Altstadt Hotel Hofwirt in Salzburg

At this hotel, I experienced serious racial discrimination.

The official check-in time is 3:00 PM. I arrived around 1:30 PM and saw at least 20–30 people checking in before and after me — solo travelers, couples, even two guests sharing one room — and they were all allowed to check in without any issue. I assumed the hotel had a flexible policy and efficient room turnover, so I stepped forward to check in as well.

To my disappointment — though not entirely to my surprise — a male staff member at the front desk told me that I could not check in because my room was not ready. He said I could store my luggage in a locker and return at 3:00 PM. I thought that was reasonable and didn’t argue.

However, after locking my luggage and returning to the lobby, I saw several guests who had checked in after me being given their rooms without any problem.

I was the only non-white Asian guest in the lobby.

Apparently, my room was the only one that wasn’t ready.

I approached another female staff member and received the same rehearsed, official response: check-in is strictly at 3:00 PM. At that point, I made it very clear: I understand your policy, but I cannot accept being treated differently.

After a heated and repeated confrontation, the male staff member suddenly said he could “upgrade” my room — and what I received as an “upgrade” looked exactly like the room shown in my original booking photos. So what exactly was upgraded?

Even the complimentary transportation card was only provided after I insisted and reminded them.

This kind of discriminatory treatment is unacceptable. I strongly advise others not to stay at a hotel where guests are treated differently based on who they are.