The "Hotel Goldener Hirsch" - A Luxury of the special kind.
The "Goldener Hirsch" in Salzburg, today meeting-place for the international society, goes back to 1407:
Back then the first inn opened it's doors.
Since 1564 the name "Güldener Hirsch" appears.
The façades of the "old building" and the adjoining building,
which was acquired in the Seventies, have been kept simple and unobtrusive.
Understatement to the outside, luxury only behind the bulky old door.
The "Goldener Hirsch" is just completely different from all the other world-class hotels, of which it is one.
Very unusual was the rise of the hotel when it was opened in 1948 by the Walderdorff family.
Harriet Walderdorff made her dream, to be hostess of the international society,
come true in an unconventional way.
Of course the building was furnished with functional and modern sanitary equipment,
but the furniture is antique and had been collected with persistence and connoisseurship
by Countess Walderdorff,
who had foreseen a trend to be popular only 30 years later.
Guests who expect the closet to the right and the bathroom to the left of the entrance
have to re-think completely,
as all rooms are situated and furnished differently.
The hotel was in posession of the Walderdorffs until 1970
and their passion for collecting has marked the atmosphere of the hotel persistently.
With every step you will discover new treasures: here a painting, there a wooden sculpture,
even the bar was made from an antique trunk.
Very unique is also the old "Refektoriumtisch" (an old table from a refectory in a monastry)
which is very popular with our regular guests.
Some years ago a historical decision was made here:
the location for the new Festival Hall was negotiated at this table,
which only documents again the close connection between the "Goldener Hirsch" and the Salzburg Festival.
The interaction of the persistently growing international reputation of the Salzburg Festival
and the one of the "Goldener Hirsch" has been proved repeatedly in the Fifties.
For an audience with high cultural standards,
it was an additional incentive to find an international first class hotel in the city of Mozart.
At the same time the "Goldener Hirsch" profited from the fact that the artists performing at the festivals,
(everyone from a star-conductor to the "Jedermann's" leading man) became regulars.
This was as well a compliment to the cuisine of the hotel's restaurant,
which developed to be renowned not only in Salzburg, but throughout the entire world.
The leatherbound visitors book documents the rise of the "Goldener Hirsch"
with it's collection of autographs that will not find equal anywhere else in the world.
Late Herbert von Karajan's unmistakeable signature was one of the first in August 1949.
And although he was said to be unsteady, he was faithful to the hotel for 3 decades.
"Nach 30 Jahren immer noch" (After 30 years still...) Karajan wrote on the last page of the then current book.
In 1976 the hotel came under the ownership of the IMPERIAL HOTELS AUSTRIA AG
and since 1998 is able to take advantage of international reservations and management network
provided by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
Herbert Pöcklhofer, who assumed the daily management of the hotel from Count Johannes Walderdorff in 2002,
shares his own personal "recipe" for the unbroken success of the hotel:
"The Goldener Hirsch is the epitome of Salzburg hospitality.
For decades, an experienced and proven team has been continuing this tradition
for international guests and local Salzburg society demanding the highest standards of quality:
Each and every guests feels as though he himself were a friend of the house.
" In spite of its international renown, the Goldener Hirsch - with only 69 rooms still a rather small house -
has managed to retain the character of an elegant and noble patrician home.
This is a fact that the organisers of executive board meetings and seminars know to appreciate, as well as private hosts,
who prefer the Goldener Hirsch for individually arranged birthday parties,
weddings and anniversary celebrations bringing together an international and cosmopolitan circle of friends.
In addition to these, the hotel's "Bibliothek" (i.e.: "The Library"),
with its state-of-the-art technical equipment, is also the ideal venue for corporate training sessions,
presentations or other similar functions.
The hotel absolutely meets the expectations of international guests.
In every room a modern telephone is installed on an antique trunk,
there are minibars, colour-TV and air-conditioning.
For all those who travel by private car, valet parking is available.
The guests leave the car, with the luggage in front of the hotel and everything,
i.e. parking the car and bringing the bags up to the room, will be taken care of.
The Restaurant "Goldener Hirsch" with ist Austrian and Interantional specialities is the most exclusiv rendez-vous in Salzburg.
The excellent cuisine caters for gouvernment receptions, parties, weddings in castles and other events.
Wherever gourmet services and perfectly trained staff are in need, the "Goldener Hirsch" will live up to it's reputation.
The tavern "Herzl" has become "the" place to meet in the city centre.
The folkloristic, cosy atmosphere, together with high quality cuisine attracts not only our hotel guests,
but also quite a few "real" citizens of Salzburg.
Goldener Hirsch
