Sölden, Ötztal, Austria · 1 hr from Innsbruck · Family-run spa hotel
Das Central
A second-generation family-owned hotel in the centre of Sölden, combining a rooftop spa with a Michelin-starred kitchen.
The seventeen-metre Summit Infinity Pool sits seventeen metres above the ground on the roof, and on Fridays in summer and Wednesdays in winter it stays open until ten at night. Swimming there after dark, in the middle of Sölden, is the reason to come.
Below it, a natural brine grotto at forty degrees, an ice grotto, and a cryotherapy chamber that takes you to minus a hundred and ten for two and a half minutes if that appeals.
Second-generation family ownership, a Michelin star, and a ski shuttle to both Giggijoch and Gaislachkogl. In summer the Ötztal Inside card gives you a cableway trip and a bike each day, and free entry to the water area at AREA 47.
The Alps — the region, not the property. Photograph Claudio Biesele
I
The facilities
Summit Spa on floors four and five plus the Wasserwelt Venezia level, 2,000 m²
Summit Infinity Pool — 17 m long, 17 m above ground, on the roof
Summit Night Swim — Fridays to 22:00 in summer, Wednesdays to 22:00 in winter
Natural brine grotto with dry heat and infrared at 40°C, and an ice grotto, both in the adults-only area
Panorama and event sauna on the fourth floor
Cryotherapy chamber — thirty seconds at −30/−60°C then two and a half minutes at −110°C
II
The rooms
CategorySizeSleeps
Double Room VentMain building; the smallest double published28 m²1–2
Double Room SöldenIn the annexe; the lowest published rate30 m²1–2
Double Room BrunnenkoglMain building32 m²1–3
Double Room GamskoglMain building40 m²1–3
Junior Suite Chalet ÖtztalMain building; the entry-level junior suite40 m²1–3
Wellness Suite SöldenkoglSauna in the living room or bathroom45 m²1–3
121 rooms and suites in all. 6 categories from the hotel's own pages, smallest first — see their own page ↗.
III
What the rate covers
What you will not have to think about
Breakfast
time not published
Gourmet buffet
Dinner
time not published
Five courses daily; one six-course gala weekly
Drinks, and the small printNot published beyond the arrival welcome drink.
Yours, at no extra cost
Guided ski safari and Nordic winter walks
Ski shuttle
Free to Giggijoch and Gaislachkogl
Guided summer hikes
Plus hiking backpack loan
Ötztal Inside Summer Card
Daily cableway trip and bike hire
AREA 47
Free water-area entry, plus 35% off outdoor activities
Indoor classes
Yoga, Pilates, Aqua Fit, Deep Work, mobilisation, fascial and functional workouts, Nordic walking, running
Summit Cardio Technogym plus a 120 m² basement gym
Sauna infusions
Daily, themed
Kids Club
From age 3, weekly programme
Outdoor parking
Free
Also in the rate
One Michelin star and four Gault&Millau toques in the kitchen
IV
Before you book
Before you go6 things worth knowing first
Parts of the spa are textile-free. Textile-free sauna area is 14+ If bathing without a swimsuit is not for you, check which zones before you book — in much of the Alps it is the norm rather than the exception.
The house takes children, but not everywhere in it. Textile-free sauna area is 14+ For the children themselves: Kids Club from age 3 with a weekly programme; hours not published
Minimum stay of none; packages 2–9 nights. Shorter stays are usually possible off-season, but ask.
Local tourist tax is extra — €5 per adult per night, year-round, collected at the hotel and not in the rate.
Dogs — €25 per day excluding food; large dogs on request.
Language. English is spoken throughout, but the hotel's own pages are often fuller in German — which is where several of the details above came from.
What is not included4 charges on top of the rate
Garage
€15 per day
Dog
€25 per day excluding food; large dogs on request
Local tax
€5 per adult per night, year-round
Treatments
Alpienne and Vinoble; charged
The facts, as published12 lines, plus a link to their own site
Classification5-star
CategoryFamily-run spa hotel
Rooms121
Spa2,000 m²
Saunas12
PoolsNot published
Minimum stayNone; packages 2–9 nights
Check-in / out15:00 / 11:00
Spa on arrival dayNot published
Spa on departure dayNot published
ChildrenKids Club from age 3 with a weekly programme; hours not published
Falstaff and the RELAX Guide are the two authorities on spa hotels in the German-speaking world — widely trusted there, and almost unknown elsewhere. Falstaff scores out of 100; the RELAX Guide awards up to four lilies, which very few hotels hold. Gault&Millau rates kitchens in toques, four being exceptional.
VI
Getting there
By air
Innsbruck 1 hr · Munich 3 hr · Zurich 3 hr
By rail
Ötztal, 34 km
Transfers
Station and airport transfers on request, charged
Worth knowing
The Timmelsjoch road from Italy is open early June to end September only
VII
Why it qualifies
Every one of these was verified against what the hotel itself publishes. Any of them will take you to the others that share it.
Compiled from the hotel's own published pages where available, otherwise from trade and press sources, correct as at September 2026. Anything marked "not published" is something the hotel does not state — we would rather tell you that than guess. The image above is a generated illustration, not a photograph of the property.
