Faulenzerhotel

“Relaxing stay during school holidays”

Good things first: The hotel is situated not far from Vienna and within 1.5 hours you are in a quiet area surrounded by small villages and nature. You can't reach it by public transport but that's not what we expected. We stayed at the beginning of the semester break for schools and thought we mi... more

Good things first: The hotel is situated not far from Vienna and within 1.5 hours you are in a quiet area surrounded by small villages and nature. You can't reach it by public transport but that's not what we expected. We stayed at the beginning of the semester break for schools and thought we might have a lot if company but that was not the case, the hotel only had like 4 other couples and a political party seminar. There is an afternoon tea and snack buffet with a small choice of sweet and savoury food. They serve the local organic tea brand which is well known in Austria and of really good quality. We stayed two nights and booked with Hofer travel, which can be a disappointment (we had been to small dirty and old rooms with Hofer before) but this was not the case here. The double room was spacious, clean and fairly modern. It really depends if you favour the colour orange, but in general the room was cosy. For my taste the bed was perfectly soft, but for my partner it was too soft, of course that's a very subjective point of view :) The bathroom was modern and all features that are necessary if you want to travel light: no tub but a large shower, make up mirror, cosmetic tissues, soap dispensers and hair dryer. Towels were large enough for a tall person (also something that is not always the case) The room was pretty warm, but there was a large balcony and you could also only open the window if needed. For us, dinner was included, it was a 3 course dinner and sufficient for us. It was good, the meat quality seemed fine and also the side courses were done with care. The staff was very friendly and mostly attentive. Breakfast was served between 7 and 11h which is definitely ok for sleeping in. Black coffee was served quickly , we didn't request a cappuccino or any other sort of coffee but you probably can. The choice of food of the buffet was wider than we expected. The spa area is rather small, I expected a little more, as the claim of the hotel is to be the first layabout hotel. Being an accomplished layabout myself, I thought it might have more areas to relax and stuff to do, such as a larger pool or another sauna maybe with someone infusing the stones. It the area was clean, the pool area was mostly deserted and you also have the sauna to yourselves most of the time. We could also stay after our check out and the receptionist warmed up the sauna for us. The massages we booked were simultaneously which I have never had in another hotel and was on a Sunday morning. It was an hour long and way cheaper than what you usually get in Austria in a four star hotel. Now to the not sooo good parts: The croissants at the breakfast buffet were dry. The shower has no door so if you are a broad shouldered guy or dance in the shower you soak the whole bathroom. The bed was too soft for one if us. The spa area bed covers slide down the bed as soon as you try to lie down ;) The recreation room where you relax after the sauna was pretty small and not decorated at all, very contrary to the rest of the hotel. The restaurant area is a mixture of decades and the largest room doesn't rest fit to the rest of the hotel, which has a sweet combination of modern, old and elements of the area. However we really liked the "Stuben" parts of the restaurants, because we always feel at home in this kind of Austrian design. A surprise was when the local volunteer fire department had their ball at the hotel, with loud music and all, we did not hear a thing in our room which lay exactly about the main party area. Not even the base. But we could smell the cigarette smoke which seemed to creep through all the nooks and crannies in the hotel, because when we opened the window to try to fight off the smell, we realized that nothing came from outside. In general it was a pleasant stay, if you are looking for a quick getaway from Vienna, this is a close and cosy place for a weekend. Would come again.

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“A solid 4.5 stars; looking forward to coming again”

I stayed at the Faulenzer when some friends got married at Stift Zwettl and had a really nice time. *Location: Friedersbach is really hard to get to if you don't have your own car (the hotel will make arrangements for someone to take you to and from Zwettl in the Friedersbach town van, though)... more

I stayed at the Faulenzer when some friends got married at Stift Zwettl and had a really nice time. *Location: Friedersbach is really hard to get to if you don't have your own car (the hotel will make arrangements for someone to take you to and from Zwettl in the Friedersbach town van, though), but the location is pretty quiet and the garden at the hotel was really peaceful. I really enjoyed sitting in a hammock and reading. *Room: I was alone in a double room, 304. The room had the basics that I would expect from a four-star hotel (phone, flat-screen TV, etc.) and some nice touches (make-up mirror, a small patio with my own Strandkorb, robes laid out on the bed when I got there). However, there were some minor qualms. There were very few power outlets. My iPhone couldn't pick up a wi-fi signal within the room - I had to go down the hallway a bit to get a signal. There were some bleached out spots on the carpet and there was a bit of dust on the crown molding about 2 meters up. Other than that, the room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Breakfast: For the most part, the breakfast buffet was made up of cold food, with a few hot items (bacon, eggs, sausages). There was a pretty wide variety of food, but there were never any variations. The same two types of cheese and three types of sausage every morning. The same two types of jam. Etc. For a long weekend, it was fine, but if I were staying for a week, I would probably get sick of it. If you want to, you can have breakfast brought to your room up to about 4 p.m. but I didn't take advantage of that. Snack ("Jause"): I wasn't expecting much for the afternoon snack. I have never been to a hotel with such a wonderful afternoon snack. During my stay, the Jause was apricot spice cake, a cheese board, pork stuffed with spinach, and an herb dip. Delicious. Dinner: I ate dinner in the hotel once, too. It was good. Stick-to-your-ribs traditional cooking. Staff: I can't say enough good things about the staff. They were friendly and attentive. For example, one morning at breakfast, I was asked if I wanted tea or coffee. I was brought my own insulated jug of coffee and the next morning, I was greeted with "good morning" and a few minutes later, a jug of coffee was on my table. The details: The hotel has a small DVD lending library, hiking maps, bikes to rent, stuff like that. I walked past a billiards room and read that there is an indoor pool and sauna, but I didn't use it. Even though the Waldviertel is famous for its outdoorsy stuff, if it rains, you can still have a nice time. I would gladly return for a quiet weekend away with friends or my GerMan. I left feeling extremely relaxed. Next time, I will rent a car, though.

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