Holiday Inn Salzburg City by IHG — Hotel in Salzburg

Worn out, bruised and confused.

Upon arrival at your hotel we were greeted by two very pleasant front desk clerks. They informed us that since we were platinum members they were giving us a very nice room for our three night stay. This, however, was most definately not what we were given. The room (218) was extremely small, run down and worn out with dirty scuffed up walls, worn out and ripped carpeting, old and tired furniture. This was nowhere near what a room in a 4 star hotel should have looked like and we simply could not believe that this was one of the “nice” rooms. We returned to the front desk and explained just how awful the room was and asked to have our room changed.

We were then given room 501 which turned out to be even worse than 218. Room 501 has a badly chewed up desk table leg (see attached photos), worn out walls, carpets and a most discusting and profound smell of urine which had been topped with room spray or perfume in a futile attempt to maks the odor. This room was an absolute disgrace. We proceeded down to the front desk, yet again, to explain how shocked we were and were given room 509.

Room 509 was another dumpy room, but since we were tired from our journey and we presumed that all the rooms in the hotel were old, dirty and worn out we decided to stay in that room. Big mistake. The bed was so used and old that it had large indentations and lumps and proved impossible to sleep on. We decided to try the front desk again where we were informed that there was nothing they could do for us because the hotel was full. We asked to speak to the manager.

The manager met us in the lobby of the hotel and we explained to him about the rooms we were given, why we were dissatisfied and how many times we had thus far changed rooms. He was very apologetic and told us that he would see what he could do but the hotel was full. We had breakfast, went back to our room and received a phone call from the front desk. We were informed that they had a really nice room for us but it was occupied and would only be free after 3pm. The girl told us that the hotel was full and they needed our room so we had to pack up our things, vacate our room, have our luggage brought downstairs by 9am and we would not have a room until 3pm that evening. We agreed because we wanted to sleep that night. HOWEVER, we did pay for a period which covered 3 nights and now we were without a hotel from 9am to 3pm and that was just not proper, fair or in any way correct.

At 3pm we returned to the hotel and, this beats all, we were given room 501. THE ROOM WHICH WE WERE GIVEN THE DAY BEFORE WITH THE CHEWED UP TABLE LEG, WORN OUT WALLS, CARPETS, ETC.. AND THAT HORRIBLE URINE SMELL!!! We were without a hotel room to rest in ALL DAY LONG so that we could be given the same dumpy room we refused the day before. No logic here at all. So, we insisted on seeing the manager, yet again. He apologized again and placed all blame for this incedent on his front desk staff. Where upon I informed him that he was responsible for what his staff does and should have personally looked into this matter. He then brought us up to see to other miraculously VACANT rooms. At that point we were so tired and fed up that we settled on room 605. It was still banged up and old, but it did not smell and we were exhausted.

Those nights spent at the hotel were topped off with children sceaming and running up and down the hallways for hours and absolutely nothing was done about this. The hotel is an absolute shame and nowhere near what a 4 star hotel should offer. The sheets were even stained (see photos).

Upon leaving we spoke to the manager yet again and addressed our complete and utter dissatisfaction at the quality of the rooms we were given, the FIVE times which we had to change rooms, the fact that we were without a room all day on Tuesday and all the stress of this fiasco. We were given a 10% discount on our stay. SERIOUSLY!!!!

I cannot express how horribly wrong and distasteful this entire situation was and how completely and utterly dissatisfied with our treatment and our stay we are. ESPECIALLY, considering that we are loyal platinum members...

Our experience was nothing short of a nightmare, and I feel compelled to bring these serious issues to the immediate attention of anyone who plans to stay here.

Room Cleaning Requests Ignored:

Despite repeated requests to have our room cleaned on the first day, we returned at the end of a long and exhausting day to find that the room had not been cleaned. This blatant disregard for a basic service is unacceptable and deeply frustrating.

AC Malfunction and Dismissal of Concerns:

One of our rooms had a malfunctioning air conditioner, and when we raised the issue, we were told that it was central air conditioning. However, this explanation made no sense, as the AC was working perfectly fine in the other room. This lack of logical response is indicative of your team’s unwillingness to address guest concerns properly.

