The hotel has a great location and at least some historic charm - although it has been worked over quite extensively from its original early 20th century apppearance. I had a panorama room in the new section. The room was very spacious, clean, good shower, and certainly not shabby. Great view, relatively small balcony, but usable.
The spa is near the new section of the hotel, newly built, with whirl-pool, steam bath (small but usable), open area. There is a pool in the old section that I did not use.
The lobby area is small, the restaurant where you dine when you book half-pension is adequate, the food ok, but not outstanding, good wine. Breakfast at the same place, much better. Best food on offer is the signature Panhans-cake.
All in all an enjoyable and comfortable (and, in the summer, refreshingly cool) getaway from Vienna - if a little expensive.

Impression before arrival: fairly good web site and appealing pictures : )

Impression at arrival: great location, looks nice from outside but things changed as soon as we got in : (

Reception service: very poor, tired (or maybe non-motivated) staff and took ages to check-in : (

Lobby/public areas: old looking but definitely not "vintage", smoke all around the place, kind of a state owned hotel of the former Soviet Union

Rooms: large but averagely decorated for a 4 stars

Spa, pool, sauna ...: maybe acceptable to hang out naked in the sauna (provided that you have a towel under you) but certainly not in the whirlpool or elsewhere ! Pool is small and you have to go through long and cold underground corridors before you get to it (no lift !). Spa treatments more expensive than in a 5* "Leading Hotel of the World" in neighboring Switzerland ...

Food: breakfast is ok but avoid dining unless you're desperate

Check out: agree with the other comment on trying to charge extra stuff !

Best of: the 2 cts made-in-china sleepers are also charged (per persons) !

Overall: not worth it, definitly not family friendly but dogs are welcome (all around the place), no value for money

Recommendation: pick a local pension for a real taste of Austrian hospitality

The hotel is old and has a lot of history, it's very charming and I found the staff extremely helpful. The room I stayed in(Panoramic) was very spacious with superb views over the valley. There's an excellent spa to relax in and a seperate swimming pool but I didn't try the pool.
The food was excellent, breakfast was a feast! A wide range of European food, a hot and cold buffet and eggs, etc to order. Dinner was a 4 course delight, I only stayed for 4 days but had superb dishes including a range of meat and fish. I don't speak Austrian/German and the staff were extremely helpful in translating and explaining the menus to me.
The wireless internet was not working properly when I was there but there was a free internet connection in the foyer for everyone to use.
To sum up; very old, very charming and very, very nice! So much so that I'm returning for New Year with my family.

The Panhans is one of those hotels in Austria that seems to be living in the last century. With the exception of an internet station that is free for guests, the decor is completely outdated and shabby. Rooms are stuffy and they are obviously designed as a ski resort, but seem not able to handle summer travelers.

The room was blistering hot because a heater was turned on maximum, and it was a rather difficult 30 minutes trying to find it which was in the bathroom under the sink, and then another few minutes to find the controls to turn it off. On top of that the only blanket available is a thick deep winter down comforter that insures sweating to death. The shower is unable to keep constant temperature so one has to constantly fiddle with the hot and cold controls. Water pressure is a mild tickle.

However the biggest complaints have to be about the reception staff that cannot seem to decide just how much to charge guests. When we went for check in we were informed that we were in the wrong hotel - perhaps we looked too young for the hotel - and that we belong in the nearby ITM. They have a half-pension plan which feeds you a barely edible breakfast and dinner which they try to force you to purchase. But then even when we opted for it, they attempted to charge us as if we ordered a la carte at check out. Also the reception tried to increase the room rate by 50 Euros a night despite the fact that it is quite easy to find the rate on the internet which is in the lobby.

The service in the restaurant is also abysmal and staid - waiters bring and remove food as if it is a chore. Everything is gaudy and the cuisine is heavy with cream and fat.