My wife, daughter (age 21), and I stayed here from May 21 - May 25. I had stayed previously in Salzburg in another hotel and at a B&B. I will definitely stay at the Gastein next time. The location is very good--the opposite side of the Salzach River (up river; i.e., southeast) from the 'Altstadt' (old city) on Ignaz Reider Kai, which is a typically narrow street that runs along the river. It's about a 20-25 minute delightful walk along the river to the Mozartsteg bridge that crosses the river into the old city. We had room 104 ("the bear"--each room had an animal decoration on the door)--perhaps the best at this small hotel--2nd floor with a balcony with a wonderful unobstructed view of the Hohensalzburg Fortress (the big castle and Salzburg's most famous landmark). There were trees between the hotel and the river which mostly obscured the view to the west (toward the Bavarian Alps of the Bertschesgaden area), but there was still a limited view of those mountains through the trees. The hotel itself is quite charming. We had a rental car; parking was no problem. (It could be a challenge finding the hotel through the narrow winding streets of the city. If you're renting a car, I highly recommend getting one with a GPS, it is well worth it.) But walking to the old city or up to the Mirabell Palace & gardens is very easy. The breakfast buffet was excellent--cold cereals, yoghurts, a wonderful assortment of breads/rolls, cheeses, meats. The OJ was the only weak spot (but that seems fairly typical of Europe). My wife is the coffee drinker--and said it was very good. The proprieters were hospitable, and the waitress/room maid (I believe her name was Iris), was delightful. I don't think the room had AC, but we certainly didn't need it. The price was very appealing. Highly recommended by this middle class tourist.

We stayed here for two nights and wished it could've been longer. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Wuhrer couldn't have been nicer. They even let us borrow bicycles so we could ride along the scenic bike path by the river. The room was very big and comfortable with a fantastic view of the distant mountains and the Salzach River. They had a place to park our car on the property, which contributed in our decision to stay here. Breakfast was served in the cheery dining room with large windows that looked out into the beautiful garden. The variety of choices that were offered for breakfast told us that they really care about their guests and would like to see them return, which we sincerely hope to do someday. What a treasure this place was.

My husband and I stayed at the Hotel Gastein September 28, 2004 for 3 nights. It is just a short walk along the river to all the sights of Salzburg. The rooms are big and very clean. They have a nice tiled shower/bathtub and the beds have down comforters and feather pillows--you even get a Mozart chocolate on the pillow the first night! The breakfast room is big with picture windows so you can enjoy the beautiful view and the breakfast buffet is wonderful. The staff at Hotel Gastein are so friendly and helpful we will be sure to stay there on our next trip to Austria.