Hotel Moarhof

My wife and chose Hotel Moarhof, as we were having an overnight stopover, so didn’t want to be located in the middle of the Lienz but required accommodation with an in-house restaurant. (Note: The hotel is approximately a 10 -15 minute walk or a very short drive to the centre of town). Upon arrival, we were greeted by a very friendly and courteous receptionist, who explained where our room was located, the free parking and half board arrangements and also advised that whilst the sauna facility was off, staff would be quite happy to turn the sauna facility on if we so desired. Our double room with balcony, not only provided wonderful panoramic views of the Dolomite’s, but was spacious and spotlessly clean, had modern furniture which comprised a king bed and sofa bed, 2 chairs with a small table and desk, good cupboard and drawer space, as well as a safe. The free Wi-Fi worked well, whilst the bathroom was modern and also a good size. The half board dinner provided was quite amazing and comprised a set menu of 5 courses (options available for main course), with both the quality and quantity of the food first class. Additionally, the cost of 18 Euro per person proved outstanding value. A visit to the in-house bar then capped off a lovely evening. The buffet breakfast was also of a good quality and provided a wide ranging choice of hot and cold food options. Whilst we didn’t use the facility, we noted that the hotel had a free transfer service which takes guests from the hotel to ski lifts. Finally, all staff provided a first-class level of service which added up to a very memorable short stay.

On a group trip with former students and friends of Emmy Sack, who taught German for many years at Saint John’s Prep Academy in Collegeville, MN. Emmy chose this hotel for the 30 of us, and he surely got it right. Our group dinners were very good with an excellent selection of local wines to choose from, some of which I had never tried, let alone heard of — and I write wine columns. Buffet breakfasts offered more choices than we could possibly sample in the four mornings we were there. Service and staff were terrific. There is a lovely pool, and a friend got a massage that she raved about. I rarely write restaurant and hotel reviews anymore, but this hotel certainly deserves these positive few words.

Overall the stay was very nice. The staff was friendly and attentive and went out of their way to accommodate us. The only thing I would mention is that it was quite hot in the room later in the day and evening until close to 23:00. I know these hotels are up in the mountains and should be fine with no air conditioning, but unfortunately it is getting hot and will only continue. In the absence of air conditioning it might be helpful to provide fans in the rooms. The breakfast was great and the pool and spa were wonderful. Plenty of parking and only 10 minutes from town center.