Casino Kitzbuhel Review

This is my review of the Casino in Kitzbuhel. For more information on this casino, please click here.

After my positive experience at the Casino Seefeld, I was very excited to visit another Austrian casino. The Casino in Kitzbuhel definitely met my high expectations. I found the Casino Kitzbuhel to be one of the friendliest, liveliest and most tasteful casinos in Austria. Part of it , no doubt, is the location. Kitzbuhel is a picturesque medieval town nestled amidst the Tyrolean Alps. It is one of the most well-known and exclusive winter-sports destinations in Austria. The Casino, designed as a cozy, elegant ski lodge, is the perfect place for the town’s visitors to round off their day. I had some issues with the instruction on the casinos’ website regarding parking (blow). But this did not diminish my pleasure in visiting this casino.

We have visited the Casino on Saturday, July 21st, at around 8 pm. There was already a sizable crowed inside. Not too full and not too empty; just right to create an enjoyable casino evening atmosphere. At the time of our visit, only the ground floor of the casino was open. I later learned from the casino manager that there is a second floor to the casino, which is open only during the high seasons. He was kind enough to lead me up there and let me take a look around. You can read all about my interesting conversation with Andreas below.

Harley Davidson Festival à la Kitzbuhel

The Casino is located in the heart of the old city of Kitzbuhel. If you are arriving by car, you will need to park outside the old city limits and walk through the pedestrian-only, narrow alleyways leading to the casino. I did not know this prior to my visit and so entered the Casino Kitzbuhel address to the navigation system, which proved to be a mistake. Instead, visitors should enter the street name “Klostergasse”, and they will arrive at the casino parking lot, which is located in front of the “Badezentrum Aquarena” swimming pool in Kitzbuhel. Once there, call the Casino (+43 05356 62300 15119) and the casino stuff will open the parking lot gate for you. When we arrived at Kitzbuhel, all parking lots near the city center were full, due to a Harley Davidson convention that was taking place that day. As the receptionist at the casino later aptly put it when we asked him about it: “this is Kitzbuhel, it is more like a Harley Davidson convention for doctors and lawyers”. We were lucky, and after circling the city center a couple of times, we eventually found a parking spot in a not too far street and walked our way back to the casino.

Dress Code

There is no real dress code at Casino Kitzbuhel. Most players were dressed in jeans and a dress shirt. I’ve also seen some suits. The casino, however, clearly intends to maintain an elegant atmosphere, even if neither jacket nor tie is officially required.

Admission

Entrance to the Casino Kitzbuhel is free. Visitors are offered the option to pay €27 and receive €30 worth of chips and a welcome drink. If you take the offer, however, you must play each of the chips you received at least once before you can cash out. You will receive golden €5 chips. Once you placed a bet using these chips, depending on the result of your bet, the croupier will pay you your winning in regular chips, which you can later take to the cashier and cash out.

Table Games at the Casino Kitzbuhel

When we entered the casino, two Roulette tables were open, with a minimum of €2, and one Blackjack table with a minimum of €5. A second Blackjack table and a casino Holdem table were closed. The casino manager later offered to open the casino Holdem table for me. Although very kind, there is nothing exceptional about his offer, however. Casinos will normally open available tables upon a visitor’s request. I urge you to try it. You will not seat alone for long, other players will quickly join.

Poker

The casino didn’t offer Poker at the time of my visit. According to the casino manager, they only offer Poker during the high seasons (August and ski season) because there is no demand for it during the rest of the year. However, he emphasized that anyone can call the casino year round and ask to order a table for a Poker cash game and they will gladly accommodate the request.

During the high season the casino offers three tables. Two tables with limits of 5/10 and a third table with limits of 50/100. Casino Kitzbuhel players prefer the 50/100 table, according to the casino manager. There is always a high rollers cash game going on.

Slots Casino

The slots are located in the smoking area, next to the live table games. There are quite a few machines (54 according to the casino’s website), mostly 5 reel video slots. I didn’t see Multi Roulette stations (a central boiler connected to several electronic play stations).

Atmosphere

From my past experience, I already knew that the Austrians have a knack for accessorizing their casinos. Still, I was completely enthralled by the atmosphere in the casino Kitzbuhel. The main motif is the warm and cozy yet exclusive ski lodge. The low ceiling that’s paneled with wood, which usually is not my taste, is perfect here. The casino did not compromise on a modern and elegant look. Instead, the modern and traditional are perfectly combined here. The carpet is a modern design with a colorful, abstract pattern dominated by red. The Roulette tables are dark wood, with curvy legs, according to Austrian/Bavarian tradition, yet they are equipped with all the modern gadgets, including the electronic board offering players the relevant statistics.

