TMausH
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We ate there last year to see the hotel and try the food after being recommended this by some friends. We booked our stay this year for a pre-Christmas ski holiday and were not disappointed. ||||Service: Service overall was excellent. The staff were attentive and well trained and of a high standard knowing service orders for pouring drinks and serving. We had 3 children (age 7 & 8) in our group and they were well catered to with the staff addressing them directly to order their meals and helping with their needs making them feel like little adults. We were pleased with the welcome each day from the owners, the familiar faces for the meals and just the overall pride the team took in their work. Meals were well organised, rooms were neat and tidy with special request being accommodated. This is a very tightly run 4 star establishment – impressive and enjoyable!||||Room: We had 3 rooms to our group, two were the renovated Schneeflocke Panorama rooms and one was an older Schneekristall room with a sofa bed option. The renovated rooms are nice and well maintained, nice bathrooms, a chaise lounge to relax in and a balcony overlooking the front of the hotel. The amenities included shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and shower caps (something which some 5 star hotels omitting these days!). The sheets were of brushed cotton (not exactly our preference but still very comfortable), pillows were fluffy and duvets were warm. The Schneeflocke Panorama rooms were a standard hotel room size at 30sq mtrs and had enough storage and hooks for all of our clothing and ski gear. The older Schneekristall room was unremarkable and a bit dated, but still well maintained and functional. It faced the back of the hotel which made it dark but it was exceptionally spacious and very comfortable with children as it had a separate water closet from the main bathroom. Whist this room was not renovated, all was worked well and the only thing we would have asked for was a bit more shelf space to lay out clothing. We had 3 people (2 of which were kids) in the room so shelf space was important. But otherwise, the room was fine. We had one problem towards the end of the say when the hot water briefly stopped working in our panorama rooms – the hotel fixed the problem quickly but in the meanwhile, we dashed down the hall and took our showers in the older room which had hot water!||||Food: The standard of food there is exceptional – we are a family of foodies so this was important to us. As per my previous review on the lunch restaurant – the boarding meals here were excellent. Breakfast was fine with good options including omelets, cold cuts, fresh fruits and various breads, muesli and juices. The afternoon snack is standard with a few sweets, and one or two hot options – enough for a snack before dinner. The dinner was lovely – 5 courses with a salad buffet, soup, starter, main and dessert. We had to skip courses as it was a bit much for every day. The courses were very well made from a lovely crayfish starter, to a perfectly cooked veal main, vegetarian options as well and just well executed and interesting meals. Dishes had lovely garnishes and flavour combinations which kept your palate entertained for the days you were there. On Wednesdays they have a luscious dessert buffet – something to definitely save room for. Children had their own menu and could choose every day from the pastas, schnitzels, fish sticks, nuggets or mixed grills. Our kids ordered extra large portions of pasta after particularly exhausting ski days – nothing was ever a problem! The adults also enjoyed a lovely meal at the gourmet Restaurant Alexander – a meal well worthy of London standards and served with care and attention. Afterwards the gentlemen of the group had nightcaps with Chef Alexander till 1am!||||Facilities: They have a ski cellar with boot warmers, kids room which was ok (but our kids loved it), a small fitness room and a pool with a jacuzzi. They also have a spa/relaxation area but I did not visit it. The pool was small but enough of the kids to enjoy which was key. We were there right before high season so I can imagine it being a bit crowded if more then 3 families were in there. They also had a steam room and sauna room which were nice albeit not too large. Ski rentals can be pre-booked or rented onsite. Give them a heads up so they have your approx sizes ready otherwise they will just get it from the nearby store down the street which has more stock.||||Overall: We stayed at another 4 star hotel in Gerlos last year and it was NOTHING like this. There were 200 rooms and hundreds of people at each meal and around the campus. Staying in the Lamark was wonderful and relaxing – it is a smaller property of 50 rooms in a quieter Hochfugen was much more civilised with higher quality food and service and an easy walk to the pistes. Especially good for children as you can see the kids slope completely from the hotel. My favourite part of the experience was having a relaxing drink in front of the roaring fireplace before dinner! We are already planning our return trip next year.
