austrian hotels - plenty in the supermarkets but it is not cheap. There is toasting bread but no toaster which again is somewhat odd for a hotel of this class. When I checked out I was given a little box of Mozartkugeln. A nice final touch from an attentive and well meaning staff. Some lovely service and a hotel which does try. A really good manager could easily turn this from 4 to 5 star. Offer the splendid cheese selection as a cheese course for international guests (Austrians - a bit like the English - tend not to eat cheese between their main course and their desert). Look at the tiny backside rooms and think about some air con or at least check for the smoking residue. Add a toaster and amend the eggs service at breakfast..and then they would have cracked it ..the finest hotel in the Salzkammergut - but in the end they make a jolly good job of their current status. If they are still a "package tour" hotel they must be right at the top of the league. And I do not want to be too critical because I want to go back!!! But i would not go back to the small rear room again. One could do better with Zimmerfrei in the village (just go from the vilage to the north and their are many private rooms of better quality than my room here was. But you will not get better service or a more delightful place to have dinner than on the terrace of this hotel. By the way they even clean and sweep the terrace for leaves and dust and the gardens are perectly maintained. One senses the owners have a real commitment to them. Well they might. there are Hollwegers not only in this hotel, but also in a proud and well maintained grave in the village. After Mozart's family connections with the village the family associated with this hotel are probably the next most important! It is great to see they have weathered the recession and the immense changes in the tourist trade in Austria. Having just driven up from Lake Como where at the start of August all is quiet and boats, bars and restaurants half empty the fact that Wolfgnagsee is so busy pays tribute indeed to the work of those who run hotels like this.

Checkin was fast and friendly. No need to ask for quiet room as entire area was very quiet....

Room I was given was a junior suite (?) with appr 25 m2 and view towards the lake. Nice and big room !

Free WIFI being stable having acceptable speed.

Breakfast and lunch was very good.

Very nice hotel if you would like to relax, eat good food and enjoy nice scenary.

If this is what you want, this hotel is highly recommendable.