Luxury and homeliness, tradition and progressiveness, organic methods and gourmet cuisine: the five-star Green Spa Resort Stanglwirt combines apparent opposites to create a unique holiday experience. In this traditional hotel dating back over 400 years, guests will find rooms and suites with a cosy but stylish feel created by warm pine wood, pure new wool and linen. The wellness worlds are even an attraction in their own right.
Rolling alpine pastureland and the distinctive ridge of the Kaiser mountain range from a spectacular backdrop to the Stanglwirt, not to mention the world-class ski slopes and golf courses that surround it. Much of the gourmet produce served at the Stanglwirt comes straight from the hotel’s own 100-hectare farm. Among the Stanglwirt’s many special features include its own Lipizzaner stud, the awardwinning Tennis Village with 14 courts (indoors and outdoors) and the famous “Peter Burwash International (PBI)” Tennis School, as well as the award-winning, international-standard Stanglwirt Golf Sport Academy. Guests can also find privacy and an intimate atmosphere in the hotel’s “outposts”: up on the “Stangl Alm” pasture, where they can discover the secrets of the prize-winning Stanglwirt Alpine cheese, or in the Chalet Hüttlingmoos – the perfect place for the ultimate mountain experience or private retreat. This former forester’s hut, set in the heart of the 600-hectare hunting grounds at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser, has been transformed into a five-star hideaway.
The legendary Tyrolean hospitality is inextricably interwoven with the name “Stanglwirt”, which was first recorded as an inn over 400 years ago. The comfort and wellbeing of guests has been in the hands of the Hauser family since 1722, since when the former rustic inn has been transformed into a luxurious, 12-hectare hotel complex that meets the highest international standards. Balthasar Hauser and his family have shown that it is possible for a hotelier to turn their visions into a reality without losing sight of their roots. At the Stanglwirt, being organic has nothing to do with asceticism. The natural and authentic produce comes from the 100-hectare farm, while the already famous Stanglwirt Alpine cheese is ripened on the hotel’s own mountain pasture. An environmentally friendly heating system, powered by bark waste from nearby sawmills, supplies the entire hotel complex with heat. As if that were not enough, the Green Spa Resort Stanglwirt also obtains 100% CO2-free green energy from a small hydroelectric power station in Tyrol. To power the wellness worlds, the five-star hotel relies on natural mountain water from its own springs flowing straight from the Wilder Kaiser, which is heated by geothermal and solar energy. In the bedrooms and suites, guests love the Swiss stone pine furniture, larch and oak floors, pure sheep’s wool carpets and furnishing fabrics, towels and bed-linen made from pure cotton or the finest linen.
Sustainability has always come naturally at the Stanglwirt. In 1980, long before “organic” and “eco” became the buzzwords on everyone’s lips, Balthasar Hauser built his “green hotel” using local resources. He wanted to embed the hotel in its surroundings and so he built it with what was already there – namely, solid wood, natural stone and sheep’s wool. Similarly, farming organically, sourcing regional produce whenever possible, and using sustainable energy are a matter of course at the Stanglwirt. Last year, following intensive discussions and a detailed period of assessment, the Stanglwirt became the WWF’s (World Wide Fund for Nature) first five-star hotel partner. The aim of the partnership is to work together for a sustainable future, for example by measurably reducing the Stanglwirt’s ecological footprint. It is also a goal that staff and guests will be made more aware of the importance of sustainability and nature conservation. During the hotel’s “Green Week”, a dedicated focus week from 2 – 9 September 2018, aspects of these subjects will be addressed in workshops, excursions and platform debates for any guests who are interested. The Stanglwirt has also built a school an multiple water wells in Ethiopia and is also supporting a rainforest regeneration project in Costa Rica run by the University of Natural Resources in Vienna (BOKU).
