A Slow Stay
The Forsthofgut dates back centuries as an Alpine working farm, set in the Leogang valley beneath the limestone peaks of the Steinernes Meer. Its transformation into a nature hotel was guided by a single principle: nothing should interrupt the relationship between guest and landscape. It is one of the great quiet hotels of the Alps.
The waldSPA — Europe’s first forest spa, spanning 5,700 square metres — dissolves the boundary between interior and the surrounding forest. The natural lake is cold and clean and available to guests throughout the year. The pace here is set by the seasons, not a programme.
The waldSPA was designed to make the forest the treatment. Floor-to-ceiling glazing, timber columns that echo the tree line outside, water features that follow the gradient of the hillside. The materials throughout the hotel are those that were already here: stone from the valley, untreated wood from the surrounding forest, linen and wool from Alpine producers. Nothing was introduced to impress; everything was chosen to age well in this place.
112 rooms across the original farmhouse and newer additions — all built in the vernacular Alpine manner with stone, timber and generous glazing towards the mountains. The rooms are warm and well-considered, with natural textiles and the kind of attention to comfort that comes from a property that has been refining itself over generations rather than completing a single design moment.
5,700 square metres of spa built at the forest edge, designed to make the natural world the primary treatment. Indoor and outdoor pools, a series of saunas at different temperatures, cold plunge pools fed from the mountain stream, and an outdoor natural lake for swimming in the warmer months. The signature forest bathing programme guides guests through the surrounding woodland at dusk, when the light through the trees is extraordinary.
A kitchen that takes Alpine farmhouse cooking and refines it without losing the point of it. Local game, valley dairy, foraged herbs and mushrooms, bread baked each morning. The half-board arrangement — dinner and breakfast — is the correct way to stay here: the mountain air makes for a serious appetite by seven o’clock, and breakfast before a day in the hills sets the right tone.
The Leogang valley is one of the best-positioned in the Austrian Alps for both summer and winter activity. The Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang ski circuit is one of the largest in Austria; the mountain bike trails descending from the Asitz are regarded among the best on the continent. Saalfelden, the nearest town, is ten minutes by car. Zell am See and the Kaprun glacier are thirty minutes south. Salzburg, Mozart’s city, is an hour north and worth the drive for a night.
Indicative rates — vary by season and availability. Breakfast typically included. Confirm directly with the hotel for current pricing.
Reserve at Naturhotel Forsthofgut
