Where to stay in Bad Ischl, Austria

Welcome back to Beautiful Spaces—a series of posts in which I talk about the apartments, hotels, hostels, & B&Bs we stay in all over the world. It all started in 2013 when I realized that my contentment on the road is directly connected to how much I love where I’m living…and so made a commitment to find beautiful spaces to call home along the way (even if it meant spending more money). 

As you may already know, after many months of self-isolation, this September, Chad and I tucked ourselves away in the mountains for a vacation. A mountain vacation felt like a good compromise in 2020. We were in a low-populated area with lower risk. We spent our days hiking and exploring outdoors. And the few times we ate out, we did so on sprawling patios far far away from other patrons.

It was much needed.

Our base? Bad Ischl, Austria – a small town about 30 minutes north of the famous Hallstatt – where we rented a spacious second-floor apartment about a 15-minute walk from town. 

You can find our apartment on Airbnb here. (I’m an Airbnb affiliate, so if you use my link, I get a small commission.)

It’s a place I’d recommend – not only during a pandemic, but for any mountain getaway.

I was on vacation and didn’t do my due diligence taking photos of the apartment, so apologies that the shots I have aren’t as clean as usual. Take a look at the Airbnb photos for a clearer picture of what the place looks like when I haven’t crumpled up a blanket on the couch.

Things we loved about the apartment included:

:: The ENORMOUS, comfortable bed

:: Pretty mountain views from the balcony, living room, and main bedroom

:: The wood-burning stove for some chilly mornings

:: The location slightly outside town (and away from any noise) but close enough to walk in easily (and reach hiking trails even more easily)

:: The space! The kitchen area is huge. The living room and its sectional are huge. We’re usually in smaller places and we loved all the space.

:: The brightness! So many windows meant the space felt bright and comfortable on days when we stayed in.

We actually liked the place so much that we extended our stay while we were waiting to go to Switzerland, staying for a grand total of around seven weeks instead of just a month. It’s also worth noting that the internet was mostly reliable, there’s a huge grocery store less than five minutes away, and cleaning is included once a week. There’s also a small second bedroom with bunk beds for travelers with kids or larger groups (we just used that room to store our luggage since there’s only two of us). Note that the bunk room is a walk-through room (you have to walk through it to get to the main bedroom) and has no windows of its own. It’s be a great sleeping spot for anyone with light sensitivity.

If you decide to book, a few small things to keep in mind:

:: There is a finite amount of hot water available each day. It’s more than enough for two showers, but we did run out once early on when we were washing all our dishes by hand (they have a dishwasher and it’s better to just run that nightly).

:: There is no washing machine in the apartment. The downstairs neighbor (who helps Karen manage the Airbnb) is happy to do laundry for you when you need it, but keep in mind that you’ll need to coordinate with her. She has the washer and you have a dryer in the apartment you can toss the newly washed clothes into.

:: The apartment is most of the second floor in a big chalet-style house. You’ll need to climb a flight of stairs to get in (and there’s no elevator, as it isn’t a big building). So it’s probably not a fit if you have mobility challenges.

Considering booking? You can find the apartment on Airbnb here.

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