No Assistance with Umbrellas or Taxi Service:

During heavy rainfall, we requested umbrellas from the hotel staff, but they made no effort to accommodate our request. Furthermore, when we asked for a taxi, they failed to arrange a suitable vehicle, and after much insistence, they only managed to call two small taxis instead of one large one, further inconveniencing us.

Baseless Accusations of Misconduct and Racial Harassment:

The most shocking and deeply offensive part of our stay occurred during check-out. While we were preparing to load our luggage into the taxi, we were approached by your staff and shown a random photograph, accusing us of urinating on the floor. This outrageous and baseless accusation left us stunned. When we asked for proof and requested to review the surveillance footage, we were flatly refused. The manager, who was supposed to handle the situation, refused to come forward, stating that the matter was “settled from her side.” Additionally, when we asked to speak with the housekeeping staff member who allegedly took the photo, we were told she was not on duty. Miss Lucia and Miss Kristina, at the reception, then proceeded to harass us with hostile remarks, even going as far as to threaten us by saying, “This is the last hotel you will be able to stay at in Austria.” Such behavior, coupled with baseless allegations, is not only unprofessional but also deeply racist and discriminatory.

Unjust Demand for Payment:

Despite our repeated refusals to pay €44 for a false accusation without any supporting evidence, your staff continued to harass us. Eventually, they split the charge and insisted that we pay €14 for city tax, which we duly paid. We refused to pay the remaining €30, as we will not submit to such unfounded claims and blatant extortion attempts.

Further to this -

Strong Objection to Unfounded Claims and Inaction on Grievances

I am writing another review with extreme frustration and disappointment regarding the recent developments. Instead of addressing the legitimate concerns we raised as your clients, you have made the audacious claim that our statements are false. I would like to know on what grounds you are making such accusations. While GDPR regulations may apply, basic human rights and decency also dictate that you and your staff cannot harass tourists who have come to contribute to your economy.

I would also like to point out that I had already sent a direct email to you previously, which, much like our other grievances, has been completely ignored. The lack of response and action from your side is unacceptable and reflects a severe disregard for customer concerns.

I expect a prompt and reasonable explanation, followed by corrective measures to address this situation. Your current approach is only escalating the issue, and I urge you to reconsider how you are handling...

4 Star Hotel with no Star service!

Travelling around the world and stayed in so many different types of hotels. But this one we had the worst experience in our life.

We arrived hotel at 2pm and asked staff if we could check-in if room would be ready. But the lady told us that we had to wait to 3pm to check-in -- regardless room was ready. In our years travel, this was the first hotel not let guest to check-in with empty rooms. We could only check-in after the lady disappeared at 3pm with another staff.

The showerhead was not able to stand. The code was broken and repaired by inserting a plastic pipe to the metal code. The showerhead holder was loose and could not hold the showerhead. So that we had to use one hand to hold the showerhead during shower. Next day we asked front desk to fix it. When returned back to room at night, we saw the code had been replaced with new one but not the shower head holder. We still had to use one hand to hold the showerhead to take shower. What was a 4 star hotel experience! On the third night we finally managed to use a stick to help hold the showerhead to free our hand during shower.

The room phone has no indicate (or any instruction text) to tell for how to call front desk. We tried most of the number (0 or 1 or 9) but all did not work. So that we had to walk to the front desk to ask help when room had no electricity returned at night!!!

The hotel advertised that they provide guests with complementary bottle water and coffee. But it was completely misleading -- complementary bottle water and coffee only for the fist night. If you stay longer then you must drink the tap water without coffee.

At all other hotels, staff will all say hello to guests when you returned to hotel and passed the front desk at night. But not at this hotel -- when my wife said hello to front desk lady (same lady not let us to check-in at 2pm), she had ignored it completely.

We asked to clean room daily. But the dust on the floor had never been cleaned in our three days' stay.

Stayed three nights in this guests are tourist group based hotel. We have now understand that tour group stay only one night. They usually check-in after 5pm and checkout before 10am. All the hotel policies are favour to one night stay tourist group not for individual traveller. In general, there would be no complaints received from tourist group so that the hotel never needs to take care their facilities or the guest service for individual traveller. If you are individual traveller and do not want to paid 4 star accommodation for no star service, this is not the...