Schloss Fuschl: a castle hotel fit for a von Trapp

What’s the buzz? Rosewood’s growing European empire is largely focused on big cities; over the next two years the Hong Kong-based group is due to open hotels in Milan, Rome, Amsterdam and London. But its latest property, opened this month, is an altogether more rural affair: a castle on the banks of a stunning glacial lake in Austria. 

Schloss Fuschl, which was built as a hunting lodge in the 15th century for the fabulously wealthy Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, sits on its own peninsula overlooking a lake of the same name. Later used as a private home, and as lodgings for foresters and US soldiers, it first became a hotel soon after the end of the second world war.

Since 2001, it has been owned by the Schörghuber family (whose interests stretch from salmon farming in Chile to German real estate and Paulaner beer). It operated latterly as a Marriott, until Alexandra Schörghuber, who also owns the Rosewood Munich hotel, showed it to Rosewood president Radha Arora during a classic car rally three years ago. His eyes lit up and, in September 2022, the hotel closed and the Schörghubers invested tens of millions of euros in a major rebrand and refurb.

Location, location, location Lake Fuschl, a 4km slug of shimmering jade, marks the gateway to Salzkammergut, which sounds like a digestive aid but is in fact an idyllic region of mountains, lakes and villages barely a 30-minute drive east of Salzburg, the Austrian city best known as Mozart’s birthplace.

This is full Sound of Music country — all bright-green meadows and red geraniums spilling over chalet balconies. (The church in Mondsee, where Maria and Baron von Trapp exchanged vows, is a 20-minute drive in one direction; Schloss Frohnburg, the von Trapp family home, half an hour in the other). There is also a lot of stealth wealth here — one of Roman Abramovich’s daughters is among the owners of the deceptively modest-looking summer houses that ring the lake, which stretches east to Fuschl itself, a tiny town that is also home to the headquarters of energy drink maker Red Bull.

Checking in The castle’s stout tower, with its wood-shingle roof and sunny yellow exterior, isn’t quite up to Neuschwanstein fairytale standards but nonetheless has a commanding presence over the lake. Several wings and houses of varying vintages make up the rest of the hotel. Ninety-eight rooms, including six standalone two- or three-bedroom lake chalets, rise up in levels of grandeur to the “heritage” suites that occupy the upper floors of the castle itself and have the best views.

The obvious spot for honeymooners or claustrophobes is the sprawling Kaiserin Elisabeth House (not a house, but a two-bedroom suite). It’s named after Austria’s 19th-century Empress Elisabeth, aka Sisi. She had no personal connection to Fuschl, but the castle stood in for her Bavarian summer residence as a location in a 1950s film trilogy starring Romy Schneider.

The suite’s interior, conceived by Linz-based architectural firm Bauer Stahl, sets the tone for the whole property, where a hunting-lodge-meets-grand-schloss theme has been reined in with a more modern vernacular of pared-down parquet, sisal rugs and liberal use of dark-green Austrian loden wool felt.

Nor does the hotel lean too far towards minimalism. The public areas are warm and inviting, and include the remarkable twisted columns of the vaulted Schloss Bar, a wine-tasting room with a three-tonne solid marble table and original terracotta floor tiles with carved animal details, and the all-day restaurant on the vast lake terrace, which is fringed with petunias.

There’s a spa with an indoor pool and a new outdoor pool in rather garish steel, while steps lead from the castle tower down to the lake club — an expansive deck for lounging and plunging into the refreshing Fuschl.

What to do Guests staying for two or three nights may not find the need to look far beyond the lake itself. Indeed, it’s hard to take one’s eyes off it, from the moment the sun rises above the village over the water. It’s also uncommonly tranquil, thanks to bylaws forbidding motor boats.

It felt almost indecent to break the lake’s mirror-like calm as I embarked on a solo morning circumnavigation by stand-up paddle-board. I also enjoyed swims to stony beaches elsewhere on the shore. The absence of buoy lines to mark out a swimming area gives you the feeling of entering the world’s largest hotel pool. 

Rosewood has its own little gondola with a silent electric engine for sunset tours, and an 11km hiking trail rings the lake, passing through Fuschl itself (take cash if you want to stop for an ice cream). The hotel can arrange nature walks led by a herbalist, visits to local artisans, and e-bike adventures that might end in a strudel at a high Alpine hut.

For those who do want to leave the lake, Salzburg is one of Austria’s cultural jewels, with its medieval citadel, Baroque palaces and musical heritage (whether you’re into Von Trapp or Mozart). In winter, the small Gaissau-Hintersee ski area is 20 minutes’ drive; the larger Dachstein West area is about an hour. A highlight for me, meanwhile, was a dawn flight over Fuschl in a hot-air balloon, during which a less inhibited passenger might have erupted into spontaneous yodelling. 

What about the food? There’s no shortage of choice, given the hotel’s modest room count, starting with the relatively formal main restaurant, which has wonderful lake views through windows the size of cinema screens. The food stays true to the region, with expertly produced classics such as Wiener schnitzel and cured trout from the lake, as well as the tempting peaks of Salzburger nockerl, a sweet soufflé large enough to feed a football team.

The terrace restaurant is more of a brasserie, while the trad-Alpine Vinothek is the place for cold cuts and regional cheeses. The lake club has its own kitchen knocking out ceviche, oysters and skewers.

Good as it all was — and it was excellent — my culinary highlight came one lunchtime at the castle’s own fishery, which is regionally famous (the castle has the lake’s only fishing licence) and operated separately. I ordered a whole smoked trout, took it to a lakeside picnic table on a tray, and ate it in the sun with a jar of mayonnaise, a slice of rye bread and a local beer.

The damage Prices have gone up since the refurb: doubles now start from €600 per night, including breakfast, up to €2,200 for the Kaiserin Elisabeth House.

Simon Usborne was a guest of Rosewood Schloss Fuschl (rosewoodhotels.com)

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