We were kindly invited to stay at hotel Walliserhof.
Want to forget about the hustle and bustle of your daily routine? Drop your luggage and simply arrive at a place where everything is taken care of and you can fully wind down and relax?
Let me show you where we spent a wonderful winter getaway in Vorarlberg, Austria.
The Hotel is nestled in the Brandnertal, a valley situated in the middle of the Alps in the western part of Austria. The Vorarlberg region is the place I call home and the Brandnertal, with the villages of Brand, Bürserberg, and Bürs being close to the alpine town of Bludenz in southern Vorarlberg.
Arrive & relax at the Walliserhof
Brand is not far from my hometown - that's the bonus of living near a popular vacation hot spot. If you arrive by car as we did, the Walliserhof has sufficient parking spaces available.
The hotel is family-owned by the the couple Michaela and Raimund, and I personally love this type of hotel. It's a huge difference from the hotel chains or hotels where you barely see the manager.
It opened in 1966 and is designed with many elements from the 60's, blended together with with a modern interior and a concept that is fully ecological and sustainable.
With family hotels, I can always feel the passion and the lifeblood that is put into this project every single day. The Walliserhof is no different. Michaela greeted me warmly by my name before I even introduced myself. Just standing in the entrance hall is an eye opener. Everything is so stylish, from the reception area to the walls. It's full of details for one to take in.
We were very excited to hear that a suite was waiting for us. In the house next to the hotel, on the exact same property, more rooms and suites are available. There's a passageway connecting the main house to the additional house. We unloaded our car and brought our belongings to our room.
The room
We can highly recommend staying in the suite. There's so much space in the living room and in the bedroom. The interior is designed after Feng Shui, which you can immediately see from the colors that have been used. For our winter getaway, it was perfect to have that much space. If you're just coming solely for the wellness, then you won't need to worry that much about your belongings, but if you come for the skiing (and the wellness, of course!), you'll need lots of space.
We were happy to have some of our things in the wardrobe and in the entrance area such as our snowboard boots, our snowboard clothes, and everything else. My personal highlight was the bathroom. It features large windows that overlook the garden and the hotel, though it's possible to adjust the shutters for some privacy. From the bathtub, I was treated to an amazing mountain view - my biggest highlight - together with the private sauna that we had to try out. To book yourself into a suite is probably the most romantic decision you could make. You won't regret it at all! Promise...
Everything was provided for our perfect wellness day.
Ecological and sustainable
If you're not entirely new to the blog, you probably already know that I do enjoy staying in sustainable hotels. The family has an e-car and their own electrical station at the hotel. All of the electricity is nuclear-free.
Of course, in the kitchen, the focus lies on regional food. The milk is delivered by Raimund's brother. Interested guests can visit the farm every Thursday and taste their milk. It's a great opportunity to look behind the scenes. If you prefer Vegan milk like me, no problem - they do have various types of milk available.
Michaela explained to me that although it's more expensive, they want to reduce their waste and decided to avoid tetra packs and buy juices and other liquids in reusable containers instead. A big problem are those disposable flip flops. They refuse to offer those in the rooms and in the spa. Instead, they offer guests the chance to buy slippers from Birkenstock if you've forgotten yours at home.
Starting the day...active
Walking downstairs from our suite, we passed by the fitness room and it looked great. So we decided to be a bit active before enjoying our long breakfast. And I am happy we did. We were the only ones in the room and enjoyed having the equipment to ourselves, and I practiced some yoga.
There's even more on offer at the Walliserhof. Here's a short list of their sport activities:
Monday: 5 - 6:30 PM Yin Yoga
Tuesday: 8 - 9:30 AM Weightless Luck
10 - 11 AM Aqua Fitness
Wednesday: 10 - 11:30 AM Yin Yoga
Thursday: 6:30 - 7:30 PM Aqua Fitness
Friday: 8 - 9:30 AM Yin Yoga
1:30 - 3 PM Weightless Luck
Please make a reservation! As a guest, you pay 12 € for one session.
Breakfast
The hotel's restaurant is pure joy - so many design elements combined with wooden chairs, tables, and an amazing mountain view. It's super cozy yet very stylish at the same time.
The restaurant - 'Hochsitz' - at Walliserhof is outstanding. Where should I start? The interior is an attractive combination of some plants together with the wooden elements and in between, there are many small details that add to the design.
A modern and fresh design is combined with some antiques such as an old black typewriter on the bar or old tennis rackets on the wall. Every table is unique and different. Although all the tables have the same type of chairs, the tables vary in their design. The views from the restaurant are incredible. Mountains, and depending on the season you're visiting, surrounded with green, lush woods or snow covered trees.
Breakfast is served from 7:30 to 11 AM. Now, let me tell you. This breakfast blew my mind. The buffet area is big and you'll find everything you're looking for and even more. There's the biggest bread selection I have ever seen in a hotel. That's because they have their own baker, Janosh, who bakes the bread. His bread is fantastic! I enjoyed a soft-boiled egg together with a delicious spread and bread, followed by freshly cut carots and cucumber.
