If you are going to be in the area, you simply must stay here at least for one night! All rooms and public areas are authentically decorated in an ironic luxurious but medieval style, making for a unique and not-to-be-missed experience! Since it was a slow weekend, we were upgraded to the Gerti von Hofannsthal suite (although we booked a double), with 2 truly beautiful bedrooms (with real, American-style king beds!), 2 sitting areas (with daybed and large LCD TV, wifi) and one modern bathroom with huge rain showerhead in shower big enough for 2. Unfortunately, clouds obscured what on other days are spectacular Alpine views. Staff spoke perfect English, were extremely friendly and helpful. Prielau is wonderfully romantic (perfect for anniversaries, weddings, etc)—you will feel like Lord and Lady Prielau for a night!

What does the Schloss Hotel Prielau in Zell am See need? Service.

We arrived a little late for our reserved stay at the Prielau. We had communicated by email with the staff a few weeks in advance, and booked the Gerti von Hoffmansthal Suite for three people.

We arrived just before 10 to find the hotel was wide open, but there was no staff on site! Speaking to other guests, we learned there was no staff around most of the day because Tuesday is the "manager's holiday." We looked at some of the open rooms, and a suite that took up the whole first floor (what would be called the second floor in North America). We did not think that would be what we had reserved—it could have accommodated at least 8 with no problem. But we did not find anything that matched our expectations. We had seen pictures of the Gerti suite online, and nothing we found matched that.

After looking around for any staff for nearly an hour, and unsuccessfully calling the emergency number left by the front door, I took keys from behind the desk (thank goodness they had old-fashioned keys, and not key cards that need to be programmed), and checked my family in myself.

The next morning, I found the manager. She told me she had upgraded my family to the Hugo von Hoffmansthal Suite, the big one on the first floor—because the one we had originally booked had been taken by someone else. But I had no way of knowing that. She had sent me an email early in the day, but as I was travelling, I had no way of getting it. And when I did see the email upon arriving in Zell am See, all it was, was a question: when would I arrive? Nothing about the upgrade or what we should do, or the fact that she would not be there when we arrived.

So we ended up in two connected rooms that were comfortable enough, but did not measure up to what we had wanted when we booked a castle hotel. In sum, we were quite disappointed, especially since we had really been looking forward to our stay in an authentic medieval castle.

A few nights later, we arrive in Tashe, near Zermatt, Switzerland, also around 10. Again, the manager had left for the night, which I understand. But she had left an envelope, addressed to us, with our keys and the room numbers! It is not rocket science, just common sense.

So why couldn't the manager at the Schloss Prielau use common sense? Maybe because they are not commoners—the property is now owned by the Porche family.

As for the hotel itself, it's very nice, with very nice grounds. However, it is far from the lake, and we never did find the private beach). It is definitely an old palace, with towers and wall three feet thick (so no wifi other than in the front lobby and the smoking lounge). But the breakfast was no better than others we had in Austria

My message to the Mayers , managers of the hotel, and the Porches, too: you're in the hotel business here, and that means service.

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My wife and I stayed here for three nights in July 2011. Driving up the lake passing the over developed tourism infrastructure of Zell am See, I was a little worried, but as soon as we reached Schloss Prielau, I was immensely relieved. The place is wonderful. The grounds are gorgeous, relaxing, and designed in such a way as to be able to shut out the modern world. There is a beautiful 15th century chapel on the grounds, and behind the house there are simple country roads. There is lovely lawn with a beautiful view. The Meyers do a great job of running the place, everyone is very helpful and nice. Mrs. Meyer's suggestions and advices were incredibly helpful, and really made our trip since we hadn't done too much research on what to do while in the area. Our room was huge and finished with beautiful antiques. The breakfast was great -- ask for an omelet. After a day of rainy hiking we also used the steambath and sauna facilities, which were top notch. We did not try the restaurant, unfortunately, because it was a bit too pricey for us. You may have heard that you need a car (Fodors said so), and while we had one, I we only used it during the day to go on excursions. At night, we walked into town -- 20 mins and beautiful. A taxi back was easy and only 8 euro. We went into town every night, for a drink and dinner (highly recommend Stienerwirt). All in all, we had a great time, as the area has a lot to do, but at Schloss Prielau we were also able to relax and feel very much at home. If you like historical accommodations and relaxed garden settings, you will LOVE it.

Our son and his wife chose Schloss for their Austrian wedding. It was superb in a wonderful setting. The Schloss is beautiful and traditionally Austrian. The interior is tasteful, conbining modern facilities with lovely antique furnishings. The setting is alongside the beautiful lake in the Austrian alps, close to Zel Am See, which is about a 20+ minute walk round the lake. This hotel is lovely for a relaxed holiday. For a wedding it is superb. Annette, the manager loves organising weddings, and she does it with complete sensitivity to what the couple want, while offering advise when needed. She has attention to detail and she thought of everything for the day. She arranged registrar, photographer, flowers, music for service, and afterwards, advised on hairdressers etc. Nothing was too much trouble. On the day she oversaw everything unobtrusively and yet she was there to ensure everything ran smoothly. The reception was equisite, the food being wonderful, as the restaurent is run by her husband who one of the top chefs in Austria recognised by Michelin. The wedding exceeded expectation. It was complete with snow and horse drawn carriage. For anyone thinking of a wedding here, we would truly recommend it. Cost is always important and the Schloss wedding really did provide value for money. We thank Annette, her husband and team very much for such a lovely and memorable occassion.