Hotel Zum Heiligen Geist

“Luxurious, and very good value”

This is a really good hotel, very recently renovated. We had asked for a quiet room on principle, but were offered a front room which was much bigger. Mariazell and the street in which the hotel is found are very quiet, and the rooms are all double glazed. The room was quite magnificently spacious,… more

This is a really good hotel, very recently renovated. We had asked for a quiet room on principle, but were offered a front room which was much bigger. Mariazell and the street in which the hotel is found are very quiet, and the rooms are all double glazed. The room was quite magnificently spacious, with a proper double (king-size) mattress and the usual separate duvets. The furniture was all new in a traditional mahoganyish style, including a bombé front wardobe. There were nice plush-velvet sitting chairs and damask curtains. The rooms were nicely lit with illuminated coving on the ceiling. The bathroom was one of the best I have come across, with a proper high fixed shower rose as well as a separate hand-held washing rose. The quality of the renovation was extremely high. Breakfast was OK. Tourism in Mariazell is concentrated at weekends, so mid-week things are very quiet. The main sight in Mariazell is the pilgrimage church. This is a serious cult site, and unfriendly to tourists (no photos in the church). The main feature is the silver shrine to the Virgin, the focus of the cult. The church is gothic with heavy seventeenth century stuccoes overpowering not very good frescoes. There are some very interesting votive paintings in the Kunstkammer going back to the eighteenth century, admission to which gets you into the galleries along the side, which is worth it for the view into the church. No photos again: as the attendant said, the votive images belong to the Virgin Mary, who, as we know, dislikes photography. There are two baroque towers flanking the gothic centre section. Just outside the church are dozens of stalls selling religious items. The town is mostly hotels.

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“Affordable luxury”

Affordable luxury.Great hotel with big and confortable rooms. Friendly staff and great breakfast. Exceptional value. Certainly the beat place to stay in Mariazell. Close to the city center and to the Erlaufsee (lake).

“Comfortable accommodation in central location”

Spent 3 nights here. Booked via booking.com and took a family appartment with two bedrooms although there were only two of us, as this was the only room available in Mariazell via booking.com at the time of reservation. The hotel has clearly been very recently renovated so all the furnishings are i… more

Spent 3 nights here. Booked via booking.com and took a family appartment with two bedrooms although there were only two of us, as this was the only room available in Mariazell via booking.com at the time of reservation. The hotel has clearly been very recently renovated so all the furnishings are in excellent condition. The hotel is quietly located but very central, just a stone's throw from the Bürgeralpe cable car station and about a five minute walk from the basilica. The beds and chairs were very comfortable and we had our own balcony. I think we had the only room in the hotel with its own balcony but there was also a communal sun terrace available. A wide range of dishes were available from the breakfast buffett and when scrambled eggs were offered, they were freshly made. There is no lift and we were on the second floor so we wished we had taken two small suitcases instead of one large one as they would have been easier to move up and downstairs. We found a (cheap) parking space outside the front door for a limited time period when we arrived and were lucky enough to find free parking nearby for the rest of our stay. We felt comfortable in this hotel and would return.

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