Leogang, Austria · 1 hr from Salzburg · Family-run spa hotel
Hotel Krallerhof
The reference point of the genre — a Hadi Teherani water sculpture around a swimmable alpine lake, with nothing at all in the diary.
The lake is what you will remember. Not a pool with a view of one, but a bathing lake, five and a half thousand square metres of it, with a fifty-metre swimming channel set inside it and held at around thirty degrees all year. In February you swim in warm water with snow on the banks.
Everything else arranges itself around that. Fifteen saunas, an ice grotto at minus ten, a salt room at forty-five degrees. The adults-only half is textile-free and starts at fifteen, so the separation is real and not a matter of signage. Breakfast runs until eleven, there is cake in the afternoon, and dinner is five courses without anyone asking you to choose in advance.
The Ellmau family have been here a long time and it shows in the things that are not charged for: the guided hikes, the sauna infusions, two mountain railway rides a day in summer, and the spa on the morning you arrive and the whole day you leave.
Photographed on a visit. No press images, no styling — the house as it was on the day.
The house itself, flower boxes and all
Loungers along the glass wall, and the valley behind them
The bathing lake — 5,500 m² of it, with water lilies at the near edge
The spa building under its grass roof, by Hadi Teherani
The valley on a morning when the cloud has not lifted
Dinner, first course. Five of them arrive
Breakfast, which runs until eleven
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I
The facilities
ATMOSPHERE (adults 15+, textile-free) and REFUGIUM, ~3,000 m², around a 5,500 m² bathing lake
Infinity 50 — a 50 m infinity pool set inside the alpine lake, 1.60 m deep, ~30°C year-round
Ice Grotto at −10°C
Blue Grotto, a 35°C vaulted water chamber
Infrasalt Room, 40–45°C, white Himalayan salt stone with brine mist and infrared beds
Finnish and herbal 'Sea View' saunas at 80–100°C facing the Steinernes Meer
Adults-only sauna area; nine saunas and steam baths in REFUGIUM including infrared and textile
II
The rooms
CategorySizeSleeps
Double room BuschSwiss stone pine walls; Samina sleeping system on the second floor27–30 m²1–2
Ochre SuiteTerrace over the pond; ochre pigment wall paintings37 m²2–4
Double room FürstenhofFürstenhof building; balcony; bath with rain shower and bathtub38 m²2–4
Double room Fürstenhof Lake ViewUpper floors; balcony facing the natural bathing lake38 m²2–4
Double room HesseSwiss stone pine on the first floor, old spruce above40–46 m²2–4
Family room FürstenhofSeparate children's room; balcony50 m²2–4
124 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
until 11:00
Buffet
Lunch
summer only
Regional and international, with assorted non-alcoholic drinks
Afternoon
daily
Fresh cakes from the in-house patisserie; in winter, snack time at Bar. Die Glocke
Dinner
evening
Five courses; seven-course gala menu on Sundays
Drinks, and the small printTea, coffee and a selection of juices through the day; tea and vitality snack bars in the spa; spring water from the hotel's own source. Wine and alcohol extra.
Yours, at no extra cost
Nature and activity programme
Seven days a week
Guided hikes
Daily in summer, with the hotel's local guides
Sauna infusions
Several supervised infusions daily
Yoga
Regular sessions
Fitness training sessions
Regular, in the professional gym
Tennis
Two courts; rackets and balls at reception
Squash, two putting greens, 20 × 11 m Fun Court
Key at reception
Trampoline hall
Daily 09:00–21:00, free for hotel children
Saalfelden Leogang Card
Summer: two free mountain railway rides daily. Winter: one free ascent and descent per stay
Guest Mobility Ticket
All public transport across Salzburg province, from the first night
Ski-in / ski-out
Steinbergbahn valley station below the hotel; monitored ski cellar and boot dryer
Also in the rate
Spa bag in the room with bathrobe, sauna towels and slippers
Five large relaxation rooms
Tea and vitality snack bars
Hermann Nitsch collection in the spa; borrowable art books
Free outdoor parking and Wi-Fi
IV
Before you book
Before you go5 things worth knowing first
Parts of the spa are textile-free. ATMOSPHERE spa adults-only 15+ and textile-free; adults-only sauna area in REFUGIUM 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. ATMOSPHERE spa adults-only 15+ and textile-free; adults-only sauna area in REFUGIUM For the children themselves: Childcare free seven days a week in summer; in winter free daily from 15:30. Krallis Club from 2.5 years. Family indoor and outdoor pools, family sauna, Krallis Farm.
Local tourist tax is extra — €2.45 plus €0.50 mobility levy, pp/night, collected at the hotel and not in the rate.
Dogs — €40 per night plus €50 one-off cleaning.
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 included7 charges on top of the rate
Parking garage
€15 per car per day
Dog
€40 per night plus €50 one-off cleaning
Local tax
€2.45 plus €0.50 mobility levy, pp/night
Single occupancy
+30% on double rooms, +50% on family rooms and suites
The facts, as published12 lines, plus a link to their own site
Classification5-star
CategoryFamily-run spa hotel
Rooms124
Spa3,000 m²
Saunas15
Pools10
Minimum stayNone
Check-in / out15:00 / 11:00
Spa on arrival dayIncluded on the day of arrival
Spa on departure dayIncluded for the whole day of departure
ChildrenChildcare free seven days a week in summer; in winter free daily from 15:30. Krallis Club from 2.5 years. Family indoor and outdoor pools, family sauna, Krallis Farm.
Adults-only areasATMOSPHERE spa adults-only 15+ and textile-free; adults-only sauna area in REFUGIUM
One Michelin Key, 2025Falstaff Spa Guide 2026 — 99/100Falstaff Travel Awards 2024 — Best Classic Spa
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
Munich 2 hr 30 · Salzburg 1 hr
By rail
Leogang, a few minutes away
Transfers
Free hotel shuttle from Leogang and Saalfelden
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 photographs on this page are our own, taken on a visit.
