Luxury hotel in Salzburg

2000 euros for a “dream vacation” including dirt & co.

The hotel advertises with beautiful pictures and better rooms online, and Professor B. is now to receive one of these. His vacation was generously covered.(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

A professor from Vienna couldn't believe his eyes in Bad Gastein – a well-known hotel in the luxury ski resort presented a disastrous picture. After quite a stir, the "Krone" newspaper came to the rescue!

It was supposed to be a relaxing winter vacation – but what a top Viennese scientist found shortly after Christmas in Bad Gastein, Salzburg, probably exceeds all reasonable limits in the domestic hotel industry.

Bunk beds in a dirty "double room"
Room 305 in the venerable "eighteen86" hotel: tiny and dirty – but at a "special price" of just under 2,000 euros for six nights. So small that you can "barely move." The double room that was booked? In reality, a cubicle with bunk beds – plus built-in boxes on the sides that, according to the outraged guest, make sleeping practically impossible.

At least there is a TV, but it is completely unusable. The cable doesn't even reach the power outlet. "I've never experienced anything like this before," the desperate Viennese man emphasizes in an interview with the "Krone."

But the biggest shock was the unhygienic conditions at this posh address: "There was dirt everywhere. Layers of dust and cobwebs on the cabinets and TV," was the academic's sad conclusion.

(Bild: zVg)

Customer satisfaction and top service are promised at the "eighteen86" hotel, but the conditions in room 305 were not up to standard.(Bild: zVg)

(Bild: zVg)

Hotel management initially unimpressed
When Professor B. immediately requested another room, the operator's initial response was extremely cold: everything was "exactly" as advertised on a well-known online booking platform. Bunk beds included. Therefore, there would be no replacement!

However, after an inquiry from the "Krone" newspaper, things started to move, and "the case would be examined closely." A new and much more comfortable room was offered without further ado, and the hotel even generously covered the cost of the vacation.

"Unfortunately, there was a technical defect with the TV during the stay. Likewise, the cleanliness of the room in this case did not meet our high quality standards – we would like to apologize expressly for both defects and the inconvenience caused. As customer satisfaction and top service are of great importance to Keyone, we immediately offered the guest an alternative room," said the management. All's well that ends well?