IMLAUER Hotel Pitter Salzburg

Snapshot

The Pitter opened its doors in 1864 as Salzburg’s first beer-hall hotel, and the building’s original cellar is still serving regional food today. A rooftop pool and Sky Bar with fortress views make it one of the more unusual mid-range stays in the city.

The Story

The Bergerbräu beer hall on Rainerstraße opened in 1864, the same year the railway was still a recent arrival in Salzburg. The Pitter family chose the corner plot deliberately: the station was a few hundred metres away, and the steady stream of travellers it produced would fill the rooms and the dining hall for decades. That link between the railway and the hotel has never really broken, and today the main station is 700 metres from the front door.

Georg Imlauer bought the property in 2008 with a particular personal investment: he had spent an apprenticeship year there in 1981 and still knew the building well. He hired historians to document the hotel’s story in a book called “Das Pitter: From Beer Hall to Luxury Hotel,” then set a EUR 25 million renovation in motion that ran from 2014 to 2018. The work updated all 192 rooms and added 37 suites, but it kept the PitterKeller, the original basement beer cellar, intact. The cellar still operates, still smells of roasted malt and goulash, and is still the most atmospheric corner of the hotel.

The roof is the other defining feature. The Sky Bar and rooftop pool sit at the top of the building, overlooking the fortress, the Altstadt roofline, and the mountains beyond. It is one of the only pools in central Salzburg with that view, and the bar is open to non-guests, which makes it a worthwhile stop even for visitors not staying here. The 1,200 sqm Pitter Event Center with its glass-dome Pitter Saal handles congresses and festivals, with the Congress Center directly across the street completing the picture for delegates.

Visiting

Rainerstraße 6-8, 700 metres from Salzburg Hauptbahnhof on foot, with Mirabell Gardens 150 metres away and the Altstadt a thirteen-minute walk or short bus ride. The rooftop Sky Bar is open to non-guests and is worth the visit. The PitterKeller serves regional Austrian food in the original beer cellar. Rates are mid-range for a Salzburg four-star-deluxe property, making this one of the better-value options for Festival visitors who do not need a Altstadt or river-facing address. The hotel is certified with the Austrian Ecolabel.