Parking

Non-smoking rooms

Family rooms

Lift

Heating

Non-smoking throughout

Airport shuttle

Shuttle service (additional charge)

Airport shuttle (additional charge)

Parking garage

Laundry

Ironing service

Daily housekeeping

Internet services

WiFi

Free WiFi

Fax/photocopying

Mini-market on site

Terrace

Luggage storage

Accessible parking

Safety deposit box

Tour desk

Pets allowed

On-site parking

WiFi available in all areas

Sauna

Hot tub/jacuzzi

Golf course (within 3 km)

Fishing

Skiing

Spa and wellness centre

Canoeing

Hiking

Cycling

Horse riding

Ski storage

Ski pass vendor

Water sport facilities (on site)

Windsurfing

Newspapers

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Cella Central Historic Boutique Hotel

Zell am See

Salzburg Region

Austrian Alps

Austria

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One week skiing holiday for a couple. First the good bits. The facilities are actually really nice. The room was spacious, very clean and well maintained. Perfectly good shower, reasonable amount of storage space, with a fridge, safe, and hot drink making facilities. The restaurant again is nicely decorated; we had our own booth for the week and there's a coffee machine that actually makes a decent cappuccino. The staff (reception and restaurant) are really helpful and very friendly. The location of the hotel is very central; it's a 5/10 minute walk to the ski bus (free with your ski pass) and to the City Express ski lift. There's a bit of noise from outside in the evening but it's not excessive. 5* here, no complaints.
And the reason I only gave it 4* overall? The food. Pretty mediocre, if I'm honest. Varying from sometimes 'quite nice' to 'edible'. The worst examples - stale croissants, a seafood cocktail involving chopped up crab sticks in a Marie Rose sauce and a watery Crème Brûlée (I'm guessing) with congealed custard powder at the bottom. Deserts were often packet mousse and the amount of veg with the main course would barely feed a 5 year old. Best to get plenty of the bread (which was actually quite nice) with the soup if you don't want to leave hungry. Not a huge choice of hot food for breakdast - bacon, sausage and scrambled egg. I'd give the food a 3*
So overall, no a bad place to go as long as your expectations aren't too high for the food.

A tale of two halves

Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England

I thought the location was perfect for us as it was near everything we needed. 
I thought the Atmosphere was really nice with live music as all the guests got involved and the welcome drinks was really nice as we got to meet other guests. 
I thought the rooms were really comfortable and they repaired the loose shower door and safe out of us. It Was quite noisy outside with the windows open but otherwise ok. 
I thought the Value of it all as good as we paid for it all up front.
 I thought the hotel was very clean. 
I thought the service was good overall but a bit slow when other guests came in from outside. 
It is close to the gondola and the local supermarket and the ski buses. 

The spa was very nice but took quite a while to warm up.  Advice is to go later in the day to enjoy at its best. 

The breakfast was a continental buffet of cold food including breads, salamis, cheeses, salads, cereals, yogurts, fruit, pastries/croissants/cakes etc, and hot drinks and fruit juices all available.  There was also scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages too.
The dinners consisted of a cold appetiser, hot soup and beef broth with croutons/pancake strips/ fine noodles (self service), a choice of hot meat/fish/vegetarian main course (served to you), and a cold dessert.  Overall, the food was tasty but I was disappointed that there was not a single Austrian dish served all week.  

The bar had a reasonable of drinks and had stools to sit at, but there no other comfy seating area.

The skis/boots room was small and had no bench to sit on, but it was right next to the hotel reception.  I wonder if the hotel could make better use of the basement/cellar space?

Overall at great stay, but dinner choices a little limited.  Friendly and helpful staff.

We've just returned from a lovely ski week with family including our grandchild. The Hotel is very traditional and of different time. For us that is what we expected and they ticked pretty much all the boxes having properly researched the location before booking. Perfectly placed for sight seeing and at the centre of apres ski. They had a really lovely team of people looking after you from the front of house service to the housekeeping teams. Their sister hotel the Alpenblick is at the other end of the scale being a very modern hotel and well worth a visit.

Traditional historic hotel in the centre of the apres ski!

