Where to Stay in Austria: 7 Hotels Across 5 Regions

Where you stay in Austria should follow the region you want to explore rather than a single base, because the country’s distances are short but its valleys are not connected to each other. On an eight-day road trip through five regions we changed hotel every night, from a design hotel in Innsbruck to a working mountain hut above a cow stable, and these seven are the ones worth booking as a base for the area they sit in.

I am not claiming these are the seven finest hotels in Austria, because I have obviously not stayed in all of them. I slept well in every one and each is a sensible base for its region, which is the more useful test. Austria has no shortage of accommodation at any price, so the question is rarely whether you can find a room; it is which valley you want to wake up in.

Where to stay in Austria: 7 hotels in 5 regions

The seven below run in the order we drove them, from Tyrol to Salzburg. Each one covers a different region, so read them as a route rather than a shortlist.

1. NALA Individuellhotel, Innsbruck

The NALA Individuellhotel is the one to pick in Innsbruck if you want a room with a personality, because every room in the hotel is designed differently. Mine had cupboards with thick doors that turned out to have storage built into them, a bathtub in the middle of the bedroom and a wooden ladder for a towel rail.

It sits a 10-minute walk from Innsbruck train station and two minutes from the shopping district. There is a lift and the hallways are wide, which makes it easier to get around than most old-town hotels.

WiFi is free throughout, and guests can use the small fitness room and the infrared cabin. On weekdays you choose between a small breakfast and the full buffet; on Sundays and public holidays the large buffet is always on. Breakfast is served in the hotel restaurant, which later in the day serves Italian dishes à la carte to guests and passers-by.

The hotel has no car park of its own, and there is public parking nearby. Check the current daily rate when you book rather than budgeting from an old figure, because city parking prices in Innsbruck have moved.

Want to stay at the NALA? Check prices and availability here.

2. Hotel Outside, Matrei in Osttirol

Hotel Outside is a family-run hotel in Matrei in Osttirol built around local sourcing, and it is the one on this list where the food is the reason to go. The paintings in the rooms and corridors come from a local painter, the spa sells a skincare line a local pharmacist developed for the hotel, every employee is from the region and the kitchen works only with local ingredients.

That kitchen is the point. We arrived to a ravioli-making demonstration with chef Werner Wibmer, using cheese we had picked up at a cheese dairy earlier that day, and we made it two different ways.

I am not the handiest person in a kitchen on a good day, and next to Werner I felt completely clumsy. His enormous hands handled the pasta far more delicately than my small fingers could, and I did not need to look at him to know he was using all his patience not to take over.

That evening he cooked one of the most refined multi-course dinners I have had. Here is what we ate.

• Assorted amuses-gueule
• Organic rocket carrot with apple
• Ravioli with East Tyrolean mountain cheese, not the ravioli we made, which was far too ugly for that
• Sorbet with dandelion and meadow sage
• East Tyrolean lamb with beetroot, potato and herbs
• A dessert of cherry, walnut and caramel
• Pralines

You would expect a dinner like that in a formal room, and it was not formal at all: relaxed, quiet, and built for talking between courses. Then the kitchen staff came out after dinner and started playing music. This chef and his assistants playing for us is the thing I remember about the whole trip, and I could not stop grinning.

We finished with schnapps and a last drink at the bar and decided we would be back.

The rooms were all renovated shortly after my visit, so mine is not worth describing. What I had was large: a double bed, a separate bathroom, a separate toilet, a seating area with a table and a television, and a big balcony.

The spa has a pool, a sauna and treatments, plus an outdoor relaxation garden. Guests can join a free hiking or snowshoeing tour with a national park ranger, rent one of the hotel’s e-bikes, park at the entrance or get picked up from the station. There is a fine-dining restaurant and a regular one, and the breakfast buffet in the latter comes with fresh smoothies, healthy options and a short menu of warm dishes to order.

Want to stay at Hotel Outside? Check prices and availability here.

3. Nationalpark Lodge Grossglockner, Heiligenblut

The Nationalpark Lodge Grossglockner is the place to base yourself in Heiligenblut, because it sits right next to the St Vincent pilgrimage church in the middle of the village and at the foot of the Grossglockner. We used it as the start point for the first stage of the Alpe-Adria-Trail.

The hotel was the Hotel Glocknerhof before the Pichler family rebuilt it as the Nationalpark Lodge, which is why its booking listing still carries the old name. It is the same building and the same family.

My room was simple and spacious and had everything I needed. Breakfast is a buffet with what you want before a day’s walking, including large mugs of coffee and tea, and there is free public parking nearby.

Heiligenblut is the southern end of the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, which closes for winter, so check the road is open if your route depends on it.

Want to stay at the Nationalpark Lodge? Check prices and availability here.

4. Hotel See-Villa, Millstatt am See

Hotel See-Villa sits directly on the shore of the Millstätter See in Carinthia, in one of the stately summer houses the Austrian upper class built around the lake. Several Millstatt hotels occupy houses like these, and none of them stands out from the water like the yellow See-Villa.

