Apparthotel Montana, Bad Mitterndorf

I'll freely admit that when an elderly man pointed out Apparthotel Montana to us, my heart sank a little. We had just arrived in the little town of Bad Mitterndorf and were instantly charmed by the gorgeous Alpine houses with their frilly eaves and cute wooden balconies. With its yellow and mint green facade Aparthotel Montana does stand out from the other properties but it also looks a bit "Miami" deep in the heart of the southern Salzkammergut surrounded by mountains.

Bad Mitterndorf isn't the sort of place I'd envisaged staying in because neither of us drive but public transport provision is surprisingly good and we had no problems getting to and from Bad Mitterndorf and in exploring the region. Coming by car Bad Mitterndorf is about halfway between Salzburg and Graz and either of those airports (or even the one at Linz) would be a good place to fly into. We came by train from Salzburg, a journey of about three hours (though driving directly from Salzburg would take much less time) - and one of the most beautiful train rides I've ever had the pleasure of taking.

Apparthotel Montana is situated about ten minutes walk from the train station which is on the outskirts of Bad Mitterndorf rather than in the village. Apparthotel Montana is more correctly in the area known as Thorl, an extension of Bad Mitterndorf. There are no street names, just numbers, which is why we needed to ask for directions. Had I remembered that the hotel was so colourful we'd have found it immediately. It's on the main road but set quite a way back so there's hardly any traffic noise. Heavier traffic uses the new highway between the village and the train station which makes the village quite peaceful though we did find that local traffic does occasionally speed through the village in the evenings.

The hotel has plenty of covered parking spaces and a bike room for guests who've come by bike. It stands in well kept gardens and there's a children's play area within view of the terrace, so it's great for parents who want to relax and keep an eye on the kids at the same time. Looking out from the terrace you have terrific views of Grimming, the highest peak in the immediate area (it stands at 2351 metres high).

We were given a warm welcome by Monica who was expecting us; I should say now that our stay was free of charge thanks to a well known travel and hotel booking website but I'm certain that all visitors to Apparthotel Montana can expect the same standard of service and hospitality. Monica asked if I wanted us to speak in English or German and told her German since she had been good enough to ask. Maybe she thought my German was shocking enough to warrant conversing in English? Whatever, it was nice to continue in German because it's usually the case that people insist on speaking English as soon as they know you're from the UK.

We were given a complimentary drink which we took in the breakfast room and enjoyed while we admired the views and, I suspect, our room was being made ready (since the correct sizes of bathrobe had been placed at the foot our our bed I assumed that the last touches are made on arrival). The interior of the hotel is smart but cosy at the same time. There's lots of wood but not so much that it looks really rustic, more a happy balance of modern comforts and country cosiness. There are a few armchairs and a small sofa in a corner of the lobby, placed in front of a large corner fireplace, perfect for drinks on a snowy evening, I'll bet.

A wide staircase leads to the guest accommodation. Our room was on the second floor; although it's billed as an "apparthotel" Montana also has standard double rooms, which is what we had. Our room was not as big as I might have expected and although it had two comfortably upholstered tub chairs it lacked somewhere to sit and relax. The pair of us have a tendency to nod off if we lie on a bed so we do like to have some comfy chairs if we want to read and these ones we just a little too formal and didn't allow you to sit with your feet up. This, of course, is just grumbling for the sake of it. The room was lovely; cosy when it grew cold, but with plenty of light and a small balcony which was more or less south facing. The carpets here are thick and deep; the furniture good quality and stylish in a simple way.

The bathroom was a good size with a pristine walk in shower and a useful shelf well lit shelf and mirror behind the washbasin . The shower was a three way shower with a conventional moveable shower head, an overhead shower and then jets built into the wall of the cubicle. The latter were a bit disappointing while the overhead one was uncomfortable and so our initial excitement at anticipated shower heaven was soon quelled. Complimentary toiletries were provided in the form of shower gel/shampoo and moisurising lotion: the shower gel was a lovely fresh fragrance that I can best describe as "green" and it seemed very well suited to our location among the pines.

