Das Traunsee Austria Hotel - Best Breakfast with Michelin Star Restaurant and Lake Views

Today I'm sharing some thoughts from a recent hotel stay in Das Traunsee, an hour's drive outside of Salzburg. I did a review of my stay in Salzburg in October 2024 which you can read here.

This time we had friends that picked us up from Salzburg airport and drove us to Das Traunsee, in the tiny-ish province of Traunkirchen.

The Hype:

The Traunkirchen peninsula sparkles like a raw diamond in the middle of lake Traunsee. The hotel "Das Traunsee" with its restaurant "Bootshaus", was built directly on the waterfront. Truly a place to dream and recharge your batteries! Small wonders indeed still exist...

The Good:

The room we had must have been one of the best in the hotel. Room 106, with a big terrace overlooking Lake Traunsee and the below dining area. The shower had great pressure, the bed was comfortable and the staff were very nice. The breakfast is included and my wife and I confessed, it's probably the best breakfast we've ever had in a hotel.

You can cut your own cress. There is natural honeycomb, an infinite amount of bread, pastries, cereal, fresh fish, nuts, yoghurts, freshly squeezed orange and of course some sparkling wine for those morning mimosas.

The food in general was fantastic, and we later dined at the Das Boothaus restaurant which was Michelin starred. The food was exquisite but lacked the theatrics of La Colombe, one of the finest restaurants in the world found in South Africa which I reviewed earlier in January.

The Bad:

Weather was awful but that's not the fault of the hotel. (Writing this in Mid-May). The prices of the wines are through the roof, even for the local wines. My wife and I both recognised that we were staying in a very upmarket hotel, so the prices of wines were only going to be at a premium. However, local wines are far cheaper, and better in South Africa. Even in reputable establishments. The local wines in Baden-Bei-Wein where we stayed, (find review here) are also remarkably cheaper.

I also asked if they had an ironing board, as I needed to press my shirt before dinner. The staff informed me they could only provide one the next day. Which they duly did.

The Ugly:

I have to mention something minor, that perhaps might sound tedious to some. The coffee machine in the room did not work. When I alerted the staff they said they would get it replaced. Which never happened. I eventually went downstairs and asked someone at reception to look at the machine, which he duly did and agreed with me (after I showed him that despite the machine making all the noises of coffee production, it wasn't actually producing coffee) and he said he would get it replaced. Eventually the coffee machine was replaced, but it felt like a very unnecessary saga. One morning at breakfast I asked for some filtered coffee and they informed me their coffee machine was broken. Something is afoot with regards to coffee in this place.

The sauna is also only open after 2pm. Considering how intricate the spa is to the hotel, and how luxurious it is, it feels like an unnecessary punishment to only have it open beyond the hours of 2pm. That said, the sauna in Viva Mayr is also only open after 2pm, so perhaps it's common practice.

Hotel website here. Rates vary depending on season. No less than £200 a night.