My husband and I, together with two friends, stayed at the Guthega Alpine Inn for the first time, in August 2011 for a weekend of skiing. We were all very excited to be away and be without our kiddies.. (sorry, kiddies!) so were amped about our stay @ Guthega Alpine Inn as it has always been our favourite lunch spot.. Their goulash soup is TO DIE FOR! Match that with a nice cold european beer for lunch together with the spectacular view over the Main Range and Dam - you just cant beat the Guthega Alpine Hotel!

Upon check-in / arrival, our copious amounts of baggage and ski & snowboard gear were packed into the little buggy and off we went... The managers, Jenny & Nick were hospitable and EXTREMELY generous as they had donated a gift voucher for FREE for a weekend's accommodation, including breaky & dinners for four adults in peak ski season!

The Guthega Alpine Inn hotel itself has a unique charm about it.. We absolutely loved our stay and will definately be back again! We spent both afternoons in the sauna and hot tub after some hard skiing all day and then ate the most fabulous three course dinners EVER!

Whilst we were there, the Wallabies were due to play & I hoped and prayed that they would show it at the hotel, as I love my Wallabies, and they did - the ambience was fantastic in the place and the hotel was so packed as lodgers from other private lodges in Guthega had been invited to join in to watch.. sadly we lost though! The staff were even kind enough to come into the bar and take the guests, dinner orders whilst we watched the rugby game which was really nice of them so we didnt miss out on dinner!

We had a fabulous weekend and would HIGHLY recommend to couples, friends, families with older children etc. Not a place however, for 'shananigans' as the Guthega Alpine Inn is very classy hotel and of quite a high standard.

Guthega Alpine Inn oozes charm, class and elegance - We LOVED LOVED LOVED the Guthega Alpine Inn and will definately be BACK!

Firstly...sorry for the long review...but i have just come back from the snow and am still buzzing with excitment...so writting this review is fun in hat i am reliving my experience.

I first found Guthega Alpine 10 years ago when i was skiing by and stopped for lunch. Ever since i have wanted to stay there. However after reading all the negative reviews on tripadvisor, i was scared off and decided it was not worth the risk. We have skied for the last 25 years and stayed in most of the 'best' accomodation in Australia, including Thredbo Alpine Hotel, Perisher Valley Hotel, The Denman, appartments and many lodges, and i believed these were a 'safer option' based on this websites reviews.

Last year, i decided to take the plunge, and try GAH. We booked and paid in full, but after finding out my wife was pregnant, we decided to cancel. The management could not have been more understanding, and although within their right to not provide us with a refund, they happily did.

So, when we were to book this years accomodation, i booked at Guthega again. We arrived on the Saturday and rang the lodge as we passed through Jindabyne. When we reached the Guthega carpark, Nick was there to greet us, load our bags into the oversnow buggy and drive us to the lodge. As we had arrived early in the morning and our room was not ready, an area was made available for us to change into our ski gear and store our bags.

After our first day of skiing we returned to GAH to check into our room. The rooms are not resort rooms but they have everything you need. We had a beautiful view across the mountains and a balcony on which to sit. There were nice touches such as fresh lavender and classic european ski posters which made the room feel warm and homely.

There is no TV in the room and mobile phone reception is only 2 bars. As someone who needs to be 'connected' i felt a bit out of touch, but this is probablly one of the best things. In hindsight i was glad to be disconected for a while. There is a TV room and wi fi available, but i was pleased not to use them and enjoy the mountains.

We went downstairs and sat by the fire, drank quality european draught beer, and warm spiced wine. The three course meal was incredible, and the convienience of breakfast and dinner being included made our holiday more relaxing and enjoyable. Between our party of four we tried every entree, main and dessert offered, and all were of high quality. We didn't go to bed hungry.Meals are varied and included beef, chicken, pork, salmon, pastas and risotos...a great selection. Upon speaking to Jenny, i was told they have a farm in Jindabyne where they source a lot of their produce and meat...so it is fresh.

After dinner we continued to sit by the fire and talk to guests. Nick and Jenny both made an effort to talk to us and make us feel welcome but didn't impose themselves.

We went to bed every night by 9. This is not the place if you are after the party experience. It has a warm homely lodge feel. Guest talk to each other. You get the feeling that it is a family of guests that are regulars, but we never felt on the outer, even though it was our first time. There was a varied mix of guests, several couples of different ages, a family or two...a good mix. The kids all played board games at night and special kids meals were made.

The Guthega area is great for kids to play in the snow, make snowmen and toboggan. If you want to put the kids in ski school, and escape, its probablly not the place as it is a fair way from Perisher and would be a pain getting there and back. We will be taking our 3 year old next year but talking the mother in law who does not ski and getting one of the bigger rooms. That way we will be able to ski half days and play in the snow with her for the rest.