Crystalski holiday, deluxe room, 2nd floor, corner, half board, Jan 2026
Great location for buses and lift if skiing, close to lake walks, in the atmospheric old town, really lovely welcoming staff without exception who made the stay superb. Lovely cosy ambience in hotel generally. Big room, comfy bed. But on balance for me there are plenty of hotels a stones throw from the centre but on quiet streets. For me this would win over even if 5 more mins to walk to the bus station/ City lift if returning to Zell as this hotel is right in a party hot spot! For some this is a winner. Maybe as a more mature person in age...I want more quiet. Also really rubbish boot room and  just the sauna in spa area working would drive me elsewhere. And food for me was not consistently good enough to make me return for that.
More detail that if I was deciding I might find helpful:
Pros: 10 mins walk to City Express Lift, 5 min walk to bus station for buses to Kaprun and Zell's Areitbahn lift(600)/Saalbach (680)/ local skibus (71) to other Zell lifts. The local mountain has limited skiing so be prepared for bus journeys of 30+ min to the other resorts if you are more than a beginner. The ski pass includes them. I chose this hotel specifically due to ease of bus access as we wanted to go to Saalbach and Kaprun as well as Zell. 5 mins to lake walks. Restaurants and bars all around as right in the centre of the old town. Also chose this hotel specifically due to this as nice for evening walks and drinks.
Very friendly staff. Large room, comfy bed ,clean. Nice view on the street with historic buildings. Bath, big plus for me as I Iove a hot soak after skiing. Chose the hotel for this. Mini fridge and kettle with tea and coffee a great addition to facilities. Some food very nice, some very average.
No noise at night from within the hotel.
Cons
Big one: noise from outside. Our room was on the corner so  it had 2 sets of windows and  french doors to a little balcony, so probably received more noise! I didn't mind hearing the music thumping at 6pm but you need really good earplugs unless you can sleep through shouting until midnight and after. I took super earplugs having been warned by other reviews so I was ok and generally slept pretty well. The hotel itself states in their pamphlet that they give out to guests that this is a hotel for those that that like to be part of the town action.... So if you want the advantages of the location, take earplugs!
Hotel states it is 4 star. I would say 3. Quite basic room and bathroom. No dressing gowns unlike in their picture on website. With a spa you need a towelling dressing gown. We took our own as I read they charge Euro5 per day to hire! Also not 3 mins walk to the lift as their website states. 10 mins at least uphill.
Staff not trained in info. Could not help with bus timetable at all. This is key for Zell am See as majority of skiing is only accessed via the Postbus. Bus timetable online is not accurate. You need to get info from the bus stop itself.
Tried the spa once. Only 1 sauna working. Other out of action, steam room not turned on, whirlpool just lukewarm. They said it's just for the bubbles, not supposed to be hot. So I got cold very quickly. Preferred hot bath!
Website states use of Alpinblick hotel spa included. Exaggeration. We got a voucher for one free visit only. It was superb though. And tbh we only had time for one visit as it is 40 min walk along the lake ( lovely) or a bus ride away.
Food: Dinner: no salad bar. Starter item ok 50%  of the week. Smoked salmon and tomato and mozzarella offered at breakfast. Would have been better as an evening starter every day alongside a different daily optional offering. As someone else said, main course felt like they were on a budget. Usually enough meat or fish but tiny portions of rice/ potatoes/ veg. Why cut back on the cheap ingredients? No pastries at breakfast like pain Chocolat except croissants which I usually love but these were not fresh. Plenty of fruit, yogurt, nuts, very tasty scrambled eggs and bacon, hams , cheese and bread though. Won't go hungry!
Terrible boot room! Boot heaters basic but kind of worked. But big negative: very cramped, no bench to sit on to put boots on and take off! For a ski holiday, being able to put boots on and off in safety and comfort is a basic must! Maybe Brundle Sports at the City Express Lift has a good storage option if you rent from them but we wanted to use the buses which are closer than Brundle and not hike further. Also we hired through Crystalski who use ProSport next to the hotel who have no storage.

Much to recommend

The staff were friendly and very helpful.  The food was amazing, with a good selection. The rooms were big and comfy.  I would highly recommend Cella Central.

Fantastic stay

In the heart of Zell am See! You love a lively city life, but would also like to recharge your batteries on the imposing mountains? You love Austrian cuisine, but sometimes it has to be a hearty burger or a fine steak? You want to celebrate life, you are active, you enjoy the hustle and bustle and prefer to be right in the middle of it all? Then you've come to the right place! We have created a place where you can experience the combination of vacation, enjoyment, party & cool events to the full with us at Cella Central.

4.3/5

Cella Central Historic Boutique Hotel

4.3/5

Zell am See is great for:

Accommodation

Facilities