11.21
0 Comments | Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England), Nov 10, 2009
Byline: Alpa Bisarya
AFEW days’ pampering in the Austrian Tyrol sounds bliss, but when the invitation comes in the middle of another damp and miserable August, it’’s even harder to turn down.
On arrival at Innsbruck airport, we were greeted by Hansie Entner, proprietor of our first hotel, the Wiesenhof. He took us on a beautiful drive to his hometown of Achensee. As soon as we checked in, we were given details of our appointments in the Wellness Centre and discovered what treats lay in store for us over the next couple of days.
Before we even had time to take in our amazing rooms with their four-poster beds, walk-in wardrobes, slate-tiled bathroom and beautiful views over the outstanding Austrian countryside, it was time for the first of many treatments.
First up was a stone-oil bath treatment.
Lying in the bath, looking at the picturesque Tyrolese mountain peaks and enchanting meadows, I drifted off to a world far, far away. But the treatment had healing qualities, too, as one of our party was covered in insect bites and the stone-oil seemed to soothe the itching and soften her skin. This was followed by a back and shoulder massage which took me beyond my already pretty relaxed state. The Wellness Centre also offers a covered swimming pool, a sauna, different steam rooms and plenty of space for rest and relaxation which we took every opportunity to use.
After being given time to unpack and relax in our rooms, it was time for dinner with Hansie. The hotel dining area is like a huge family kitchen, with all guests encouraged to help themselves to the fine food on offer. The restaurant serves four different menus – local, international, good for the heart and vegetarian. The focus is firmly on eating healthily while eating well, and all the food was delicious.
During dinner, Hansie explained the hotel had been started as somewhere for cardiac patients to recuperate and then developed into a well-being spa because of demand. He revealed he placed so much emphasis on health and well-being because his father had suffered seven heart attacks and had nine bypasses – the hotel now offers three different types of health-checks including metabolic and cardiac fitness programmes for its guests. They offered many activities for guests including Nordic walking, horse riding, sailing, paragliding, skiing, tobogganing and riding Segway electric scooters, which we were to experience the following morning.
After an extremely restful night in the four-poster bed and a hearty breakfast, Hansie took us to the Tyrolean Stone Oil Centre. The business of extracting stone oil started here in 1902, and has been in the same family for four generations. The oil shale – from which the Tyrolean Stone Oil is extracted – is more than 180 million years old and is formed from fossil deposits which were pushed up to an altitude of 1,800m above sea level during the creation of the Alps in the region. It is used for everything from skin and hair treatments to soothe aching joints and rheumatic pain.
Following the tour of the centre, Hansie took us on a ride on some Segway electric scooters into the mountains. Although daunting at first, the two-wheeled vehicles were easy to get used to and were a great way of exploring this beautiful valley without putting in much effort – and we were assured the only person to have fallen off one was former US President GeorgeW Bush! In the afternoon, Hansie’s wife Alexandra took two of us horse riding in the mountains while the other member of our party decided to try out the cable cars for a different view of this idyllic place.
On our return to the hotel, it was back to theWellness Centre for more treatments, including an Alpine hay bath where I lay down on what felt like a water bed while wet hay was applied on top of me. It seemed like quite a strange thing to do, but before long I was floating away and afterwards my skin felt incredibly soft and smooth.
After breakfast the next morning, we were greeted by Hannes Seyrling, proprietor of our final stop on the tour – the AlpenMedHotel Lamm. An hour’s drive later, we arrived in a pretty little village on the other side of Innsbruck. The hotel was nestled in the heart of Seefeld, which is extremely popular as it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976 and still has beautifully-groomed ski slopes and a 262km network of cross-country ski trails.
The hotel had been in the family since 1890 when it was a one-storey guesthouse, but it now has 71 rooms and suites, a restaurant, wellness centre, golf lessons with a PGA professional and a cryotherapy chamber where temperatures drop as far as -110C.
Hannes and his wife, Sylvia, have run the hotel since the late 1970s and their daughter, Simone, is now being groomed to take over
hammock chair
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