The Passenger, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel — Hotel in Salzburg

This new hotel on Europark is a suburb of Salzburg but is easily accessible to town by bus 1. Because this is a relatively new hotel, you might be put off by the few reviews left by unhappy guests (some of which were unfair), so I am going to write this in as productive a way as possible. But please note this is from my viewpoint only; experience it yourself.||We traveled here as a family from the US to attend our daughter's choir performance at the Salzburg Cathedral with her school. So, this is not a paid review.||Arrival from Vienna: I strongly recommend you use the train. It is comfortable and reliable. Compare costs on the Geman DB vs the Austrian OBB since you will be on a regional train. Sometimes, the DB is cheaper. Please pay extra to reserve a seat if you are not traveling 1st class (Klasse) and reserve one with a table (it is worth the extra costs if traveling as a family. If single, don't pay for reservations. Thank me later). Your train will connect to a regional train that will stop at "Salzburg Europark Taxham". From the station to the hotel is about 8 8-minute walk, but you have two options for the walk depending on your luggage.||Large Luggage: Exit the train station via underground and keep to the right side of the road (facing towards town after alighting from the train). Follow the ramp up and the path by a wall. The left side (IKEA side) does not have an entire walkway if you walk from the train station). This path will take you directly to the Hotel Elevators or Escalators (If you are in front of steps, that's the wrong entrance.)||Hand Luggage or no luggage: Come off the train station, take a left and walk straight through the mall in front of you. Go straight, exit the mall, and walk past Ikea to the end, where a bus stop exists. Make a left at the bus station and walk to the pedestrian crossing (no lights, wait. The drivers will stop eventually). Cross to the other side and make a right. Walk about 200 yards to the hotel.||Our Check-in Experience: The staff were very kind and helpful. Now, pay attention. This is an European Hotel and unlike American Hotels, they are typically small. In fact, as of the time we checked in today, the rooms have a maximum occupancy of 2 per room. We had an issue with our online reservation since their system allowed us to book 1 room for three people. But they resolved the issue professionally and fairly even before we arrived at no extra cost to them. ||Rooms: This is a chic boutique hotel. First, the room size is small according to American standards but more than enough for two people. They were intentional in the way they maximized the space, and everything you need is in the room for any standard hotel. It is practical but modern and contemporary.||Pros - The bedding is adequate (if you want Ritz Carlton bedding, this will not suit you. However, you are also not paying anything close to Ritz Carlton's price to stay here). Little details make a difference - Hand towels near the vanity set in the bathroom were scented. Mirrors are modern and contemporary; towels are ribbed, fluffy, and very nice. Walk in a rain shower with a traditional handheld shower. The bathroom lights up automatically, so you do not need to turn on the light. All other standard accessories are available. The glassware in the bathroom is gorgeous (again, small attention to detail makes a difference). Nice touch, complimentary still bottled water. Power outlets for plugs are European, but there is a USB and USB C port on the wall. ||Room Tips: Stay on the top floor if possible floor 4). Even numbered rooms have a view of the mountains, which are white and snow-covered in the winter. It is picturesque. The downside is it is not for a faint sleeper as the train track is beside it (trains are electric, but you can still hear them a bit). But I would not trade the view for anything or the slight noise. ||Con - Bathroom light does shine through beautiful shower glass into the room. So, the light sleeper should sleep away from the bathroom side of the bed. ||So why am I rating them so high? There are three reasons for their importance. |1. Staff - Excellent attitude and genuinely want to help make your experience better. Please be patient with some who are new; they will find someone experienced to assist.|2. Location - Convenient to the city by bus 1 (Catch it on the other side of the mall close to the train station.) Easy to ride and no problem for English speakers. Salzburg is a small, walkable town, but you will be on the outskirts, and walking in -3 weather is not fun. You can easily buy tickets online using the OBB or Salzburg mobile app. Just have the tickets when you board the bus. Nothing else to do|3. Price - It is a reasonably priced hotel that will benefit...

