A favourite among A-listers, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Barack Obama, Living360’s Evelyn Richards stays in a storied Austrian hotel that shows how wellness and sustainability can coexist beautifully.
“It’s like a giant ski lodge,” I gasp, stepping into the timber-clad foyer of Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt. The scent of pine lingers in the air, wood beams stretch upwards like the ribs of a great mountain cabin and, somewhere beyond the lobby, the sound of horses nickering softly filters through.
With summer now a fading memory, I entered September desperate for some luxury pampering — but I tend to struggle to fully relax in a sauna or heated pool, often feeling guilty about my environmental footprint.
That was until I came across Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt, which promised a refreshing and impactful alternative that redefines luxury travel through eco-innovation.
Perched at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser mountains, this family-run Tyrolean retreat has welcomed guests for over four centuries. It’s a place steeped in alpine heritage, yet quietly radical in its approach to the future.
“At Stanglwirt, we balance innovation and tradition with one word: authenticity,” says Maria Hauser, the hotel’s marketing director. “Luxury and wellness don’t have to come at the cost of the environment — they can nurture it.”
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A mountain symphony
Just over an hour from Salzburg, where The Sound of Music first captured the imagination of the world, Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt sits in a crescent-shaped valley cradled by peaks and meadows.
The hotel itself mirrors the arc of the mountains, forming what Maria calls “a full circle” between nature and nurture.
Upon awakening, I rise to the scents of pine and alpine flowers before setting out on hike through the Wilder Kaiser, the first Alpine region to receive Austria’s Hiking Seal of Quality.
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Natural comfort
Inside the hotel, the guest rooms carry the scent of fresh linen and wood smoke. Wool carpeting and solid timber furniture replace synthetics; ceilings are panelled in untreated spruce; walls breathe through lime mortar instead of cement.
Even the cleaning products are chemical-free. It’s an understated, tactile kind of luxury — the kind that hums with integrity rather than glitters shallowly.
Farm to fork, full circle
Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt’s self-sufficiency isn’t just aesthetic — it’s literal.
The resort’s 250-acre eco-farm, established in 1609, provides most of the meat, dairy and produce served in its restaurants. Whatever can’t be grown or raised on-site comes from nearby Tyrolean partners.
Breakfast yoghurt is thick and tangy, made from the milk of the cows grazing on the slopes above. Trout caught in the hotel’s lake are grilled to order. Even a humble plate of spätzle, the region’s signature cheesy noodles, tastes richer when you know the cheese matured in the hotel’s very own cheese cave.
As a vegetarian, I was a little sceptical of the food in Austria, with images of sausages and schnitzel haunting my thoughts. However, I was pleasantly surprised, as the mountain bounty extends beyond the expected — bright, seasonal vegetables picked at their peak and plated with the kind of care that makes you slow down to savour every mouthful.
My particular favourite were the pumpkin dumplings, the rich gourd taste cutting through the creamy, cheesy dough that paired perfectly with the sharp tang of mustard.
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Powering the future
Sustainability here isn’t just confined to the kitchen though. Since the 1980s, Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt has been powered by Europe’s first hotel biomass heating plant, using bark waste from local sawmills to provide carbon-neutral warmth.
A hydroelectric power station harnesses the mountain streams, and natural spring water from Kaiserquelle flows through every tap, pool and sauna.
Standing by the plant’s roaring heart, one can’t help but feel awe — not at the scale, but at the simplicity of it all: a resort running on the rhythms of the land around it.
The horses and the heart
At the Auf der Tenne bar, I spent hours sipping a coffee while gazing through the window at the hotel’s 24 prized Lipizzaner horses — only 12,000 of their kind remain worldwide.
And these horses are pampered just as well as the guests, with r
Aside from horse-riding lessons, Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt also champions equine therapy as a wellbeing tool. Horses have been used for therapeutic purposes throughout history, due to their high levels of empathy and gentle nature.
“Horses are incredibly sensitive to human emotions,” says Elizabeth Hauser-Benz, who oversees the stud. “Even brushing their coats can soothe anxiety. It’s therapy — for both species.”
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Famous fitness facilities
Pointing to a signed poster of a ripped Arnold Schwarzenegger, positioned in pride of place above the free weights in the gym, I asked a member of staff if the actor had ever stayed in the hotel. “Yes, he and his family are regulars here. In fact, he donated all this gym equipment himself.”
The story goes that the star used the Hammer equipment to keep in shape on the set of The Terminator. After filming, he sent the equipment to the hotel, where it’s still being used to this day.
There’s something truly thrilling about lifting the same weights as one of Hollywood’s most famous muscle men, imagining developing the same rippling physique by being in mere proximity to them (although, I doubt Arnold Schwarzenegger ever so much as touched the 6kg dumbbell I was using for my bicep curls). It gave me real motivation to try out every single piece of equipment, just to know that I’ve sat in the same abdominal crunch or leg press as Arnie.
It’s also a testament to Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt’s environmental pledge that even their gym equipment is second hand.
Final thoughts
To say I was blown away by this hotel would be an understatement. Four hundred years after its founding, Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt continues to set the pace for sustainable luxury. Multiple times over the three nights I spent there, I found myself saying “when I come back…”, so it’s clear I was won over.
Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt is a member of Beyond Green. For more information, visit Beyond Green.
Feature image: Bio- and Wellnessresort Stanglwirt
