„Many Munich residents know the Stanglwirt in Going am Wilden Kaiser as a place to be. Is it also suitable for three days of workation?” Angela Barzen, Coach and Managing Partner of Business Wellbeeing
Only 15 minutes away from Kitzbühel, many associate the Stanglwirt with big parties and lots of celebrities. We associate this hotel world with the famous “Weißwurstparty” and the unique Lipizzaner breeding, with luxury and an impressive wellness area. We, that is Gabriele Frantzen, designer from Munich, and me. At the Stanglwirt we want to spend three days as friends both relaxing and working. The backdrop at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser, the hotel grounds with numerous integrated paddocks – that should make both possible, we thought. So much in advance: It turned out to be an unfortunately far too short journey through cordiality, profession, attention and tranquillity.
Plenty of space to feel good and work
The 12-hectare hotel grounds extend over several wings, unobtrusively spreading 170 double and family rooms, studios and suites. We stay in a suite where everything is provided, especially for the cold season: a fireplace, a lounge corner, a sauna with a lounging area on its own terrace, two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, and everything is equipped with the latest technology.
Each of us can get on well with our project. On the balcony we enjoy the view of the Wilder Kaiser: ideal not only to “work things off” but also to be creative.
The same goes for the many other areas of the hotel: everything is extremely spacious and yet cosy. There are several places where I can withdraw, switch on my laptop and access the free high-speed Wi-Fi everywhere without any problems. Video conferences are also possible in the rooms as well as in the larger meeting rooms provided by the Stanglwirt.
And with all the experience of the facility, you stay in well-being motion: Due to the spaciousness, it can take five minutes to get to the reception or the breakfast room. If you prefer shorter distances, it’s best to let us know in advance when booking your room.
But to be honest: The way is the goal everywhere here. The Stanglwirt can be experienced as a biological showcase world far away from any party. Because the 400-year-old hotel institution, which has been run by the Hauser family for ten generations, is so much more – a stud farm, a cheese dairy, an organic farm. A lot of tradition and, above all, a lot of attitude.
Unconditionally ecological
Agriculture is the real heart of the Stanglwirt, “from the farming tradition comes mindfulness towards nature and the environment and the continuation of tried and tested traditions”, it says here. The house has been considered an organic hotel since 1980.
There is traditional alpine farming at an altitude of 1,340 metres and home-bred cows, which are still allowed to have their horns here due to the generous space in the barn. There are currently 21 dairy cows in the barn, and it goes without saying that the Stanglwirt uses 100 per cent of this milk.
At breakfast we enjoy the milk and homemade cheese from our own cheese dairy on the Graspoint Hochalm. The raw milk is heated here in the huge copper kettle and the cheese is skimmed off with coarse cloths and formed into loaves. The Haflingers often bring the cheese loaves down to the valley, because there is no road from the alp to the valley.
We also experience the cows in the historic Gasthof Stanglwirt – and they experience us. Only a glass wall separates us from each other. When the hotel had the cowshed window put in, this added another notch to the hotel’s profile. It’s best to make a reservation, many guests from other hotels or locals also dine here.
And what else is there?
… everything! In the 12,000-square-metre wellness area, we do our laps early in the morning amidst rocks, streams and fireplaces. Later, we treat ourselves to a Luxury Anti Aging Beauty Treatment, get lots of tips that can easily be taken home and enjoy a mountain blood juice to go with it. Wonderful!
Equally enticing is the region. If you don’t want to go biking, horseback riding, golfing, skiing or fishing, you can simply go for a walk. A walk around the Schwarzsee lake is wonderful, followed by a delicious drink in the Luca restaurant. Schwarzsee is a 15-minute drive from Stanglwirt. And in just a few minutes you can also be in Kirchberg or Kitzbühel.
Angela Barzen …
often takes a closer look as a coach, but here she was convinced: The Stanglwirt is a place where you can feel that staff and the Hauser family love what they do. Once she also met the hotel manager Balthasar Hauser when he was quietly reading the newspaper among all his guests and was very charming and open for a short conversation – a bit of Stanglwirt history at first hand, so to speak.
At a glance
Arrival: By car about 1 hour from Innsbruck and Salzburg, two from Munich and more than three to four from Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich. Alternatively, the train is suitable from Munich and Innsbruck. The hotel offers a shuttle service from various train stations and airports. Those arriving by e-car can also e-fuel at the hotel at one of the six stations.
Hotel: Organic, wellness, luxury, agriculture – the Stanglwirt is a 400-year-old family business that combines the most diverse worlds. 170 Swiss stone pine rooms and suites meet an approx. 12,000 square metre spa, an in-house Lipizzaner stud farm, a tennis village and a 100-hectare farm with its own alpine pasture and fishing pond. In addition, there are several restaurants, a Golf Sport Academy, the Chalet Hüttlingmoos for couples, celebrations or as a conference location, as well as ski slopes and golf courses in the surrounding area. The wellness area offers a rock pool, a brine pool (Europe’s largest), a sports pool, a waterfall grotto and panoramic relaxation areas, various saunas, beauty treatments and fitness equipment. Children are welcome – whether in the children’s water world with the hotel’s own pool cinema or in the children’s farm.
Working Places: lobby, winter garden, room, balcony – there are several side rooms and retreats everywhere
Sport and Fitness, among other things:
✓ international sports swimming pool (25×7 metres) with time measurement
✓ Tennis village with 14 indoor and outdoor courts and tennis school
✓ Golf Sport Academy
✓ Riding school
Adresse: Bio- und Wellnesshotel Stanglwirt, Kaiserweg 1, A-6353 Going am Wilden Kaiser, Austria, +43 53582000
Photos: © Barzen
