Alpenhotel Tyrol

The Alpenhotel Tyrol is at Golfplatzstraße 5, in Pertisau am Achensee, the hamlet of the municipality of Eben am Achensee stretched along the lakeshore. Booking places it in the upper part of the village, ten minutes on foot from the Achensee and five from the Karwendel cable car up to the Zwölferkopf, and writes that the cross-country trails pass beside the hotel. In house the property signs itself AHT, and on its own website it presents itself as a four-star adults-only hotel. The name written on the Booking page is much longer, "ALPENHOTEL TYROL - B&B - ADULTS ONLY - Alpines Lifestylehotel mit NaturSPA & Wellness", while on Expedia and on Hotels.com the entry carries the short name, Alpenhotel Tyrol, and the address Golfplatzstraße 5, Eben am Achensee, 6213. It is always the same house. It should not be confused with the catalogue entries Adler Inn Tyrol Mountain Resort, Design Hotel Tyrol in Parcines and Garni Villa Tyrol: it is not a duplicate.

Reserved for adults from the age of eighteen

Here the primary source speaks clearly. To the question of what age children may enter an adults-only hotel, the website's frequently asked questions answer that the house has chosen to be a hotel for adults alone and has specialised entirely in rest, that the AHT is designed for the young and for those who feel young, and that "Kinder dürfen ab 18 Jahren ins AHT". The home page repeats the formula, a four-star adults-only hotel in Pertisau am Achensee, and the very name on the Booking page declares it. Booking confirms in both readings, with and without a child in the search: children are not allowed, and cots and extra beds are not available at this property. One line from Booking is unusual and has to be reported because it may weigh on a booking: "Only guests aged between 18 and 70 can check in".

The saunas, which are the strong point

The property does not present itself as a wellness hotel, and on saunas it says it does things its own way. In its frequently asked questions it lists them like this: a sauna in a railway carriage, a Volbeat combination of infrared and sauna, a sauna in a container and a sauna in solid Swiss pine, and it writes that all of these are included and used at no extra cost. The page devoted to them tells where they come from: the Wagonsauna is a decommissioned carriage from the Achensee railway, turned into a sauna by the owner Roland; the Container-Sauna is made out of a shipping container and looks onto the garden; the Volbeat-Gondel-Sauna is a cable car with a built-in infrared panel, so sauna and infrared cabin together, with the sound system; the Zirben-Echtholz-Sauna is in solid Swiss pine. In the house there is a second infrared cabin, and outside an Infrarot-Outdoorbox open twenty-four hours. Booking speaks of eight different saunas. The average declared hours are from 15 to 21, they vary from sauna to sauna and are read at reception or next to the lift, and three saunas stay open twenty-four hours. Two HotPots and a barrel sauna in solid wood can be hired for the duration of the relaxation. On swimwear the property writes no rule: it asks only that guests bring their own bathing slippers, because as a sustainable hotel it has done away with disposable ones. In the wellness bag, included in the stay, there are the AHT sports bag, one bathrobe per person and the towels.

The water

There is a single pool and it is not heated: it is an outdoor bio naturpool, a combination of swimming pool and natural pond, with clear water and no chemical additions. The house gives it as refreshing in summer and, in winter, after the sauna, only for those who do not fear the cold. Next to it is the heated HotPot. Booking, in its highlighted services, puts the outdoor pool in both readings, together with the spa, the gym, the bar, breakfast, free wifi and free parking.

What there is to eat, and what there is not

Breakfast only, and the house says so openly: it does one thing and does it well. It declares over five hundred items at breakfast, many of them organic and regional, with alternatives for anyone avoiding lactose or gluten, asking that gluten-free be flagged by post before arrival. In the evening you go out to eat, or you use the kitchen for those who cook for themselves, on the second floor. Now and then the owner Roland arranges his own special evenings. The SB-Bar on the ground floor is open twenty-four hours, it is self-service and you can stay on to play cards or watch sport, and in the house there are vending machines.

Services and practical rules

Check-in is digital, one of the few, the house writes: you receive an email before arrival, you register online and the rest is ready at the self check-in at reception. Arrival is from 15, departure by 10.30 for those who book direct and by 10 for those who book on a third-party portal, while Booking gives arrival from 15 to 23.30 and departure between 8.30 and 10. Early arrival or late departure are paid for separately. Wifi is free, the rooms mostly have a mountain view and are reached by lift. The car park in front of the hotel is free and uncovered, and a few covered places are requested in advance with a surcharge. Bicycles are left outdoors under a canopy at the bikerail, to be locked by the guest, or in a cabin of the sports store, and e-bike batteries are charged only in the store, at a charge per recharge. Ski equipment has a room of its own with a boot dryer. For activity the house offers yoga programmes, outings at dawn, mountain bike rides and other guided activities, hires out longboards at a small charge and states that it is the only house on the Achensee with a twelve-metre climbing wall, called ArtRock, attached to the hotel. The golf course, the property writes, is in front of the door. There are no single rooms, but rooms can be booked for single use with a surcharge. There is no attended luggage store, because the house is almost entirely digital.

Dogs, many dogs

This is a house that dogs really do frequent, and anyone who does not love them should know it: Booking writes it among the important information, the hotel is dog-friendly and there are always dogs on site. The property lists the welcome biscuit, Tyrolean barf, the blanket, the dog towels, the bags, the toys and the e-bikes with a dog trailer, and declares a dog package for the whole stay. The rate depends on the category and the days: in the Urban-Soul double rooms you pay for the first three days and then the dog is a free guest, with a maximum of two dogs per room and the full rate for the second; in the suites dogs are accepted on request and with a daily rate. The house warns that this condition applies only to direct booking, because on a third-party portal the costs given there apply. Dogs may move around the house and come to breakfast too, if they stay quiet; in the wellness area no. Booking writes that pets are welcome, with a possible surcharge, and lists pet baskets and bowls.

Who it suits

Anyone who goes to the Achensee to be active, by bike, on foot, on the water or on the wall, sleeps in an informal house without children and is not looking for half board. It does not suit anyone who wants the large wellness centre with heated pools, nor anyone allergic to dogs or who would rather not meet them.