I could go on and on, as every experience i had of Guthega Alpine Hotel was a good one. In fact, i didn't bother going skiing on the second day as i was happy just sitting next to the fire and reading my book. I was very relaxed.

Looking back, i can say that GAH is without doubt the best on snow experience i have ever had in an Australian resort. It is true ski in, ski out. If i won the lottery i would not bother buying my own chalet, i would simply go to GAH every year. It is relaxing and homely. It has exerything you could want, including a great chef, great staff, and management who are happy to assist you. I felt as though it was my own personal chalet and i had my own private staff.

So, having said all that, I find many of the comments made on tripadvisor perplexing, as they are in stark contrast to what i have experienced. Part of me wants to not write a good review and keep GAH 'a secret' so i can always get a room, however i am almost angry that such scathing reviews have been written about a lodge which gave us our best ski experience ever. In addition i found the comments about Nick and Jenny almost offensive as they did evrything they could to help us. I feel the comments are spiteful and misleading.

Upon reading them again i realise that many of the comments are made not by guests but by people from nearby lodges and i believe their motives in leaving negative reviews are questionable. Regardless, although i always read tripadvisor comments before staying anywhere, i am pleased i chose to visit GAH regardless.

In response to some of the previous comments made...I will say that Nick and Jenny try to make the experience the very best for their guests. There are some house rules that we were told on the first day and i think they are more than reasonable and only there to ensure all guests enjoy their stay. As a result the couch by the fireplace is reserved for guests only. I realise that may offend visitors, but as a guest i was pleased that day trippers were asked not to sit there so i as a guest could read my book by the fire. We were politely asked to not eat our own food, or drink our own drinks in the bar, and i apologised and stopped. I can see their point...they are not running a charity, they have only a couple of months a year to make some money, and i think that is a reasonable request. Drinks are expensive if you compare them to an RSL but they are pretty standard for the slopes...particularily when GAH is so out of the way. A draught Peroni was $8.50, and i was more than happy to pay that. Ski Boots were allowed anywhere on the bottom level and in the bar. There is a sign on the door requesting you remove snow of your boots before you enter...i would say that is standard courtesy.

There are very basic rules. It is definately not a nanny state, its just some basic courtesy which should be no problem for any civilised human being.

Overall...amazing experience. As long as you leave Sydney in Sydney and relax and be respectful, this will be the best place you have ever stayed on snow.

Well, I had heard the stories from plenty of people in Guthega about how bad the service was at Guthega hotel, and it lived up to its reputation in spades. I didn't actually stay but was unfortunate enought to visit. I have never been to a ruder, offensive, customer hostile, expensive place in all my life. DONT GO HERE! Basil aka Nick would have to be the most hostile person working in the hospitality industry. We went there for a friendly drink on a Saturday night, only to be treated like dirt. For starters we were a massive inconvenience even to let us in the door and wanted to charge us a cover charge to watch the Rugby/Tour despite the fact there were only 10 people in there and we were paying $15 a beer.
After the rugby my friend expressed his frustration to me when Basil decided to change the channel from the tour to watch some crappy surf show in South Africa. He expressed his frustration to me personally, not aloud and not to Basil. However Basil over heard it jumped up and demanded we leave and said he thought we were trouble from the start, despite the fact we had spoken to no one all night. He then demanded we leave, which we agreed to as long as he refunded our drinks, which he begrudgingly did. We were voluntarily leaving, and he followed us out down the road in his drunken state and proceeded to verbally abuse us and then in true Basil style he assaulted me pushing me in the back. If it wasn't for the fact I am a decent law abiding citizen and didn't want to deal with the repercussions, I was at this stage within my rights to clock the guy, but I restrained myself. To verbally and physically abuse a customer after they had left your premises voluntarily after being asked to leave, is unbelievable. I am still debating whether to report him to the police and am tempted to do so after all the reports I have read. The sooner these guys leave the hotel and get some decent landlords in the better the place will be.

We stayed here in 2003 when our children were young and had great memories. Decided to book it again this year when our NZ ski trip was cancelled due to ash cloud. The setting is superb, our room (family - 2 bunk beds and one queen bed with ensuite) had views down the valley to the dam and up to the top of the mountains. The room was warm and spacious enough for five. The sitting area was very cosy with the wood fire, the hot tub was great after skiing, the food was fantastic. 2 course breakfast and 3 course dinner - with good restaurant quality choices. Children's meals also available and it is definitely young child friendly with games as well as a pool table and bar for the adults. Our hosts Jenny and Nicholas were outstanding in their hospitality. We skied out of our hotel to the T-bar everyday with easy skiing access to Blue Cow from the Guthega ski slopes. $3,347 for 5 adults for 7 nights dinner & bfast included (not school hols)