The Wilder Kaiser is not simply noteworthy as a magnificent backdrop and a destination for excursions. Stone from the Kaiser mountains is the unmistakeable trademark of the rocky wellness worlds at the Stanglwirt. Balthasar Hauser used the stone to create a wellness oasis consisting of grottoes, caves and waterfalls, large and small. Through the panoramic windows, guests can feast their eyes on views of the Wilder Kaiser. In recent years, the hotel’s wellness and spa complex has undergone a period of regular expansion. This has resulted in the opening of the biggest hotel saltwater pool in Europe (210 m² indoors and outdoors, 36°C), an international-standard sports swimming pool (25×7 m) with OMEGA timing system, and a spacious relaxation zone with open fires and cosy shell seats. The recently extended wellness centre also provides guests with a large event sauna, complete with a panoramic view of the Wilder Kaiser and space for up to 40 people, a pine eco-sauna for up to 25 people, and a waterfall grotto. Outside is an inviting, beautifully landscaped natural bathing lake (517 m²). Babies, children and teenagers are well catered for, with a 120-metre-long giant water slide in the 1000-m 2 children’s water world, a swimming pool featuring water jets, waterfall and pool cinema, and a separate pool for babies and toddlers, boasting a slide and numerous ways of having fun in the water. With the completion of the exclusive spa and its generously sized treatment suites with views of the Kaiser, this major extension to our wellness complex in 2019 added yet another highlight, and exciting times are ahead. More news on further additions will be coming soon…
Even though the Stanglwirt is such a paradise in itself, the magnificent mountain scenery still tempts adventurous guests into the great outdoors. You can hike, jog or ride to your heart’s content, or even explore the region at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser with golf bag in tow. Eight outdoor tennis courts and six indoor counterparts, together with the training camp offered by the prestigious Peter Burwash International (PBI) Tennis School, make the Stanglwirt one of the most popular tennis resorts in the world. In the Fitness Garden (500 m² indoors), guests can take part in free classes such as Pilates and yoga, heart rate-controlled body workouts and much more besides, led by qualified medical fitness coaches. The Stanglwirt is also the ideal starting point for hikers, climbers and mountain-bikers. Horse enthusiasts will love the noble Lipizzaners from the hotel’s own private stud, which can be used for training sessions or for long treks. A special highlight in the summer is the weekly walk with the Stanglwirt’s landlady Magdalena Hauser up to the “Stangl Alm” on the Wilder Kaiser Mountain, including a snack in the original mountain hut where you can taste the hotel’s own award-winning Stanglwirt Alpine cheese.
In winter, there’s endless fun to be had on the slopes, thanks to the nearby SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental – Europe’s second-largest continuous skiing area – and the Kitzbühel/Kirchberg resort with its legendary Streif run. A first-rate network of cross-country skiing trails and winter footpaths rounds off the winter wonderland perfectly. The Aschauer trail even leads right past the Stanglwirt, giving direct access to the extensive network of trails. During the winter months, the Stanglwirt ski school offers not only daily support from professional skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding instructors, but also some great excursions.
In the heart of the Alpine wilderness of the hotel’s 600-hectare hunting grounds, just below the distinctive cliff face of the Wilder Kaiser, nestles the rustic former forester’s hut the “Hüttlingmoos”, which has been transformed by the Stanglwirt into an exclusive five-star chalet. The magical hideaway can be hired as a unique conference venue or romantic love-nest or for private parties – complete with chef and butler service if required. Guests join the ranger stalking through the hunting grounds, where they may observe wood grouse, roe deer and chamois in the wild.
The Stanglwirt fishing grounds (a stretch of river 14 km long, excluding tributaries) rises in the Kaiser mountain range, before flowing from Going to St. Johann in Tirol and across to Kitzbühel as the Gross-Ache river. For all fishing fans who like a challenge and want to be at one with nature, the fast-flowing mountain stream presents numerous areas of sheltered, eddying water with shallows that the fish like to use as their “kindergarten”. From May to September you can fish for river and rainbow trout (the main types of fish) and also char, grayling, indigenous Tyrolean trout and Danube salmon.
For children over the age of three, the hotel’s own children’s farm is a real paradise. On the 200-year-old farm, the children can embark on a voyage of discovery without a video game or TV screen in sight. Instead, they can stroke rabbits, feed goats, collect freshly laid eggs, brush Susi the pony’s mane or give apples to the foals in the Stanglwirt Lipizzaner stud. Professional instructors ensure that their days are filled with games, crafts and excursions. And our youngest Stanglwirt guests will find another wonderful place to play in “My Little Stanglwirt”, a playhouse that not only boasts a handmade wooden kitchen, but also a bell tower and a veranda with a wooden bench. It is made exclusively of natural materials, such as Swiss stone pine for the hand-planed accessories. The crèche is open every day (from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) for the Stanglwirt’s youngest guests (aged from 1 to 3), and there is also an exciting programme of activities for teenagers during the holidays.