Smoking

Austrian casinos clearly prefer smokers. Casino Kitzbuhel is no different in this respect. Smoking is allowed in the casino. The small non-smoking area offers only a few slots and one blackjack table, which was closed at the time of our visit.

Bar / Restaurant

Part of what helps creates the cozy, ski lodge atmosphere in the casino is the bar at the main gaming hall. The bar is made of long, curvy, dark wood. The lighting and candles add to the worm friendly atmosphere. There is also a fine cuisine restaurant at the casino. The entrance is from the street. I did not study the menu very closely.

Casino Talk with Andreas – Manager of Casino Kitzbuhel

My girlfriend took off somewhere and, left alone, I used the opportunity to approach the casino manager, who later introduced himself as Andreas. A quick question turned into a longer conversation with a guided tour to the second floor of the Casino, which was closed at the time. Below is a recounting of my conversation with Andreas:

Avi: Hello, I understand you have more live game tables on the second floor?

Andreas: Yes, we do, but the second floor is currently closed. We open the second floor only during the high seasons, August and ski season. We then have a lot more tables available, including Poker tables. The rest of the year, we hold exhibitions and other cultural functions in the second floor’s main hall.

Avi: Oh, now things are clearer. I was already wondering where the Poker tables are.

Andreas: (slightly resigned) Poker is an issue here. We would very much like to offer Poker year round and try hard to attract Poker players. We advertise and make special offers, but there is little demand for Poker is the low seasons.

Avi: I think that it’s the players’ loss. The atmosphere in your casino is fantastic of a Poker evening.

Andreas: Yes. The town’s visitors in the high seasons like to play here. We have three tables open daily for cash games and they are always occupied.

Avi: What limits do you offer?
Andreas: We offer two tables with a limit of 5/10, and a table with 50/100.

Avi: A limit of 50/100 is quite stip. Do you have clientele for such games in Kitzbuhel?

Andreas: Yes, in fact, we have more demand for the 50/100 table. The casino also looks different in the high seasons, with the upper floor open. Would you like to take a look up there?

Avi: Yes, gladly!

Andreas lead me back to the entrance of the Casino, where a winding staircase leads up to the second floor. We went up the stairs to the lobby area on the second level. A beautiful statute of “Fortuna”, the Roman goddess of luck, holding a cornucopia (“the horn of plenty”) full of coins was decorating the lobby. We then entered the main hall on the second floor. The design was in line with the other parts of the casino – low ceilings paneled with wood beams, dark wood bar and a modern carpet with a lively floral design- exactly the right atmosphere after a long hiking or a cold downhill in winter. The hall was being used for an art exhibition and so was empty of game tables.

Andreas: We began with only this gaming hall. In 1998, we renovated the casino, and opened the floor below, on the street level. We now hold the live games on the bottom floor in the low seasons. The restaurant was always on the bottom level.

Avi: How does the casino look like in high season? Do you have live games on both floors?

Andreas: during most of the high seasons we have live games only on the second floor. We have up to 5 Roulette tables open here and 4 Blackjack tables. At the very peak of the season, around Christmas, we hold live games on the lower floor as well.

Avi: This sounds like a lot of coordination work.

Andreas: Yes, we also have a large storage area on the second floor, where we keep our tables when not in use, so we can be flexible. It is not always easy to predict the demand and we play it by ear.

Avi: Impressive. May I take a few pictures up here, as there are no players?

Andreas: That would be fine. As I said, this space looks completely different in season, full of tables and players and bustling with life.

Avi: thank you for your time!

Conclusion

I was very excited by the Casino in Kitzbuhel. The Austrians, it seems, know just how to combine the traditional with the modern. This was exhibited very tastefully in the Casino Kitzbuhel’ design. Even though I saw the second floor of the casino when it was closed, I could easily imagine the hustle and bustle of a busy casino and the cozy and warm atmosphere of an elegant ski lodge in winter. The casino offers a variety of the traditional games and is willing to accommodate the players every demand. In short, I recommend making a big detour to visit Casino Kitzbuhel.