We have just returned from our travel to Austrian mountains. We stayed at the family-owned hotel named Bachwirt. The hotel is situated in a small village of St Gilgen, which is 30 km close to the famous city of Salzburg, Austria, and approximately 2 h drive to Munich, Bavaria, Germany. On trip advisor we did not find too much detail about the area and the area hotels. We were nicely surprised to discover a well-located (in the center of the village), cozy hotel with warm family environment. Its owners, Darius and Beata, are a friendly and hard working couple. Darius speaks good English. The building was recently renovated and it has an efficient heating system with the possibility to adjust the room temperature according to your own preference. After a full day out in the frosty weather we found that to be very important. The colors and the decoration in the rooms are modern with a flavor of country style; a Christmas tree with beautiful ornaments (many of them vintage and antique) boosted our holiday spirit.
Continental breakfast with lots of choices was included into the price of the hotel. One can choose to serve dinner at their restaurant for additional price. In the evenings we used to gather with our extended family at Bachwirt restaurant for drinks. The fireplace and a big fat cat gave the restaurant a homey feeling and we all recognized that it’s the best place in St. Gilgen for family get-together.
There is a big folder in the hotel lobby with important information about the area attractions. Try and look through it during your first hours of stay. For example, you will learn about the closest ski destinations. We visited the one named Postalm; it is 30 km away from St Gilgen on a scenic road. We did use public bus, which is free…if you tell the driver that you are going to the ski slopes of Postalm. It takes you about 1 hour by bus each way; we took pictures and just enjoyed the gorgeous winter landscape. We learned that these places are beautiful during other seasons due to the mountains and the famous lake Wolfgang.
The morning of our departure we had to leave at 6:30 AM and Beata, the hostess, arranged with the service personnel so we had a warm breakfast at that early hour and a package to go with us.
Because of the unpredictable winter weather, we choose to travel back from St Gilgen to Vienna by public transportation; we took a bus to Salzburg train station, took a fast train to Vienna and after that a bus to the airport. It worked out smoothly: comfortable, warm, cost-effective… and we enjoyed looking through the window at the Austrian villages and towns under the snow… fabulous.
Overall we had a nice experience with the hotel and the area. For the money we paid, 80 euros/nigh (for Europe it's a very good price: quality ratio during the hot holiday season) we had a medium size clean elegant room with a shower, one large bed, small refrigerator, and continental breakfast for two. All in all, we spent time in the room only for the night sleep. Our friendly and always smiling hosts made sure we feel like at home.
I recommend the Bachwirt hotel to anyone who travels to St. Gilgen and I would stay there again.