Selina Bad Gastein

Selina brings hotel comforts together with the social side of a hostel, so it feels like the best of both. I loved the pool and sauna, and the co-working space is great. It’s also perfectly placed for exploring wonderful Bad Gastein. Having a community kitchen where you can cook your own food is a nice touch.

The place has such a special feel, with a chic vintage interior that made it seem like traveling back in time. The rooms were charming and clean, and the young staff were super friendly. I met guests from all over the world and will definitely keep in touch with some of them. We didn’t care about the lack of a TV. There was also a really cool party in 'Der Keller', right in the hotel cellar. We didn’t get to try the sauna or massage, maybe next time. It was an amazing stay.

For €290/night, I expected basic things like slippers and a bathrobe for the spa, but guests have to bring their own. They don’t even offer either for a fee. There’s no TV or refrigerator in the room, not even water glasses, and certainly no bottled water each day. The hotel and its facilities are outdated, despite looking pretty cool in the photos. The steam sauna wasn’t working for the second day. When I asked reception beforehand if it was operating, they said of course it was, as if there were no reason it wouldn’t be. In the end it still didn’t work, so after looking forward to the sauna all day, I was disappointed. I had to walk around the hotel half-dressed in sneakers and go back to my room. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone.

Our bed and linen were super comfortable, and although rooms were only cleaned every two or three days, we could pick up fresh towels in the basement pool and spa area. We stayed in early fall, when it was mostly peaceful, but the neighborhood nightlife can be noisy. Selina Bad Gastein is a rustic hotel in the center of "downtown" Bad Gastein, in a building about 200 years old. The elevator made it feel like the place could use some renovation. The café team were incredibly friendly and helpful, and the food there was fabulous. Reception were friendly enough, but sometimes seemed lazy and surprisingly argumentative. They brushed off concerns instead of trying to sort them out. The clearest example was the bad internet we had for most of the week. The WIFI in our room was strong and stable, but the hotel clearly had too little bandwidth. I hope management talks to their ISP to increase it for guests working remotely. It’s a good hotel when it isn’t full. I heard Bad Gastein gets very busy in winter, and I might not choose Selina as my first option then because it’s quite far from the villages nearest the ski lifts. For skiing and partying in the Gastein valley, though, it’s probably one of the better hotels.