Discover Germany | Wine & Dine | Best Hotel in Austria
BEST HOTEL IN AUSTRIA
Spa holidays with close connection to nature, history and local traditions What makes the hotel DAS.GOLDBERG in the middle of the Austrian Alps so special is not only the new, outstanding wellness and spa area, but also the panoramic view. Even when entering the lobby, large windows open up towards the mountains. The hotel combines old local traditions and history with modern facilities – in its interior and the rather personal atmosphere. TEXT: JESSICA HOLZHAUSEN I PHOTOS: DAS.GOLDBERG
The family-run hotel DAS.GOLDBERG is situated in the small Austrian village of Bad Hofgastein near Salzburg. Located on a high plateau overlooking the village and vale it offers a panoramic view towards the glacier, Alpine mountains and the High Tauern National Park. The vale is not only famous for the surrounding Alpine landscape, but also for its history. For centuries gold and silver mines brought wealth to the region that during the middle 46 | Issue 44 | November 2016
ages was also one of the main trading routes between Italy and Germany. In the early 20th century, Bad Hofgastein became famous for its thermal spas. A tradition the hotel DAS.GOLDBERG relates to and honours with its own luxurious spa. The healing powers of salt and hot steam The hotel’s new steam bath called GOLD. STOLLEN is as relaxing as the innermost
of a mountain, far away from stress and noise. 420,000 kilogrammes of wellness and relaxation, one could say. That is the weight of stones brought in from the nearby High Tauern to furbish the Caledarium, combined with large tree trunks. Both remind of the Gasteiner Heilstollen, a salt cave that had been used for regeneration and relaxation even when the region still lived from mining and not tourism. Even then it was known that warmth and moist air is good for muscle relaxation and the respiratory tract. The GOLD.STOLLEN – Stollen is the German word for tunnel – indeed looks like one. Hidden alcoves between rough rocks, stone floors and soft lighting like one would expect from a miner’s lantern