9 Best Hotels in Salzburg, Austria

Celebrities from Picasso to Pavarotti have favored the Golden Stag for its legendary gemütlichkeit (friendliness) and away-from-it-all feel. The interiors were dramatically redesigned in 2019, so even the classic rooms are a good size, with large TVs, wooden desks (often hiding a vanity table), comfy rugs, and spacious bathrooms with smart toilets, while the suites add seating areas and space to stretch out. Each room is unique, but all blend modern touches and colorful trims with wooden beams, stucco ceiling decorations, and antique feature pieces. Downstairs, there are two restaurants: the regal dining room with its vaulted ceilings and menu of international dishes alongside Salzburg specialties (try the towering Salzburger Nockerl); and a smaller bistro serving Austrian classics, loved by locals for its cozy, timbered look and house specialty Nürnberger Bratwürstl (half a dozen roasted sausages with sauerkraut). After dinner, take a seat at the stylish bar to try the signature cocktail "Susanne." It's named for a little girl who used to visit with her parents every year; as she got older, more and more ingredients were added, so by the time she was an adult she had a delicious cocktail of orange juice, Campari, crème de cassis, vodka, and Prosecco.

Wonderfully located right on the Salzach River, this mammoth heritage hotel has attracted guests from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, but the owners, the Gürtler family, will ensure that even if you don't have a Vuitton steamer trunk you'll feel welcome. The main atrium is a symphony in marble, while the grand staircase still looks like the Empress Sisi could make a dazzling entrance amidst its ferns. Upstairs, guest rooms are so lovely there is a danger you won't want to leave (especially if you get one with picture-perfect views of the Old City). Each is different, but all are exquisitely decorated. Restaurants include haute-style dining at the Zirbelzimmer, grilled specialties at the Sacher Grill, and of course the Salzburg outpost of Vienna's fabled Café Sacher.

With gorgeous gardens and hiking trails all around, it's little wonder the 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt called this gable-roofed, tower-studded mansion a "small piece of paradise." Catherine the Great of Russia and the Duchess of Liechtenstein are among the notables who have stayed in this historic property (dating back to 1350), where corridors are cut straight out of the mountain rock. Lovingly-refurbished rooms combine clever design and modern luxuries with heritage features and classical elegance. Take a summertime dip in the tempting infinity pool, warm up in the year-round outdoor Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna, and enjoy a host of spa treatments in the wellness area. You can dine in the Glass Garden restaurant, set within an impressive glass dome and with breathtaking views over the city, or in the atmospheric, antique-stuffed Gothic Saloon. Welcome drinks are served in the chic Apollo Bar. Getting to town means either a 10-minute woodland walk to the Mönchsberg elevator (there are free tickets at reception) or a short taxi ride. For drivers, there's free on-site parking available.

Tucked away below the walls of Fortress Hohensalzburg, this historic hotel offers beautifully-appointed bedrooms packed with charming antique furnishings, as well as a relaxing garden and small spa. There are only six rooms in all, but each is individually decorated, combining historic features like thick wooden doors, ancient beamed ceilings, and time-worn cabinets with extra-long beds, flat-screen TVs and iPads, and stylish stone bathrooms with rain showers. Opt for a third-floor Deluxe Room to enjoy stunning views over the Altstadt. The building's history, with stretches back to at least the 1300s, is also on show in the spacious second-floor lounge area, with exposed wooden ceilings and lime-plastered walls with natural pigments. This is where breakfast (an optional extra) is served, while there's also an honesty bar and access to the hidden-gem garden. You can reserve rooms individually or book out the whole property for a large group; you'll need to book very early if you want the whole property during the Salzburg Festival.

The sleek, contemporary style of the Blue Goose boutique art hotel counters the building's centuries-old pedigree and offers guests a stellar location at the top of the main shopping street—although the reception is at the other side of the building, just across from the Grosses Festspielhaus. More than 120 works by avant-garde artists adorn the walls of the winding corridors between low archways and ancient wood beams—look out for David Moises' "The Ultimate Machine aka Shannon's Hand"; the moment it is switched on, a hand emerges to switch itself back off again—while the plush furnishings in the lounge are works of art themselves. Upstairs, the guest rooms are beautifully understated, with whitewashed walls, heritage features, and sparkling modern bathrooms. Guests will also enjoy the well-stocked reading room, ancient wine cellar, and excellent restaurant. Artists, curators, and Salzburg Festival patrons flock to this hotel, so be sure to make reservations well in advance.

There is little wonder that this pale-yellow palace, just across the river from the Altstadt and with stunning historic detail and fine artwork, has attracted an impressive roster of royal and celebrity guests. Emperor Franz Josef I, Sigmund Freud, and the cast of The Sound of Music have all stayed here, to name a few (check out the photograph gallery in the plush piano bar). Rooms feature chandeliers and marble baths, and some have inner doors with their original etched glass. Some are classic historical, some are in whimsical Napoleonic style with tented ceilings, and others are in sleek, modern style. A few of the deluxe suites have stupendous views of the entire city. Classic international and Austrian dishes are served in the Polo Lounge.

With its cozy rooms, fantastic central location, and excellent on-site restaurant and bar, Hotel Elefant is an old Salzburg favourite. And we mean old: this 750-year-old house began life as an inn run by Salzburg citizen Hans Goldeisen, who was entrusted with the care of Maximilian II's pet Indian elephant Soliman, a local sensation of the 1500s. Dive into the famous, fluffy Salzburger Nockerl at an outdoor table of the attached Wirtshaus Elefant restaurant.

This venerable 1372 building, one of the city's oldest inns, is an impressive riverside landmark with its buff pink facade and iron lanterns. The interior has been renovated to within an inch of its life, but stone arches, beamed ceilings, and tasteful antiques remain. On one side, rooms overlook the river and the picturesque hilltop cloister; on the other, those on upper floors sneak a peek at the fortress. Rooms are spacious and light filled, and most are furnished with reproduction antiques and traditional accents. The Symphonie Restaurant is elegance personified, with royal-blue and gold hues ashimmer under Rococo chandeliers.

With the lovely Mirabellgarten virtually at its back door, this modern hotel tastefully blends in with the belle-epoque buildings that surround it. Rooms are soothing in tone with contemporary furniture, and contain all the little extras and then some; try to get one room facing the gardens. The buffet breakfast (not included in the basic room rate) is enough to keep you going all day. The house café, with attractive garden seating, bakes all its tempting pastries and strudels on the premises.