From July 13th to July 16th I stayed in the first ever hotel for dachshunds and their owners: The Teckel Hotel Tirol. I was very curious about this unique concept: would it work? A hotel filled with silly sausages and their owners? I had to find out myself.
I contacted the owners of the hotel and asked if I could stay there in return for promotion of the hotel via social media. This review is not paid for by them so do not worry that this will be an all-positive review because I stayed there for free. I paid for my train tickets myself (over 200€) and I spent around 80€ outside of the hotel on activities also. The following review is based on my true experiences during my stay at the Teckel Hotel.

A hearty greeting

Most people will travel to the hotel by car but for me this was not an option. I travelled by train with my dachshund Tilda in a bag for over 12 hours and it was actually not as bad as it sounds! German and Austrian railways are very punctual so there were no delays and there was always (even if it were just a little) room for me to sit down.I arrived in Mayrhofen at 6pm and was greeted by the owner of the hotel: Eric. He offered to pick me up from the train station which I thought was very thoughtful. When we arrived at the hotel I immediately got excited: there was a huge playground for the dogs and through an open door I could see the dog spa. Eric’s wife made me feel welcome as well, asking me if I liked salmon (which was for dinner that night) or if she should make me something else. Over all a great first impression of the hosts.

The rooms

Eric showed me my room, room number 11. He told me they finished the rooms only six days ago, unbelievable! My room had no balcony so it was smaller and less light than the bigger balcony rooms. There were two beds, a nice little bathroom with high quality towels, a flat-screen TV with almost 1000 channels and there was enough closet-space. The interior was lacking the dachshund vibes I was expecting though. Apart from the amazing Teckel Hotel pillows there were no references to the breed. There was a feeding bowl but sadly no bed for Tilda. That is also my first recommendation: focus more on the dogs in the rooms. Downstairs it is dachshund proof, but my room simply was not. I understand some people will take their dachshund’s own bed with them but for me this was impossible. Tilda did not mind though: she slept like an angel by my side in my bed!

I have to add that my room was impeccably clean and neat: room service cleaned my whole room every morning and the cleaning lady was very polite and obviously did her job well.
I took a look at the balcony rooms and they were wonderful. There was dachshund artwork from a Dutch painter and the room was spacious. The balcony rooms looked like this:

The food

Every day at 7pm dinner was served. The owners did the cooking themselves but this will change as they will be hiring a professional cook soon. I think that is for the best because the food was OK but not restaurant worthy yet. I would have also liked to see some sort of menu to choose from. I overheard the owners talk about these issues so I know they are aware of it and will make positive changes soon. The atmosphere in the dining room was great. The guests were chatting with each other and some nice music was playing in the background.
Breakfast was amazing! It was a big buffet with fresh buns, fruits, all sorts of toppings, eggs and juice. It looked and tasted very professional.

The fenced playground

Tilda is a dachshund at heart: she will never come when called which means I cannot let her off leash in an open environment. That is why the other guests and I fully enjoyed the fenced playground for the dogs. There was no way the dachshunds would be able to escape and therefore us dachshund owners were able to relax also.
The dachshunds had enough room to run around, play fetch, perform tricks and even swim! The doggie-pool was a true winner. The water was clean and just deep enough for the dogs to swim in and the shore was flat so they could get in and out easily. I saw all the dachshunds there trying the pool out, with success!

The dachshund-spa

It poured in Austria when we were there. We went on long walks on top of the mountains and got absolutely drenched each time. Tilda is a longhaired dachshund so all the mud was curdling in her fur. She needed a bath, desperately!
I was afraid I would have deal with my muddy dog in my own room but this was not necessary: there was a dog spa in the barn! There were all sorts of dog shampoos, towels and brushes. I actually enjoyed bathing my dog! The dog spa is a very nice addition to this dachshund hotel.

Conclusion

The hotel is not perfect yet but it is work in progress. I am positive that it will only improve and I would therefore recommend to book a stay there. I enjoyed my stay in the hotel very much and know that the owners are working very hard to make the place a big success. I will return for sure because staying at this dachshund hotel is a wonderful experience. Everyone in and around that building loves the breed dearly. I met the most wonderful people while watching Tilda play in the pool with other dachshunds. The improvements to the hotel will add to the already great experience. I wish all the future guests a pleasant stay at this unique hotel!