Hotel Mercure Salzburg City

Great! The accommodation was clean and the surrounding area was quiet and comfortable.

This hotel isn't old-fashioned, and it's about a ten-minute walk to the train station. The path is flat, so dragging luggage is no problem. The front desk staff are very welcoming and even provide hotel and transportation information in Chinese. They also offer free public transport tickets for the city (perhaps because it's a tourist city, the bus drivers are used to it and never check 😂), which is handy for getting to further places. It's also convenient to walk to the train station and take the 840 bus to Königssee, although you'll need to buy a ticket for that as it's a cross-border bus.

Aside from being a bit far from the train station, this was probably the most satisfying room on my European trip. It was very big and spacious, and I loved the purple theme. I registered as a hotel member, which allowed me to check in early. However, theoretically, a Salzburg transport card should be given to guests during their stay, but the front desk attendant didn't mention it and only asked me to register as a member. Since I had already bought a 48-hour card that included transport, I didn't bother to ask about it.

I emailed the hotel in advance to ask if they could help me apply for the Salzburg Guest Mobility Ticket, and they replied very promptly. This meant I could take the tram from the train station directly to the hotel, which was not only convenient but also saved me a lot of effort, even though it probably wasn't a long walk anyway. Tram lines 2, 12, and 21 are nearby, making it super easy to get around by tram. The station had a timetable, and the trams were always on time. The room didn't have a coffee maker, but there was a mini kettle. The bed was made of two twin mattresses pushed together, so even if you're alone, you can only really sleep on one side due to the gap in the middle. The duvets were also twin-sized, just over a meter wide, so someone larger might find them a bit small.

The hotel is a 25-minute walk from the Old Town, which is quite far and inconvenient. The room was very small, and both the bed and pillows were extremely soft, making it very uncomfortable to sleep, even for someone like me who isn't usually picky about beds. The overall quality of the room is comparable to a budget hotel chain in China. The parking lot is right next door, costing 20 euros per day. It's quite quiet around here, I'm not sure if this is considered a suburb of Salzburg. The area isn't very convenient; there's a supermarket about a 6-7 minute walk away, which doesn't seem far, but it feels much further when you're carrying heavy groceries. There are definitely better hotel options in Salzburg; this one is just mediocre.