The Penz Hotel - Innsbruck, Austria     

My husband and I came to Innsbruck for 4 nights over Christmas, for the purpose of cross-country skiing. We chose the Penz Hotel based on previous reviews. I am not a fan of the prevalent alpine lodge style that is found in many of the other surrounding hotels, and liked the idea of a modern hotel. We were not disappointed. The rooms were immaculate, if a bit small. As other reviewers have already stated, the breakfast was superb. Not only is the selection of fresh fruits, pastries etc. unrivalled by any place I've ever stayed, but the 360 degree view of the surrounding Alps from the breakfast room is nothing short of spectatcular. The location was also ideal, near to restaurants, bars etc. including a number of good restaurants indside of an adjoining mall. The bar staff and cleaning staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. We were slightly less impressed with the front desk staff who did not seem very knowledgeable or willing to help with our requests. For instance we were there for cross-country, i.e. Nordic, skiing and not downhill skiing. From research that I'd done from home I knew that there was a shuttle that we could catch to take us to cross country trails. However the front desk clerk was unable to find anything about this, and seemed to think that there was no such service. (We ended up doing more research on our own and figuring it out ourselves). The front desk staff also wasn't very helpful with restaurant recommendations or making reservations. That said, the front desk staff was still friendly--I just think that they could have been a bit better informed. All in all, the Penz hotel is a really lovely place, and if we return to Innsbruck, we will definitely stay there again.

This was our first visit to Innsbruck (a family of four with 2 kids), had two rooms in January 2008 for three nights. As previous reviews stated, it is clean, modern, very conveniently located and the breakfast buffet is a big plus. Innsbruck itself is not a place I would spend much time in , but it is a convenient base - if you have a car - to visit other resorts in the Tyrol. Tha adjacent mall and large parking facilities are also very handy. The hotel is located in a very safe area, and you can enjoy early morning or late night walks around it. In summary, the Penz was exactly as we expected from previous reviews and would not hesitate to stay there again, should I happen to go to Innsbruck, even thoug I discovered Salzburg a much more enjoyable place.