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The Goldener Hirsch hotel in Salzburg launches its new 600 year-old look

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If you are planning a trip to Salzburg, the good news is that the Hotel Goldener Hirsch – part of the The Luxury Collection from Marriott – has just completed a full-scale renovation.

If you’ve never been to Salzburg then you may not be aware of the Goldener Hirsch and its position in the city.  It is one of only a very small number of hotels in the old town.

Astonishingly, it has operated as a hotel since 1407.  That is not a typo.

Goldener Hirsch Salzburg Marriott Bonvoy

All 70 rooms and suites, as well as the common areas, have been restored.  To quote:

“The hotel’s sixty-four guestrooms and six suites have long been characterized by the building’s unique architecture, adding a sense of individuality to each space. The renovation however has seamlessly balanced old with new. The solid wood flooring is offset by a palette of cornflower blue and antique white whilst traditional, hand-printed fabrics are used in rugs, curtains and cushion covers, all produced by local designer, Jordis.

Guests will find the 15th century guesthouse reimagined with every modern convenience and latest technology integrated seamlessly into each living space. The en-suite bathrooms are generous spaces where deep marble baths and heritage bronze fittings meet rainfall showers and porcelain fixtures.”

The hotel website is here.  It is a Category 7 redemption, which means that reward nights costs 50,000, 60,000 or 70,000 points per night depending on season.

If the idea of staying in a higgledy-piggledy 600 year old room does not appeal – and the hotel is directly in the main tourist area – Salzburg also has one of the best Sheraton hotels in Europe just a few minutes from the old town.  This is one of only a handful of Sheraton’s globally to have the ‘Sheraton Grand’ title.

The Sheraton Grand website is here.  As a Category 5 hotel, a redemption costs 30,000 to 40,000 Bonvoy points per night.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

Marriott Bonvoy American Express

20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (66)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Jamesay says:
    5 Dec5 December 06:11

    Who in their right mind would want to squander precious life time seeing Jack Whitehall?!?!?!

    • Shoestring says:
      5 Dec5 December 06:18

      his dad?

    • Mike says:
      5 Dec5 December 07:17

      Is it not a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act to describe Jack Whitehall as a comedian !

    • Edd M says:
      5 Dec5 December 07:32

      Honestly I’d expect to be receive more than 50,000 points in return for enduring a show by Jack Whitehall

      • ankomonkey says:
        5 Dec5 December 07:54

        🙂

      • ankomonkey says:
        5 Dec5 December 07:56

        Same applies for Stewart and Buble.

        • Lady London says:
          5 Dec5 December 13:04

          I like Jack Whitehall, but preferred the more cerebral wit of Clive James (recently RIP).

      • Rob says:
        5 Dec5 December 08:40

        2 of the VIP packages and all of the standard packages have been snapped up and it’s only 8.40 🙂

      • Cat says:
        5 Dec5 December 10:11

        I take it that I’m the only Fresh Meat fan here?

        • memesweeper says:
          5 Dec5 December 11:24

          nope — I *loved* Fresh Meat and saw Jack W in Cambridge a few weeks ago and he was brilliant (as was the support act, who will no doubt be at the O2 as well)

          • Cat says:
            5 Dec5 December 12:37

            A few of the episodes had us crying with laughter. It’s probably not a series for everyone – I think you do need to have fairly fresh memories of your own student days and a reasonably puerile sense of humour.

        • Cat says:
          5 Dec5 December 12:32

          He’s better in Fresh Meat – I was never a fan of Bad Education (but maybe an actual teacher isn’t the best audience for that sort of series… mind you the film only gets 5.8 on IMDB).

  • Scallder says:
    5 Dec5 December 07:18

    When my wife and I have been to the box we always preffered to sit at those bar stool seats so if it means they’re going to be less popular to book then great news! Good to know you can effectively get a third seat for free too

    • Shoestring says:
      5 Dec5 December 08:09

      if there were just 2 of you, you could go for the ‘3 barstools’ package for next to nothing extra and just put your bag on the spare, telling all the irritated people (quite justifiably): ‘sorry, it’s reserved’

    • Rob says:
      5 Dec5 December 08:13

      They were not bookable before though. The difference now is that if you don’t deliberately book them you almost certainly won’t get them.

      • Chrisasaurus says:
        5 Dec5 December 14:07

        But surely that creates a capacity issue?

