Sitting by a lake surrounded by woods and mountains in the Nockberge National Park in Austria is a hotel that is perfect for a break, combining plenty of fresh air and the ultimate in relaxation.
In a week or two, skiing will be added to the activities but the Hotel Hochschober is not just a ski resort; it is a centre for adventure and wellbeing. It is a place where you can swim in the lake in midwinter without getting cold, take a sled ride on a track down the mountain — which is as thrilling as being on a bobsleigh — and hike into the woods for a hearty breakfast or lunch in a hillside hut.
Alternatively, you can enjoy some of the hundred or more treatments in the hotel’s “gallery of wellbeing”, spend an hour in the hammam — the only authentic Middle Eastern steam bath in the Alps — or take part in a Chinese tea ceremony in a pagoda.
The hotel is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, having been opened at Turracher See by the current owners’ grandparents as a mountain inn for the summer pursuits of hiking, swimming and sampling the air.
Its development, embracing the arrival of skiing in the postwar years, is charted in photographs in the corridor leading to the wellbeing centre, which now occupies one third of the floor space of the hotel.
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A team of experts offers traditional and exotic treatments: Ayurvedic massage, Chinese medicine and the “haki” method — a massage technique for shoulder, neck and head ailments, developed at the hotel, which has become world renowned.
A large indoor pool gives way to a huge conservatory overlooking the lake, with small, heated outdoor pools beyond. But the hotel’s most remarkable feature is the swimming pool in the lake, enclosed by thermal cladding and heated to 30C (85F), so that a comfortable dip can be taken even when ice is on the lake.
In 2005 a four-storey pagoda rose beside the hotel, inspired by the owning family’s visits to China and furnished with artefacts from there. The most recent addition to the hotel is the “base camp”, a large boot room with a detailed map of the district on a sunken floor. Here guests prepare for hiking, mountain biking and skiing.
The most gentle hikes take visitors past the peaceful Green Lake and rampaging streams to the V?stlh?tte, where a young man in lederhosen serves speck, pickles, warm runny cheese on rustic bread and beer under the mournful eyes of very clean cows. More ambitious three-hour mountain biking and hiking tours leave the hotel on most mornings with a guide.
Chairlifts dotted behind the road around the lake carry skiers to 38km (23.5 miles) of slopes. Throughout the year a lift across the main road from the hotel climbs to the 2,000m high Panoramah?tte for refreshments, 360 degree views and the starting point for both gentle and challenging walks. The fastest way down is on a sled on rails, which drops 200m through a series of leaps, loops and bends.
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To prepare for all this activity, the hotel offers what seasoned travellers hail as their best breakfast buffet, with 200 different products on offer, mostly from the region and ranging from cereals to cheese, bacon to bratwurst. To keep guests refreshed, mountain spring water flows from fountains all over the hotel.
November is an intriguing month to visit as colours move from autumn gold to winter white, hiking and biking are still easy and prices are low. In the first three weeks of December, the hotel is infused with Advent cheer, with biscuit baking, fruitcake making, music and poetry. An ideal day comprises a morning’s skiing or hiking, a late lunch, a relaxed afternoon in the spa and evening entertainment.
Short breaks, including breakfast, a light lunch, dinner, full use of the facilities and the programme of activities, are available at the hotel, which is 50 minutes from Klagenfurt airport.
These inclusive prices start from €462 (£415) for three nights from Saturday and from €540 for four nights from Tuesday. A week’s stay is from €900. The short breaks tie in with Ryanair’s schedule of afternoon flights from Stansted on Saturdays and Tuesdays, returning to the UK in the evening. Total return fares currently start from £100 and the hotel arranges transfers for €26 a person.