Alpenhof Murnau

Service Quality: The staff is generally described as friendly, attentive, and professional. Many guests appreciated the courteous reception and helpfulness throughout their stay, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

First off, this hotel is quite beautifully located and the grounds/pool are beautiful and picturesque. If you are spoiled like I am, you may be turned off by the fact that there is NO AC at this hotel (or any of the hotels in the area?). We were there in July when it was quite hot, but luckily our stay coincided with some rain that cooled things down. Our first night, we slept with the door open (with locking screen door), and it ended up being the most relaxing sleep during our whole trip! The breeze was perfect, so I didn't even miss the AC. While there were quite a few flies, the room was very clean. Please know that there are some rooms that are very upgraded like in the photos, and there are some that are outdated (like the one our friends got stuck with). I feel the difference in these rooms can really drive the experience one way or another. Fortunately, we had one of the upgraded rooms that connected to another upgraded room for our whole family. The balconies were an added bonus especially on a nice night when the moon was full and perfect. The bathrooms were meh with very high bathtubs (not convenient for seniors or toddlers). The hotel felt very kid-friendly with lots of space to run around, cute dinosaur slippers for our toddler, slippers for our bigger kids, and a very helpful staff. Also, there is a huge kids' activity play room downstairs! Seems like it was tucked away as there was never anybody there. Kept our two year old busy for hours. It was hard to get him to leave. Breakfast was fine, but in a nice setting.

Alpenhof is a nice enough hotel, but so many little things were off, there’s no way it can compare to other five star hotels in the Alps. Starting with the arrival by car - greeted by a phalanx of no stopping signs in the entrance, best just to drive directly into the parking garage and unpack there. The how-fast-can-I-say-my-greeting speech introduction to the hotel from the lady checking us in. The varying levels of maintenance on the walls, furniture etc (brown stain in the porcelain sink, mirror damaged, screen door opens and slams shut in the wind, random little hook sticking out of the wall in the hallway, …) Being woken on Sunday around 830 to what sounded like construction but turned out to be the maids pushing their trolleys across tiles in the hallway. The outlandish prices in the restaurant for food that was ok but nothing else (fish overcooked, portion tiny) A breakfast buffet with “everything” but not at a quality I’d expect of 5*. Seemed more like what you’d get if you did your shopping at Aldi, bread and cheese included (meaning not bad, but also not special) The narrow hallway connecting the spa with the outside pool with showers you may or may not find, where you can dry off after your shower as people press by you. That said there were also little gems. Some of the staff was very friendly (especially at the restaurant for breakfast but also some front desk staff too)! The outdoor and indoor pool were both nice. Eating breakfast in the gardens was lovely. And to be fair, those other 5* places cost a bunch more. So I guess it’s a mix of broken expectations caused by the rating, some unfriendly staff at the front desk (though there were really friendly ones there too!) plus a lack of attention to detail that I’d expect from 4* too that made this a disappointment in general.