        The times I’ve attended it’s been barstools pre event with food/ drinkies, then arena seats once it begins.. ISTR a couple of sofas but not enough for all the people in there without stools

  • Mark says:
    5 Dec5 December 08:08

    I just logged into HSBC Premier to try and move points across to BA and the Transfer Points link repeatedly failed (took me to the javascript). Oddly it worked for the other, non-airline transfer options (which I don’t want). Maybe they outsourced this functionality to BA’s IT department? 🙂

  • Neil Donoghue says:
    5 Dec5 December 08:21

    Bit of a shame that they are now selling the bar stools! I have attended 4 events in the suite and have always sat on the bar stools. On a plus side, if anyone can book these packages they are definitely worth it.

    • Rob says:
      5 Dec5 December 08:24

      What’s interesting is that the O2 is clearly happy with Marriott issuing more tickets than the box has seats.

      • Neil Donoghue says:
        5 Dec5 December 09:08

        That’s a very good point! The most I ever saw in the suite was 11 people of which 4 were staff from the JW Marriott Grosvenor House. Demand must have sky rocketed….

      • Lady London says:
        5 Dec5 December 10:35

        Hmmm…fire régulations? Light not be enough to tip it over the building occupancy unit.

        I wonder why Marriott was smart to identify the bar stools as favoured seats, yet I think missed an opportunity to sell the 5th bar seat separately, for full price as just 1 stool, but with 25% off if someone had also booked another set of 2 bar seats. Why give it away?

        • Rob says:
          5 Dec5 December 11:18

          Agree. I’m sure there any plenty of people happy to come alone, especially as the box is usually full of HFP readers anyway!

      • Scallder says:
        5 Dec5 December 12:06

        Would the capacity of the box not be for the number of seats and the bar stools?!

        • Rob says:
          5 Dec5 December 12:16

          12 or 16 (can’t remember if it is 6×2 or 8×2).

          • Jack says:
            5 Dec5 December 12:25

            I’ve used a client’s box at the O2 quite a few times – I think officially the standard capacity is 15, but the O2 allows you up to 20 in there in certain circumstances. I presume Marriott is probably exploiting this by selling the bar stools as extra seats.

      • Chrisasaurus says:
        5 Dec5 December 14:09

        Very good point, the tickets are issued by the o2 and have the actual arena seat numbers – How’ll that work then?

  • Rob says:
    5 Dec5 December 08:23

    Just back from the Salzburg Xmas Markets. Stayed in the Hotel Goldgasse, also in the Old Town. A SLH member and fine if you like eggs. She Who Must Be Obeyed asked if there was anything other than eggs for breakfast. ‘Yes of course’ was the reply, ‘fried eggs, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs or omelette’? We weren’t quite sure if the (rather austere) waitress comment ‘you will have a nice breakfast’ was her just being polite or an actual order! A beautiful city, 2 nights is enough, it’s all quite compact. Friends stayed over the river, a 10 min walk into town. A wide range of lovely hotels, I’d be happy to stay just outside the centre too – likely much better value. Nice walks, along the riverside, up to the fortress. Only 20 mins/€4 to the airport on the bus. And no sign of Jack Whitehall.

    • Marcw says:
      5 Dec5 December 08:30

      The Alps are just beautiful.

    • CV3V says:
      5 Dec5 December 08:52

      Stayed 3 nights in Salzburg and loved it, arrived on the 26th December and the Christmas markets were being packed up that night, was told ‘Christmas was yesterday’ i.e no more market!

      You can also get out of Salzburg by getting the public bus out to the cable car which heads up into the Alps, with a great al fresco bar near the top. We were there in a freaksihly warm December, sat outside drinking beer in the warm sunshine.

    • Lady London says:
      5 Dec5 December 10:38

      Is there any lounge at thé airport yet or is it just the bar (which seemed popular with locals).

    • Benilyn says:
      5 Dec5 December 12:24

      Any recommendations for slightly cheaper hotels?

      • Lady London says:
        5 Dec5 December 14:49

        Location is important in SZB. I think staying in the centre gives the best experience – unless you are travelling by car when I think there are a few very nice hotels within easy driving reach of SZB (chains needed for car in winter. IIRC I accidentally stayed in one in the ‘burbs – either Accor or Marriott – and nothing wrong with it just was not the thing to do do there.

  • Yorkieflyer says:
    5 Dec5 December 08:43

    Grandpa’s Great Escape? Do IHG know something about the election we don’t?

  • Chas says:
    5 Dec5 December 09:28

    OT – Amex lounge at the O2.

    I’m going to be at the O2 for an event this Saturday starting at 5pm, and was thinking of trying the lounge first. I’ve read Rob’s article from 30 May, but have heard from a friend that it’s essentially just somewhere quiet to sit, rather than being like an airport lounge with any food available. Can anyone confirm? The main benefit I can see for trying to get access is to gain entry to the arena through the VIP lanes…

    • Spurs Debs says:
      5 Dec5 December 09:45

      When I went last year it was just a quieter place to sit and access to get I’m quicker. Food and drinks expensive as is normal in these places.