We stayed 3 nights during Christmas week, in the fifth week the hotel was open. There are a lot of "growing pains" which are affecting this review and will hopefully be worked out as time goes on. The room itself is quite small (Moxy sized with difficult to use closet space). The bed was very comfortable, and they have made good use of a side table/tray/stool. The one chair in the room is incredibly uncomfortable. The shower was quite good. The room includes a safe, and small fridge. Our "valley view" did technically look out towards the valley, but really you just see the adjacent train tracks. The design of the room with large I beams overhead mean the curtain never fully closes, and even with the electronic blinds closed, there was still light coming through that gap every morning. The soft close for the room doors needs to be adjusted, you cannot pull the door closed faster and it takes 24 seconds to close, which is actually a long time to stand there and wait to make sure your room locks properly. Yes, it annoyed me enough that it started timing it.

The location is good. Outside of the city center, but there is a bus stop only a 3-5 minute walk away with busses at least every 20 minutes. That stop (IKEA) is the last one still in the fare zone, so the aprox. 4 euro per day transit cards work to get to from the hotel. There is a big Spar grocery store and a mall right nearby as well.

The breakfast was tasty, and the buffet areas were easy to access. There are made to order eggs as well as the usual breads, yogurts, granolas, fruit and veggies, meats, etc.

The hotel theming is cute. Seating in the breakfast area and on the terrace is done to look like a luggage belt, hallways look like aircraft window seats, art in the room is TSA x rays, etc.

Overall the staff were super nice and really trying hard. I cannot fault them at all. One issue, clearly coming from management, is that the parking garage and fitness areas are operated by third parties. So any and all issues with those two items (see below) is met with "that's another company and we can't do anything about it" It may be another company, but the hotel has partnered with that company, advertises their services on the website and collects the parking fee. Especially with parking, I feel that if the hotel is collecting the money for the service it is up to the hotel to deal with making sure issues are handled instead of shrugging it off as out of their hands.

There are several high speed chargers in front of the hotel. They work well. Other than when charging, the only legal parking is in the garage, at the outrageous (given the location, NOT in the city center) price of 25 euro per day. For that price, it darn well ought to work perfectly. It does not. The lighting on the ramps is motion activated, but does not activate until you are already down the ramp and turned off of it. This means you have to drive down VERY dark ramps upon entering and going down further levels. It's dangerous. Also, there is a second entry barrier on the lower level and we were told to park inside there to access the elevator which reaches the hotel (there are also offices in other parts of the building). That barrier would not raise, even when a staff member came to "show us how" It simply does not work. So, having paid 25 euro per night we then had to schlep our bags from the wrong side of the near empty garage to get where we needed.

The fitness area (also "not run by us"...) was unstaffed, had no towels available and the advertised Sauna was not yet hooked up (also it is very small, just one little room and apparently hotel guests would be charged an added 10 euro per person per use! This is totally out of line with the norm of Marriot hotels in Europe, I have never been charged by any Marriott to use a sauna at the hotel, including at two hotels in Austria with much nicer Saunas that we visited on...

We recently spent two nights at The Passenger in Salzburg and had an absolutely wonderful experience from start to finish. The hotel itself is beautifully designed; stylish, modern, and full of character, with thoughtful details that reflect its unique personality and connection to the city.

Our room was spotless, comfortable, and well-appointed, with everything we needed for a relaxing stay. The bed was comfortable, and we appreciated the quiet atmosphere.

The location was ideal for us on this trip, it is situated right next to a modern shopping mall, which was perfect for a bit of browsing and picking up a few things during our stay. It’s also just a short taxi ride into the heart of Salzburg, where you can explore the city's rich cultural heritage, including the historic Old Town, Mozart’s birthplace, and the stunning Hohensalzburg Fortress. Whether you're interested in music, history, or just soaking in the charm of Salzburg's streets and squares, everything is easily accessible.

We dined in the hotel’s restaurant on one evening and were thoroughly impressed by the quality of the food and the attentive service. The menu offered a fantastic mix of local flavours with a modern twist, and everything we ordered was beautifully presented and full of flavour. On our second evening, we ventured into Salzburg for dinner, which was easily reached by taxi and made for a lovely night out in the city. The indoor/outdoor bar at the hotel was also a real highlight, a great atmosphere, expertly made cocktails, and friendly staff who made us feel very welcome.

Overall, we had a brilliant time and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend The Passenger to anyone visiting Salzburg. Every member of staff we spoke with was genuinely warm, professional, and eager to help, they truly made our stay feel special. It’s a true gem with outstanding hospitality, great food, and a distinctive style that...