Radisson Blu Hotel & Conference Centre, Salzburg

Let's start with the positives: the hotel's location is excellent, right next to the train station, with a shopping mall nearby, and the bus to Königssee is just around the corner. Now for the negatives: We arrived at the hotel in the morning, but couldn't check into our room until 3:30 PM. We wanted to store our luggage, but the front desk staff initially told us we had to use paid lockers in the basement! Although they eventually allowed us to store our luggage at the hotel, our first impression was already soured. Secondly, we booked two rooms, and for such a large hotel, they couldn't even arrange them on the same floor! Thirdly, the hotel stopped providing bottled water on the second day, and didn't replace our towels! Fourthly, the corridor on the fourth floor had a sour, unpleasant smell! Finally, our room overlooked a construction site, and the sound insulation was terrible, so we were woken up very early by the noise!

I booked for three nights and when I checked in, the hotel staff initially couldn't find our reservation. After some confirmation, we were able to check in smoothly. We were given a room on the second floor, but once inside, we found the mini-fridge was broken. So, I went downstairs and asked the front desk to switch our room. The new room was further inside. The fridge worked, but the air conditioning wasn't very cold. Luckily, it wasn't too hot at night, so it was fine. I'd read reviews mentioning some guests had items stolen, so we didn't leave any valuables in the room and kept our suitcases locked. However, when the towels were replaced daily, I'm not sure if it's because we didn't leave the floor mats on the ground or what, but they were always taken away and not replaced (it's also possible the hotel doesn't provide them). The plastic bottles I intended to return were also taken (but that's quite normal, so it's fine). The area around the hotel does feel a bit desolate, possibly because it's behind a department store and next to a construction site. We could hear hammering from the construction site in the mornings. It's quite close to the train station and bus stops, but for the price we paid, I think it was significantly overpriced. The hotel staff offered us free luggage storage (they mentioned guests normally have to use lockers). In the afternoons, there's iced water and small cookies available on the first floor.

This is the first time I've encountered a hotel changing brands after booking – Wyndham to Radisson, which is fine. Upon arrival, I found a Chinese tour group loudly playing cards in the lobby with no one stopping them; I won't comment further on that… The front desk staff was quite friendly. My first impression of the room was that it was spacious, and I was happy, but then I started noticing terrifying things: a previous guest's coat in the closet, residual water with oil stains in the kettle, and carpet fibers all over the pillows… When housekeeping came, it was an Indian-looking person, so I didn't bother saying much more. Reporting the issues to the front desk only resulted in a room change. The new room was smaller, but I just had to put up with it. The kettle, although dry, still had water stains, so I didn't dare use it… The hand soap and shower gel were practically empty. I was completely speechless 😓

The young man at the front desk was very friendly and let us check in early. The room was quite spacious, clean, tidy, and didn't have any strange smells. The swimming pool is really small, more for kids. There's a construction site next door which is quite noisy, but the room itself was okay.