    • Aslan says:
      5 Dec5 December 09:57

      It is mainly just a holding area to gauge you for drinks (pint £5.50) – main benefits are that it opens an hour before main doors, and you can get a free drink (bottled beer/cider or single & mixer) if you flash an Amex at the reception desk (6 to 7pm only).

      • Aslan says:
        5 Dec5 December 09:57

        Gouge, not gauge

      • Chas says:
        5 Dec5 December 10:18

        I read that it opened an hour beforehand, but that doesn’t seem like very long – if I was going for a meal before a show I’d normally arrive earlier than that. If I get to the O2 and there are no Amex lounge tickets left, then I’ll end up having to queue at a restaurant for ages, so I might as well cut my losses now and book a restaurant (especially as there’s no F&B discount in the lounge, and the free drink is only available after the show has started). If I get there and tickets are still available then I’ll grab them for VIP entry, but Amex won’t get any of my spend in the lounge. Seems like a flawed entry policy / opening times to me.

      • Spurs Debs says:
        5 Dec5 December 11:42

        By comparison the Met Life Stadium in New York was $17 for a large beer about a pint. I nearly fell out my wheelchair when my Son told me!

        • Chas says:
          5 Dec5 December 11:59

          Blimey! I have to say that I didn’t flinch at the £5.50 mentioned above – that’s just standard London pricing. No venue premium applied to the price here.

    • Jack says:
      5 Dec5 December 12:29

      If you’ve got the chance to use any of the lounges at the O2, I would definitely take advantage of it. I go to quite a few gigs there and it’s a surefire way of skipping the ridiculous queues you normally see – going into the O2 Blueroom is particularly good, generally a queue of about 5-10 people and you can go directly through to the arena from there. Amex lounge is still running the offer where you get a free drink between 6-7pm if you’re a cardmember I think (til the end of 2019) so actually works out in your favour if you take into account the shorter queues too.

      • Chas says:
        5 Dec5 December 13:05

        I think I’m going to have two leave my seats in the arena to go back into the Amex lounge (if I can get in) to take advantage of the free drink once the event has started. How do you get access to the O2 Blueroom?

        • Jack says:
          5 Dec5 December 23:16

          Sorry, completely misread about it starting at 5pm! But yeah, you can normally get back through the lounge if you’ve been in there before the show. The Blueroom offer is through the O2 Priority app for O2 customers – normally one offer on the Priority app let’s about 3-4 people in (think I’ve got about 5 max in before on one phone) so if you know anyone going with you on O2, it’s worth doing. Recently renovated too (in last year or so), a lot better than it used to be. If drinking before, it’s normally a lot more reasonably priced too, but the Amex lounge does have live music.

          One tip though – do not expect to eat in the Amex lounge. There is a relatively nice restaurant in there but it’s madly overpriced. They have a bar menu which is rather shocking if I’m honest (all stuff like sushi and cheese donuts!) and they have this absurd rule by where you can’t even order restaurant food to the bar area to enjoy the live music (not even a pot of chips or anything – resulted in me getting quite frustrated with them last time I was there), so you’d be better booking a restaurant outside the arena, or eat in the arena itself (again, expensive but if I’m being honest, the chicken tenders they do are pretty incredible!). Hope this helps!

          • Chas says:
            6 Dec6 December 07:19

            Thanks Jack – that’s really helpful. Unfortunately none of us are on O2, but we’ll definitely try and grab some tickets to the Amex lounge if we can.

  • Waddle says:
    5 Dec5 December 10:00

    OT:
    I’ve read that Amex IT hasn’t been the most infallible since the recent rules change and some bonuses have been slipping through the cracks after 6 months rather than 24 for reapplications. I’m looking to get a BAPP again before the new year and knew I wasn’t going to get a bonus anyway due to the 24 month rule but if there is a possibility I may get one by some glitch should I wait another few months or so after 6 months have passed and chance it? I cancelled my BAPP end of July ish.

    • aDifferentSimon says:
      5 Dec5 December 11:20

      didn’t work for me after 7 months, I got a “thank you for your continued interest in amex” letter. Nothing after I met the spend requirement which I did just in case!
      I set up a new online account with a different email address but the IT is slightly more advanced than that!

    • memesweeper says:
      5 Dec5 December 11:29

      Amex IT worked fine for me with my recent SPG application. That’s now my ‘keeper’ Amex. I think I’m done with chasing sign up bonuses, at least on personal cards. For my business I have the new BA Accelerating card but the annual bonus at £ 20,000 spend is too high so that will be cancelled after the sign-up hits.

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