Solarbad

Solarbad Gastein is a seasonal open-air bathing complex at Solarbadstrasse 24 in Dorfgastein, in the Gastein valley of Salzburg province, Austria. It presents itself as the family bath in the sunniest part of the valley and is marketed through the Gastein regional tourism organisation. The site is compact: a single bathing enclosure with four pools, two slides, extensive lawns, a small indoor lying area, a sauna and wellness block and the Hoamat Liab restaurant on a terrace above the water.

The four basins are each held at a stated temperature. The warm-water pool runs at 32 °C, the movement pool at 29 °C, the children's pool at 28 °C and the sports pool at 26 °C, the last intended for swimmers wanting to cover lengths. Two slides serve the family area, an ordinary water slide and a larger one the site plan labels a giant water slide, alongside a children's play tower, a slackline and separate play and lying meadows. A beach volleyball court hosts an annual tournament. The sauna and wellness block, open only Thursday to Sunday from 15:00 to 20:00, holds a bio sauna, a Finnish sauna and a steam bath.

The bath is not a thermal establishment despite its setting. The operator claims no thermal, healing, brine, spring or mineral water for its own pools; they hold ordinary heated water, and the valley's two thermal baths, Alpentherme Gastein and Felsentherme, are separate venues. This makes Solarbad a summer leisure bath in a spa region rather than a spa bath itself.

Operation is short and weather-dependent. The season runs from mid-May to mid-September, with the bathing area open daily from 12:00 to 20:00 in the shoulder weeks at either end, and from 10:00 to 20:00 through the main season from late June to the end of August. The operator states plainly that there is no bathing operation on rainy days. The restaurant keeps longer hours than the bath and closes on Mondays outside July and August.