Hotel Astoria Bled

“Well run hotel overlooking Lake Bled”

Big well-run hotel, five minutes walk from beautiful Lake Bled. Lovely view from our 3rd floor room which was quiet, big and comfy. Nice friendly staff. We were on a group walking holiday. Breakfast and dinner were self-service buffet style, good choices of freshly cooked food. The only disappo... more

Big well-run hotel, five minutes walk from beautiful Lake Bled. Lovely view from our 3rd floor room which was quiet, big and comfy. Nice friendly staff. We were on a group walking holiday. Breakfast and dinner were self-service buffet style, good choices of freshly cooked food. The only disappointment was the bar - a very un-atmospheric big function room with no sofas or easy chairs, uninviting to sit in - a missed opportunity for the hotel to sell drinks and encourage socialising.

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“Great food”

Was not using rooms, just having lunch in hotel restaurant twice. Food was great, self service menu, two soups, appetizer, meat/fish as main, great desserts and ice cream. As I understood, hotel is run by Tourist school, students working and cooking. Great!

“So so”

We stayed here for 2 nights, the reason for 3/5 is that even though the hotel was half empty they put guests room next to each other. Soundproof is really bad. We could hear neighbours TV so even we were surronded by nature where it should be quiet I had to use earplugs so I dont hear noise from ... more

We stayed here for 2 nights, the reason for 3/5 is that even though the hotel was half empty they put guests room next to each other. Soundproof is really bad. We could hear neighbours TV so even we were surronded by nature where it should be quiet I had to use earplugs so I dont hear noise from TV. Bathroom is too small. Breakfast was good and spa center was amazing. For this amount of money we stayed in better acomodations.

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“Good but rather dated and austere”

It was unfortunate that we arrived here from 2 previous hotels in the 3* range which had better facilities. However, here's out take on the Astoria: We arrived for a 3-day B&B visit to Lake Bled and surrounding area. Our bus (from Ljubliana; under 1 hour and cheap) arrived at the nearby central s... more

It was unfortunate that we arrived here from 2 previous hotels in the 3* range which had better facilities. However, here's out take on the Astoria: We arrived for a 3-day B&B visit to Lake Bled and surrounding area. Our bus (from Ljubliana; under 1 hour and cheap) arrived at the nearby central stop and we walked up to the hotel in less than 5 minutes. We were too early to check in, but the most courteous receptionist/manager took in our bag, while we wandered off for a coffee and a look round. The building is a rather uninspiring 50's or 60's block that was once used by the military. The internal lobbies and stairways are rather "beige" and drab - but there again, who spends time in the corridors? The first floor, front-facing room was clean and presentable, with a small balcony overlooking first the roof of the dining room below, with only a partial view of the lake beyond, so we could sit out with a drink but the view wasn't great. There was no refrigerator or tea-making kit ( a must for older British travellers) which was disappointing. This was explained by the (admirable) green/low carbon policies of the hotel. We did our "bit" by not using the A/C. We were offered space in the kitchen fridge, but frankly, that would have felt like an intrusion and it was not a convenient solution. They also offered to provide a jug of hot water for tea if needed. Again that was not an ideal solution, so we drank water in the morning before breakfast and warm wine later in the day! The local water is not only safe to drink, but very fresh and healthy-tasting. The room itself was fine, if rather anonymous. There was a decent and comfortable double bed with plenty of pillows. The bathroom was on the small side; WC, wash-basin and a shower cubicle; fine for us as we're both quite small. I can't imagine a larger person enjoying the shower very much. Nice gel from a dispenser in the shower and by the basin. The set-your-own combination safe didn't work. The manager quickly attended to try and fix it, but could not, so gave us his master key - not quite as convenient as having a simple combination, but not a problem and he did what he could with courtesy and a smile. The breakfast was the usual European tourist buffet, including local Slovenia traditional food, plus full range of cooked food, pastries, cakes and particularly good selection of bread. On Sunday morning, breakfast was accompanied by a wonderful solo violinist, (in appearance straight out of a mid-European fairy tale, black suit, wild white hair and beard), playing popular tunes, classical and show music. The hotel offers various spa-type treatments, which we didn't use. Lake Bled is absolutely beautiful and this hotel was conveniently sited for access to the lake, (90 minutes to walk round) and local bars and restaurants. You don't need- or want to spend time in the hotel room when there is so much of beauty to look at, so the various points above did not detract from our stay; hugely enjoyable.

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