The Bristol exudes old world charm with a very traditional European clientele.The opposite of flashy. Excellent location. Generous rooms and well-appointed, modern bathrooms.

We enjoyed 3 days here and it came up to scratch in all respects. The hotel remains family owned and is clearly loved and cherished, taking one back in time to what one imagines grand hotels were like in "the good old days". It retains so much of its historic character and decor, and is warm and welcoming and staffed by people who obviously care about their guests. Our room was spacious, quiet and comfortable and service was very good. We enjoyed excellent breakfasts in a dining room graced with a huge chandelier and lots of mirrors and polite and helpful ladies serving tea and coffee. The Sketch lounge is a pleasant place to take afternoon tea or to linger after dinner.
The location is perfect for exploring the beautiful city of Salzburg, with so many of its attractions within easy walking distance of the Hotel Bristol. I would happily return to this lovely hotel!

We spent 2 nights for the New Year celebration at the Bristol, taking three superior rooms. These face the Markartplatz, but we were not disturbed by any road noise, but obviously church bells and New Year's firecrackers were heard.

Each room was different, and was individually named. The names tried to reflect the decor and colours, The rooms were large, with period furnishings, and with a modern and roomy bathroom. Heating was good.

The staff were extremely welcoming and friendly, and very ready to offer information and guidance.

The main dining room was well appointed, and the breakfast spread was generous and varied.

Overall, the experience was more like staying at a grand country residence of an extremely wealthy favourite Uncle!

Despite all its XIX century imperial grandeur I found the hotel very warm and cosy, at some point I got a feeling that I am in a small boutique family hotel not in a huge historically-looking palace.

The best points about my stay:
- a superior room, which was quite large, with a bathroom which itself has a size of an average hotel room (featuring even 2 separate sinks). The room is facing the Castle, the Dome, one of Mozart houses (the view was quite remarkable!) - and a busy street, however I didn't noticed any street noise mentioned by other reviewers (I refuse to consider church bells a street noise though);
- "Sketch" bar in the lobby, amazingly decorated and furnished. Spent almost every evening there;
- very nice, attentive staff;
- a paper sheet with a printed Salzburg guide, handed off with the keys when we arrived, turned out to be the best Salzburg guide ever, I followed it in very few hours discovered the most amazing views and places in the town;
- great breakfast;
- some of the guests were quite unusual, the kind I never saw in other hotels - I am not sure if it was a coincidence or the hotel specialty though;
- fresh flowers everywhere.

What I'd like to mention separately is the atmosphere. There is a lot of it in the Bristol. I'd say that I never stayed in any other hotel which has so much of atmosphere, it can be even overwhelming at the beginning. It is an old, possibly a very old building, with lots of relics and artifacts of of the past, each of them adding a mood to the place. Lots of mirrors, old newspaper articles, some unusual architectural features revealing the building's history - you may probably expect even a ghost or two in a place like this, though personally I didn't ran into any during my 4 nights stay. In my opinion, Bristol is not about the luxury, it is more about the atmosphere.

I was slightly disappointed by just two facts, which did not affect the overall impression after all, and at some point I even started to consider them as advantages: there is no parking near the hotel, however the hotel provides a service which adds an small extra to the bill but is very convenient; also one may expect a gym (or a swimming pool!) in a hotel like this, there is none - in fact, I decided that it would be ridiculous to have a gym with its modern peculiar equipment in a place like that. This only confirms the fact that the hotel star rating is irrelevant for unique hotels like Bristol. I am not sure if term "boutique hotel" applies to it as well.