My room was up two flights of wooden stairs that creaked agreeably, and behind the door was a space big enough to move into: a large bedroom with a seating area and a desk, a large separate bathroom, and a walk-in closet. Let me repeat that. A walk-in closet.

Not that I had packed that much. Have a look inside my suitcase for this trip.

The terrace is what the house is for. It overlooks the lake, it is furnished in elegant white, and it is where breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee happen. We had the breakfast buffet and a three-course dinner out there. Dinner is à la carte or a fixed menu, and we took the menu, which gave options for the starter and main and finished with the house dessert. I had a shrimp and avocado salad, a fish and pasta main, and finished the dessert without help.

WiFi is free, and guests get the private beach, the spa, a children’s pool and a tennis court. Free private parking on site.

Want to stay at Hotel See-Villa? Check prices and availability here.

5. The Kaltenbachalm, Naturpark Sölktäler

The Kaltenbachalm is a working summer alp at about 1,600 m (5,249 ft) below the Sölkpass in Styria, and staying there means sleeping in the guest room above the cow stable. It has around 10 beds, it is run by an Austrian farming family as part of their summer, and guests can stay roughly from June until September.

I will admit I was worried about this one beforehand. I like my comfort, and I could already picture myself balancing over a hole in the ground in the middle of the night.

None of that. The guest room is above the stable and it has proper beds with mattresses and duvets. There is a separate building holding the family’s cheese-making facilities and a proper toilet, and there is a free parking area.

Food and drink come straight from your hosts. We had a platter of meat and more in the evening and a substantial breakfast in the morning after a sunrise hike.

What I loved most was being invited into our hosts’ living room when it got cold outside, or rather when I got cold, and all of us sitting round the stove tasting schnapps, or water in my case, and telling each other stories.

Life up there is clearly not easy, and these people looked genuinely happy. Our hostess had a permanent twinkle in her eye and her children looked like they had walked out of an idyllic picture book, playing outside and helping around the farm.

It is all about the people. However smart a place is, what stays with you is the connection to the staff or the hosts, and that is why the Kaltenbachalm and Hotel Outside are the two stays from this trip I recommend hardest. Both are run by people with real passion for what they do who hold nothing back in sharing it.

The alm is part of the Berndlhof farm about 30 km (18.6 mi) away, and the farm’s own page carries the details and prices. Book directly with them, because a working alp is not on the usual booking sites.

6. MONDI Hotel am Grundlsee, Grundlsee

The MONDI Hotel am Grundlsee sits on the shore of the Grundlsee in the Styrian Salzkammergut, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from Bad Aussee, and it is laid out as a main building plus several large wooden houses holding the rooms. It traded as the Mondi-Holiday Seeblickhotel Grundlsee when I stayed and has since shortened its name, so an older booking confirmation may not match the sign.

Both my camera and my phone were flat when we arrived and by the time they had charged my suitcase had exploded across the room, so I have no photographs of this one. I will describe it instead.

My room was more like a little studio: a small table, a kitchenette, a double bed and a separate bathroom, with a back door onto the garden and a view of the lake. The condos felt a bit old-school and that is the only remark I have. Having a tiny house by the lake for a night was the appeal.

WiFi is free and the main building has a spa, an indoor pool and a restaurant. The car park is large and can get crowded.

The restaurant does the breakfast buffet in the morning and à la carte plus a seasonal menu in the evening. I had a pancake soup, my food discovery of the week, then a pasta, and skipped dessert for once, which I blame on the amuse-gueule.

One honest note. While we were eating, a wedding was going on in a part of the restaurant that was not closed off. We did not mind singing along with the DJ, and I can imagine some people would have wanted a quieter meal. Staff offered to move people to the front patio, where the music could not be heard, which was the right answer.

Want to stay at the MONDI Grundlsee? Check prices and availability here.

7. Motel One Salzburg-Mirabell

Motel One Salzburg-Mirabell is the budget answer to where to stay in Salzburg, and it is better located than its price suggests: right by the water in a quiet neighbourhood, a short walk from the Old Town and the main sights.

Rooms are basic and reasonably spacious. I had a double bed, a desk and a flat-screen television that started playing every time I walked past it, plus a river view and a decent bathroom.

WiFi is free throughout, and the bar is a good place for a drink before a flight or while you wait for everyone else to get ready. The breakfast buffet is served there in the morning. There is private parking for guests, which matters in Salzburg.

Want to stay at the Motel One Salzburg-Mirabell? Check prices and availability here.

What kind of accommodation can you book in Austria?

Austria’s accommodation splits into five types, and knowing the vocabulary saves you a lot of searching. All five appear in the list above.

