I da Mitt — Restaurant in Hallstatt

We stayed at I da Mit for 3 nights in mid-August, 2023.||We read many TA reviews of places to stay in Hallstatt (Austria) and noticed quite a few comments about how summer crowds could overload hotels to the degree that they could not adequately handle all the guests, resulting in poor service and delays. This seemed especially true for the larger hotels, who were also sending guests to less-desirable annex buildings.||So we started to look at smaller places to stay and I remembered Rick Steves had recommended I da Mitt on one of his travel shows. It had many of the qualities he looked for: convenient location, not too big, family-run, comfortable but not fancy, personalized service. ||I da Mitt means “In The Middle” and it certainly is. Located right on Marktplatz, this extremely picturesque square draws a lot of visitors eager to photograph the many pretty facades lining it.| |I da Mitt only has 4 rooms. Because of its size it has been referred to as an "Inn" or "B&B" but calls itself a small hotel, which seems more accurate since rooms are very well-appointed with modern en-suite bathrooms. Photos on their website let you see what each room offers and you reserve the one you want. Thus, you know exactly what you’ll be getting when you arrive.||Room #4 would seem to be the best, with a small balcony overlooking the square. As this was already reserved, we went for Room #2, right below it. The remaining 2 rooms do not face the square, but look very attractive in photos and would probably be quieter. On the ground floor is the cafe-bar, where a fine breakfast buffet is served, including local pastries and home-made yogurt. Guests enter and exit through the cafe and up a small set of stairs (no elevator) to their rooms. After hours when the front door is locked, there is a side door to the stairs. ||The bar is popular at night and has a small outside seating area. This means some late-night noise can reach the front rooms, and also cigarette smoke (as smoking outdoors is legal). During the day this was no problem for us, but at night the scent of cigarette was definitely in the air. The room windows were hefty enough to shut out both the smoke and noise and, even though we were there in August, it wasn't so warm that we needed the windows open at night. Otherwise, this could be a problem.| |Thomas Pilz is the owner of I da Mitt and he is extremely efficient, yet personable and generous. Ironically, he had never heard of Rick Steves and got a thrill when we showed him on our iPad the program where I da Mitt is mentioned. He said the program was quite old and all the rooms had been updated since then.||We guess that’s a good thing, because we found our room to be wonderful. Room #2 stretched across the entire width of the narrow building with 3 windows overlooking the square. The decor uses a lot of wood and muted colors, making it restful yet contemporary-looking. The room had everything we could want. The bed was comfortable and there was a sitting area, a desk with a chair, mini-fridge and safe. There was a separate bench for luggage and coat hooks inside the door. The bathroom was up-to-date with a walk-in rain shower and all amenities you’d need. The toilet was in a separate compartment and the floor heated.| |Hallstatt town has 2 “districts,” the older and car-free upper part referred to as “Markt,” and the lower “Lahn” where cars are allowed and where the parking lots are. Markt has the most charm and is what you'll see in most photographs. I da Mitt is here, as well as the most restaurants and stores. Walking this area is a delight, especially early or late in the day. In the more bustling Lahn is the main bus stop, a supermarket, gas station, and the funicular up to the salt mines. You can easily walk between the two, which offers fine views over the lake the whole way.||If you plan to drive to Hallstatt, you’ve probably heard about the need to park in lot P1, which offers a free shuttle to/from any hotel lacking its own parking. We parked in P1 and towards the back of the lot, next to the machine where you pay when you exit, was a telephone to call for the shuttle. By the time it arrived (15 minutes later) other people were waiting. We thought P1 was reserved just for hotel guests, but it is a regular parking lot too, so can get filled during busy times. On our first drive through town the lot was full, though we had waited to arrive until 3PM when we thought the town would be less crowded. Luckily, by the time we looped back around, spaces were available. The shuttle bus is small and does not accommodate a lot of passengers. We understood why as it navigated through very narrow streets and deposited us at Marktplatz where the impossibly charming I da Mitt stood in...

This is one of the best hotels we stayed during our 37 days trip in Central Europe. ||We didn’t arrive until after 6:30pm. It was a bit confusing and we couldn’t find the right parking and end up just have to walk in from parking area by ourselves. ||Tom was very helpful to take over our bags. Also he took us to our room directly. He also gave us some suggestion for best location to photo and time and where to go during the day…..||Our room (#3) is on the top floor and in the back which means no noise from the busy street. There is a waterfall stream running but it didn’t bother us to sleep. We stayed here for 2 nights. ||Our room is very nice and updated. The bed is very comfortable too. There is no microwave in the room. It does have a small fridge in the room. Tom gave us some plates for our dinner. ||It’s very walkable to the famous photo icon location. It is very quiet in the evening when all the tourists were gone for the day until next day before they arrive. ||I da Mitt is located in the center of the little town center! It is also a bar before 9pm. ||When you are visiting Hallstatt, try to stay here for the night. You will find the town is very peaceful to walk around and to photo. It’s even quieter in the morning before tourists came in. ||Tom also prepared breakfast for guests every morning. We like his homemade cake and pastry a lot. The breakfast section was all right. We also like the coffee and chocolate from them. All the staffs here are very nice. (They forgot my lactose free requested but I had my own back up. So no problem at all.)||We ran away to visit different places during the day and couldn’t tell you much about this place looks like during the day. But Tom mentioned lots tourists coming to visit one particular spot only to us. (It might have something to do with Frozen—the animation movie) we unexpected ran into their local march bands preformed on May 1st. It was very interesting bonus to stay here. ||On the day of our check out, Tom also gave us a lift to our parking area. That was very kind of him. ||We highly recommend this B&B to everyone. If you intend to visit Hallstatt, this will be a good place for you to stay. Also you need to book early or be flexible with your schedule for...

This is one of the best hotels we stayed during our 37 days trip in Central Europe. ||We didn’t arrive until after 6:30pm. It was a bit confusing and we couldn’t find the right parking and end up just have to walk in from parking area by ourselves. ||Tom was very helpful to take over our bags. Also he took us to our room directly. He also gave us some suggestion for best location to photo and time and where to go during the day…..||Our room (#3) is on the top floor and in the back which means no noise from the busy street. There is a waterfall stream running but it didn’t bother us to sleep. We stayed here for 2 nights. ||Our room is very nice and updated. The bed is very comfortable too. There is no microwave in the room. It does have a small fridge in the room. Tom gave us some plates for our dinner. ||It’s very walkable to the famous photo icon location. It is very quiet in the evening when all the tourists were gone for the day until next day before they arrive. ||I da Mitt is located in the center of the little town center! It is also a bar before 9pm. ||When you are visiting Hallstatt, try to stay here for the night. You will find the town is very peaceful to walk around and to photo. It’s even quieter in the morning before tourists came in. ||Tom also prepared breakfast for guests every morning. We like his homemade cake and pastry a lot. The breakfast section was all right. We also like the coffee and chocolate from them. All the staffs here are very nice. (They forgot my lactose free requested but I had my own back up. So no problem at all.)||We ran away to visit different places during the day and couldn’t tell you much about this place looks like during the day. But Tom mentioned lots tourists coming to visit one particular spot only to us. (It might have something to do with Frozen—the animation movie) we unexpected ran into their local march bands preformed on May 1st. It was very interesting bonus to stay here. ||On the day of our check out, Tom also gave us a lift to our parking area. That was very kind of him. ||We highly recommend this B&B to everyone. If you intend to visit Hallstatt, this will be a good place for you to stay. Also you need to book early or be flexible with your schedule for...