We made reservations at Innsbruck 'last minute'. Hotels in the downtown area are quite pricey…read more Hotel Bierwirt offered a more reasonable option and is located in walking distance of Schloss Ambras. (Bonus!)
The property includes three buildings. The main building houses reception and a restaurant on the ground floor. A breakfast buffet is served just off reception to the left. The restrooms, at the rare and to the left down a long corridor, are in very nice condition, but quite cold (I find this to be true in many pubic restrooms in Europe!) The patio in front of the main building was very nicely decorated for the holidays (we were there near Christmas) as was the interior of reception and the outside of the 2nd building, directly across the street. In warmer weather this appears, based on photos posted by the business here on Yelp, to be a nice outdoor area for dining.
Upon check-in we were directed to the third building on the property. Across the street and to the left of the 2nd building. The hostess/receptionist simply walked us to the door of reception and pointed to the building. This building was not decorated inside or out for the holidays and had a bit of a sober look on the outside. Again, from the photos posted by the business, it appears they are in the process of updating the property, so perhaps there is something planned for this 3rd building.
We are given two keys, one to the outside door, and one to the interior/room door. Upon entering the building it appeared to be more an apartment building than a hotel/guesthouse. From lots of travel experience, the hallways of hotels are often decorated in a cheery, comfortable, sometimes elegant, sometimes eclectic way. First impression of this hall was 'minimalistic'. The floors and staircase are a stone-like material, the hallway walls were beige (not 'cheery' or 'warm'), the doors into the rooms plain, flat surfaces without embellishment. However, it did appear to be clean which is a very important hotel quality. There is no elevator here so bags must be carried up the stairs. Our room was one floor up and since my knees were being agreeable this trip, it was no problem.
The entrance to the room was a small vestibule with three doors. On the right was the bathroom, straight ahead was a locked door which we guess is a second bedroom, and a bedroom was on the left. There is a large patio off the back of the room along with a wall of windows. The patio included a table, chair and lounge chair in a sunny yellow. The view is of a concrete wall, which we think may have been a highway, although we did not hear traffic. It's nice to have such a large outdoor area to relax.
These room doors do not lock behind you so remember to turn the key in the lock. We just left the key in the lock for 'safe keeping'. The room had a curtain that had come off it's track, and a reading light over the bed that was not working. We let reception know and the curtain was fixed by the time we returned to the room later in the day. Sadly, the reading light was not in service during our visit, so no reading before bed for me. I would have 'switched sides' but my hubby isn't that flexible when it comes to which side of the bed he sleeps on.
The mattress was comfortable and covered in a comforter covered in a sheet like duvet, one per person. (I have been traveling in Germany since the late 80's and it's always the same!) The television was an adequate size for the room. A large closet with hanging on one side and shelves on the other was provided and a desk surface with chair is located beneath the television with two plugs nicely placed for your computer or other electronic device. The walls were pine on the lower portion and white paint above. The furniture was also pine helping to create that 'lodge' effect.
The bathroom was quite large and looks to have been remodeled, removing a tub and installing a small shower stall. There were no 'hotel' amenities such as shampoo, etc provided. Liquid soap was in a dispenser by the sink. Let me say again, face clothes are never provided by hotels in Europe.
We had dinner in the hotel restaurant. I had salmon with spinach and potatoes. It was quite good, well cooked with a cream sauce. My fave had roast with gravy on the side, potatoes and creamed green beans.He seemed to enjoy his meal. Portions were substantial.
There is a small parking lot behind the main building, and a few spots were available in front of the building we stayed in as well as a couple dozen spots behind building #2. If you are traveling by train, a bus stop is just across the street from the hotel. It takes about 22 minutes by bus from Bahnhof Innsbruck and about 30 minutes or so from the hotel to the 'tourist' area downtown.