1. Hotel. Star-rated, from budget chains such as Motel One to the four and five-star houses that fill the ski valleys.
2. Gasthof or Gasthaus. An inn with rooms and a restaurant, usually family-run, and usually the soundest value in a village.
3. Pension. A guesthouse, smaller than a hotel, breakfast included, no restaurant.
4. Almhütte or Berghütte. A mountain hut, from a working alm such as the Kaltenbachalm to an Alpine Club hut with dormitories. Summer season only in most cases.
5. Ferienwohnung. A self-catering apartment, which is what most families book for a week in a ski resort.

Half board, Halbpension, is normal in Austrian mountain hotels and often better value than eating out, because valley restaurants are few and hotel kitchens cook for their own guests every night.

When should you book accommodation in Austria?

Book months ahead for the ski season and for any week with a festival in it, and a few weeks ahead for everything else. Austria’s two peak seasons are winter, from Christmas to March in the ski regions, and July and August in the lakes and the mountains.

The cheap windows are the shoulder seasons: late April to mid-June, and late September to early December. Many mountain hotels and huts close entirely between seasons, so a bargain-looking week in early November often means the lifts, the huts and half the restaurants are shut.

Practical information for travel to Austria

Fly into Vienna, Salzburg or Innsbruck and hire a car if you are covering more than one region, which is what a trip like this one needs. I spent two days in Vienna before joining the others in Innsbruck, so I flew Brussels to Vienna and took the train across. We flew home from Salzburg direct.

Innsbruck has an airport, and there is no direct Brussels connection, so you would change somewhere. Compare fares across airlines and dates before you commit, because the price, time and connection trade-off changes a lot by month. Trip.com is a good search engine for that.

Austria’s trains are excellent between cities and useless between valleys, which is the whole reason this trip needed a car. If you want to check rail options anyway, Omio covers routes and tickets across Europe.

We drove a rental for the road trip. DiscoverCars compares rental companies, which is the quickest way to see what a week costs from each airport. Book winter tyres explicitly for anything between November and April, because Austria has a situational winter equipment requirement from 1 November to 15 April.

Don’t forget travel insurance

Travel insurance covers you if part of your trip is cancelled, if you get sick or hurt abroad, and sometimes if your electronics break or are stolen. On a trip that involves mountain roads and hiking, it matters more than usual, because mountain rescue in Austria is billed to the person rescued and a European Health Insurance Card does not cover it.

Don’t have travel insurance yet? Check out SafetyWing. Their plans are flexible enough to sign up for while you are already travelling, and when I had a claim their support team dealt with it without a fuss.

Where to stay in Austria FAQ

What is the best region to base yourself in Austria? There is no single base. Tyrol suits a mountain trip, Salzburg suits culture and the lakes, Carinthia suits swimming and the Grossglockner, and Vienna suits a city break, and they are far enough apart that most trips pick one or two rather than trying to cover all of them.

Is half board worth it in Austria? In the mountains, usually yes. Valley villages have few restaurants, hotel kitchens cook for their own guests nightly, and the price difference against eating out is small.

Can you sleep in a mountain hut in Austria? Yes. Working alms such as the Kaltenbachalm take a handful of guests in summer, and the Austrian Alpine Club runs a network of huts with dormitories and bunk rooms. Book directly, because most are not on the usual booking sites.

Do Austrian hotels close between seasons? Many mountain hotels do, especially in October and November and again in late spring. Always check the hotel’s own season before booking a shoulder-season trip.

Do I need a car to travel around Austria? For a single city, no. For a trip across regions, yes: the trains connect the cities well and the valleys badly, and most of the places in this list are a drive from the nearest station.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The five tips below come from the eight-day road trip these seven hotels were booked for.

1. Book the Kaltenbachalm directly with the Berndlhof farm. A working alp with around 10 beds is not on the usual booking sites, and its season runs roughly June to September only.
2. Ask about a breakfast to go. Several of these hotels made one up when I had to leave before breakfast service started, without being asked twice. It is standard in Austrian family-run hotels and worth requesting the night before.
3. Do not search for the Grundlsee hotel by its old name. It traded as the Mondi-Holiday Seeblickhotel Grundlsee and is now the MONDI Hotel am Grundlsee, and its Heiligenblut counterpart was the Hotel Glocknerhof before it became the Nationalpark Lodge Grossglockner, which is why its booking listing still uses the old slug.
4. Check the Grossglockner High Alpine Road is open before routing through Heiligenblut. The high road closes for winter, and Heiligenblut sits at its southern end.
5. Change hotel by region, not by night, unless you want to. We moved every night because we were covering five regions in eight days. Two or three bases would have covered the same ground with far less packing.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from her eight-day road trip through five Austrian regions, from Innsbruck and East Tyrol to Carinthia, Styria and Salzburg, including a night above a cow stable on the Kaltenbachalm. The team covers Austria for independent travellers, including the hotels, car rental, flights and travel insurance worth booking for a road trip, and updates this page when properties change hands, names or seasons.