We stayed 5 nights in August 2013. Our room on the 3rd floor, south facing, had a lovely view of the glacier, nearby mountains, pool and garden area, and the swift mountain stream. The pool (which is not heated), has a little waterfall, which provided good "white noise" to cover up the usual sounds of other guests. The Zillertal valley is beautiful, lots of fresh air and green, green grass. The narrow valley has very steep walls. It was very crowded during this high season time, the valley bus was always crammed full, like sardines in a can. But the hotel is in a sleepy part of the valley and it was quiet and restful. We walked the trail by the stream every night, it was delightful.
The 5 course dinners were a work of art...very interesting and creative meals with beautiful presentation. We eagerly looked over the menu every morning to make our selection for that night’s dinner, and couldn't wait for the evening meal. Gerlinda is a gracious and kind hostess; and Michael in the dining hall was the best--really friendly, and good at making the guests smile and the kids laugh. Most staff spoke enough English for us to be able to communicate, as we unfortunately do not speak any German.
Ok, now a couple of issues. The main reason Hotel Eden does not get 5 stars is we were terribly disappointed to learn that Alex would not take us on the guided hikes (included in the package) because we did not have the proper footwear: ankle high medium to heavy weight hiking boots. We flew halfway around the world in order to hike in Austria, and we specifically chose THIS hotel because the package included 3 days of guided hikes. (Hotel Eden is part of the "Wander Hotels Tirol".) Although I looked through the website several times before our trip, I never saw the REQUIREMENT that we have ankle-high hiking boots (evidently required by the Austrian guide services). Instead, we brought our sturdy walking shoes (which we have worn on multiple >10 km hikes, and they are perfectly fine.) We would have brought our regular hiking boots if we had known they were required to participate, but were trying to save weight in our luggage. However, even if we had the correct boots, I got the impression that Alex would not want to take us out anyway, as he cited worries that we may have health problems that would prevent us from safely hiking (despite my reassurances that we are in shape and are very experienced hikers. [We are near 60 years old, and I am overweight so I can understand his doubts at first glance, but my reassurances were ignored.]) This refusal to take us on a guided hike was terribly disappointing and upsetting to us...the whole purpose of this portion of our trip was to hike, and we wanted a guided hike. What made it worse is that we could not get any detailed hiking information from Alex in order to plan our own independent hikes. Instead, we had to travel down-valley and talk to the Information center in Tux to figure out WHERE to go hiking, and HOW to get there by bus. (I had not researched hikes in the area before our trip, as I figured we'd go where the hiking guide took us in the hotel's hiking van.) On the day of our major hike, the time needed to figure out where to go and how to get there delayed our hike start, so we didn't get started on the trail until noon, and had to keep a very close eye on the clock to make sure we got back in time to catch the last bus down the valley at 6pm. After that it rained for 2 days, so we didn't go on any other hikes.
The other two odd items are that the WiFi is only available within about 15 feet of the front desk...you cannot access it in your room, at the pool, or the afternoon snack terrance. At least they have a table to sit at in the reception area to check email. The other thing that bothered me is that the hotel is advertised as "100% non-smoking." However, they allow smoking on the room balconies, with ashtrays out on each balcony; and of course, the neighbor's smoke drifted in to our open window. Smoking is also allowed on the outside terrace and pool area; so, you still have cigarette and cigar smoke to cope with.....not exactly a “100% smoke-free hotel!” I would love it if they restricted smoking so that it is truly not allowed on the balconies, pool, or terrace. THAT would be a 100% non-smoking hotel!
Do I recommend Hotel Eden? Yes I do. It was an absolutely wonderful place to stay, with divine food and great staff. But, be very clear about the hiking issue if your intent is to hike. I would also recommend that you consider bringing a doctor’s statement of fitness if you do not appear at first glance to be a fit and young athlete.
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