They have a juicer and some bowls next to it, so you can press your own juice. A man showed me how to operate it. It's easy to handle, but I was a bit worried I'd use it incorrectly. It was easy and tasted delicious. I prepared myself an apple-carrot-cucumber juice. Highly recommended!
Don't miss the chance to try out the best coffee in Brand, because the hotel's owner is an experienced and passionate barista. It was such a pleasure to watch him at the bar preparing coffees for his guests. His style fitted perfectly with the hotel's, as he was wearing a fun, colorful shirt with birds on it.
In addition to the delicious buffet, a menu card is available to order from (like bircher muesli or some other delicious treats). If you only have a small appetite in the mornings, don't worry. You can order your cake and coffee to enjoy later on the beautiful and sunny terrace after you go skiing or hiking.
As noted, the hotel takes good care of the environment. Therefore, they’ve said goodbye to paper napkins and hello to cloth napkins. A very nice touch that looks more upscale.
Skiing in the Brandnertal
I believe we're lucky to live in Vorarlberg. There are so many possibilities to go skiing and even if you stay in the Brandnertal, it doesn't mean you have to go skiing all the days you're here. You're in the middle of a skiing area, but it's surrounded by many more endless possibilities. I think we had the perfect balance between wellness day and a day on the slopes.
The Brandnertal offers you 55 km on the slopes with 14 ski lifts and some restaurants. Two ski schools offer ski, snowboarding, and cross-country ski tuition. There are also 3-sled runs and many more winter hiking trails to explore. A bus takes you to the ski lift. It's not a far walk, though, but if you prefer taking the bus, it's very easy to do so.
If you need a bigger area, Arlberg isn't far away and it's always worth going there for a day!
Being active in the Brandnertal
You're not a fan of winter nor skiing, but you do love summer, mountains, and the Alps? In the Brandnertal, there are 400 km of hiking trails. With 110 km of mountain-biking trails, you can bring your bike or rent one. If you prefer golfing instead, there's an 18 hole course. And don't forget the tennis courts. The hotel also offers some activities daily. Simply ask at the reception desk for details!
Spa time
The spa is perfect either after a long day on the slopes or when the weather is bad and all you want to do is hang out at the spa for an entire day. It's a day spa that is also open to the public. The glacier spa is another highlight of the hotel. The pool's opening hours are from 7 AM until 10 PM. The pool looks fantastic with mosaic stones, and it felt great to swim a few laps. Later, we snuggled into our bathrobes while enjoying the mountain view. From the garden, you can look up to Schesaplana – the highest mountain in the Rätikon mountain range. There are quite a few ways to relax around the pool – don't miss the chance to cozy up in their comfy chairs.
Guess what happened after we swam a few laps? Yep, my boyfriend fell asleep (haha!) and I enjoyed reading my book. Off we went to explore the sauna. There are two saunas and the whole area is beautifully decorated. There were a few spots to sit down and take a break. There's a station where you can grab an apple or serve yourself a delicious tea. We snuggled up on the lounge chairs with a few magazines and our tea and enjoyed the garden views.
If you'd like to try out additional treatments, Wally offers a hot stone massage, an Ayurveda or face treatment.
The Walliserhof offers their own vegan nature cosmetics that are developed by Wally and delivered from the Bregenzerwald region. The products are offered in each room and are available to buy at
the reception desk.
Pool hours:
7 AM - 5 PM: Kids are welcome at the pool
5 PM - 10 PM: Adults only
Sauna hours:
10 AM - 9 PM: Adults only (nude zone)
Yes, I know - for some of you that might sound very strange but here, we go to the sauna entirely naked. But, don't worry. First, you don't know anyone and second, everyone is naked.
Evenings in the restaurant Hochsitz
The kitchen is conducted by chef Christoph Krassnitzer who won 14 points Gault Millau in 2017. I love the concept that kids are welcome, but there are also some rules for a good and memorable stay. From 5:30 to 7 PM there's dinner for those with kids, and from then until 8:30 PM, it's time for adult-only diners.
Light is something very important to me and probably for many others too. I loved their lighting concept. Needless to say, the staff did a great job and the food was delicious. As shown below everything I had was veggie and the staff was very helpful in choosing the right menu. The staff have a specific dress code with rose-colored shirts, cute skirts, and light pink shoes. It's definitely not your typical waitress and waiter outfit. If you're a wine lover, you've come to the right spot. The wine refrigerator is full, with around 1,000 good bottles of wine that are waiting to be served.
There's a nice spot at the bar to enjoy a cocktail after dinner or you might snuggle up in the cozy area around the fire and drink a cup of tea like we did.
Don't miss the hotel's daily activities offered to their guests.
The time passed by too quickly and soon we were packing up our car again to leave. What a great weekend we had at the Walliserhof. If you're looking for a hotel stay, with a love for details and framed by a beautiful mountain landscape, this is the perfect home away from home. Simple materials, together with warm colors, are the perfect combination for a lot of coziness. We were very happy to spend a weekend and a lot of time together and I can highly recommend this gem.
Planning to visit Vorarlberg and the Brandnertal? Shoot me over your comments and questions!
I was kindly invited by Hotel Walliserhof, my experience and my opinion is as always my own.