All the rooms have free wi-fi access though I have to say we we able only to access it first thing in the morning so if it's a necessity you might want to enquire with the hotel about internet access before booking. There was a good sized television set mounted on the wall though it was possible to watch it only from the bed because there was nowhere to place the other chairs. The stations are most German or Austrian; there was no English news channel which was a little disappointing as we were tired out at the end of each day and happy to come back to the hotel relatively early. There was a minibar stocked with a good choice of beers, wines and soft drinks and a small selection of snack items. The prices seemed to me quite reasonable for a hotel minibar.

Breakfast was served in the airy breakfast room with its huge picture window between 8.00 and 10.00am. As I am the sort of person who usually tumbles out of bed, jumps in the shower and staggers off to breakfast with soaking hair, hoping not to be noticed by the other guests, I was mortified to find out after breakfast that the rooms are serviced during breakfast - as soon you appear in the dining room the chambermaid is hot-footing it up the stairs and sorting out your room. After the first morning I picked up the towels, made the bed and did all those things the maid is meant to do before we went down to breakfast - well I couldn't have them think badly of me, could I?

Montana offers an excellent buffet breakfast. There were various kinds of muesli and seeds, nuts and dried fruits to put on top. There was a fresh fruit salad each day and several types of yoghurt (or perhaps a flavoued quark?) as well as whole fruit such as apples and kiwi. As you would expect in Austria there were sliced cheeses and meats which varied daily. I noticed that nobody ever seemed to be choosing the soft and blue cheeses at breakfast time. There was a basket of still warm hard boiled eggs: the yolks were that lovely deep golden yellow and so creamy the way that only really fresh country eggs can be. The bread was fantastic - in fact, if there had been only bread and butter we'd have still enjoyed the breakfast. There were brown and white rolls (my favourite was the brown rolls with pumpkin seeds on the top) of various types and every day a different loaf for guests to cut their own - we would dash over to the buffet to find out what the bread of the day" would be. The breakfast was presented beautifully and everything looked appetising and appealing, especially the big jugs of juice - usually four or five different tyes on offer. The only criticism I could make was that we were asked whether we'd like tea or coffee on our first morning, but not on the following days and as a result we ended up with the same thing when we might have chosen something different had we been asked.

The hotel offers accommodation on a half board basis if preferred though our prize did not include an evening meal. For those guests taking an evening meal a menu is left on the table at breakfast time and the guests indicate their choices for that evening. The food did sound delicious with a vegetarian option among the choices and the use of local ingredients was highlighted. I understand from the website that the evening meal is taken in a neighbouring hotel.

On our second day the temperature dropped and just a couple of hundred metres above us the snow started to fall. This was something of a shock for us having come from hot and sunny Salzburg so after a day walking the hills we were more than happy to take advantage of the sauna. Montana has a small wellness centre in its basement and this comprises traditional Finnish sauna, steam room and infra red sauna as well as all the extras like a cold tub and a frighteing device that you use to tip a big bucket of cold water over yourself - it always reminds me of the 'Mousetrap' game. It takes about fifteen minutes for the sauna to get to the correct heat so you need to ask a short time before you want to use it. Such facilities are, of course, common in even small hotels in this part of the world but it was a much appreciated extra for us.

We had a great stay at Montana; although we had four nights stay at our disposal we stayed only three as we needed to get to Slovenia. We would have loved to have stayed for the fourth night as we really liked the hotel and it is in such a lovely area. You are within easy reach of several lakes and a number of picturesque towns and villages. There are salt mining museums nearby at Bad Aussee and at Hallstatt and you are also with reach of the famous Dachstein Ice Caves. There are many kilometres of pistes nearby and you can even book packages at Montana that include your ski pass. If you visit in summer the hotel offers free bicycle rental and you can also borrow poles for Nordic walking.

Prices vary depending on the type of room and the time of year but the room we had would cost between €45 and €50 per person per night. Half board is an additional €14.00 per person per night which is excellent value when held up next to restaurants in the village. Given the level of comfort, the standard of service and the facilities available I'd say that the price is right for this lovely four star hotel.