Best Wellness Hotels in Austria

This 19th-century neo-baroque Palais on the Ringstrasse overlooks the Stadtpark. Recently unveiled after a huge renovation, it features interior design by Jaime Beriestain. There are now 80 suites and 31 bedrooms, with the Vienna Art Suite offering the penthouse experience in shades of beige and gold with a huge carved wooden headboard. Unwind in the Almanac’s two-floor wellness centre, with its 46-foot indoor pool and thermal waters; grab a coffee in the Viennese-style Elias Coffee Shop; and dine in the Alpine-style Donnerskarkt Restaurant & Bar, where plant-based cooking is at the fore.

The Hoxton Vienna is a striking marble-clad modernist building designed by Carl Appel in the 1950s. This new establishment in Vienna offers a variety of attractions, including a Cuban-inspired rooftop bar, Cayo Coco, with spectacular city views and a swimming pool, a French-by-way-of-New York bistro named Bouvier, and the Salon Paradise cocktail bar. The hotel features 196 rooms decorated with mid-century Austrian designs and modern amenities. The interior, designed by AIME Studios, echoes the mid-century aesthetic and the iconic Wiener Werkstätte movement, featuring travertine walls, terrazzo flooring, and vintage furniture. The hotel presents a playful and elegant atmosphere with its diverse food offerings, creative event spaces like The Auditorium, and a focus on local art and partnerships, making it a vibrant new hotspot in Vienna.

This Grande Dame dates back to 1889, perched in a convenient location just minutes’ walk from the ski lift and the Felsentherme thermal spa. There’s an onsite wellness centre of its own too, with an indoor pool. Hotel Salzburger Hof Bad Gastein also has a games room, a library and two bars (Bellini and Ritz) with live music for leisure, a vaulted wine cellar and six restaurants for onsite dining. The decor blends a rustic style with grander features such as wrought iron balconies and crystal chandeliers. Guest rooms range from small doubles to twins sleeping four.

The Augarten is an Art lover’s paradise, a place for the cultured and erudite. The Augarten’s large suites and rooms are sophisticated and chic as they are adorned with bespoke artworks. Guests can relax and rewind in the hotel’s modern pool and Finnish sauna or work out in the hotel’s gym. The  Hotel’s breakfast restaurant provides guests with a fresh and healthy start to the morning as dishes are made using only the finest local produce. Although the hotel does not have a restaurant for evening meals, it is close to some of Graz’s best restaurants therefore guests are encouraged to get out and experience all that Graz has to offer.

Daniel Craig stayed here while filing Spectre – quite possibly in the huge three-bedroom James Bond Suite. Guests can also sleep in a Wellness Suite that includes a balcony, a freestanding bathtub and water bed in the bedroom, a private sauna, a separate living area with a couch, rocking chair and wall bars. This hotel’s philosophy is “active relaxation and enjoyment”. Much of this takes place at its fifth floor Sky Spa, with a pool, saunas, steam baths and a beauty and exercise programme designed to slow the ageing process. The property has its own wine cellar, a cigar lounge and an a la carte restaurant.

With a distinctively retro vibe, this hotel is funky, yet elegant. It’s quirky, with many mid-century furnishings and luxe in-suite features, like spiral glass showers, free-standing bathtubs and living rooms with open fireplaces. The finest form of accommodation is a two bedroom Roof-Top Grand Suite. While this extra space suits families, in general, this property is preferred by couples. Guests staying here have the benefit of accessing all the facilities at the Tyrol’s sister hotel, Raffl’s St. Antoner Hof, the first on our list. The hotels have the same three restaurant styles too and while there’s no spa on site here, there is a steam bath and sauna cabins.

This is one of few ski in ski out properties in St Anton. Mooser is perched at the foot of the mountain, close to the Galzig cable car. But it isn’t only the location that sets this hotel apart, a highlight is the outdoor heated infinity pool that was built into the rock of the gorge. As such, the views are dreamy. So too are the vistas from the top-floor restaurant and bar. Huge windows provide a prime outlook, in decorative surroundings crafted in part, from reclaimed wood. Mooser’s interior design is artistic and contemporary, not least as it was only built in 2011. And it’s fully soundproofed providing a cocoon-like experience once inside. There’s also a spa incorporating an infrared sauna, dry heat sauna, rock sauna and steam room.

If you’re seeking a super central location with five-star treatment, book Raffl’s St. Antoner Hof. Its 39 rooms and suites are traditional and cosy, with contemporary touches. It feels relaxed, yet the service is unobtrusively attentive. The colourful design pieces found within the hotel are stand-out features and this bohemian theme extends to its restaurant, Raffl’s Eat Art, where the menu is enormously creative, coming from a multi-award winning chef. Additional dining concepts are Seven SKY (sushi served in a baroque style dining room) and Sticky Fingers for Tyrolean comfort food. There’s also a spa with an indoor pool, Finnish sauna, Turkish steam bath and solarium.

Ski right to the door of Hotel Liebe Sonne. The brand is well set up for slope-seekers, with its own ski school, ski tours provided by the in-house guide and an equipment rental store. It’s also very pet and family-friendly; amenities include a children’s playroom, table tennis and air hockey. The hotel’s wellness centre and pool (with waterfalls and massage jets) encompass both the fourth and fifth floors of the building, with the Bel Etage Spa offering therapies and beauty treatments. An outdoor sunbathing lawn and the large terrace are perfect for summer days. Organic multi-course menus are served in the on-site gourmet restaurant.

Occupying a prime position in the village centre, close to the ski lifts, Vaya is a relatively recent build, having opened in 2016. Breakfast is always included in your stay in this modern establishment whose exterior resembles a luxury yacht. Natural wood features heavily in the design, inside and out, complemented by muted colours. VAYA’s Bar & Grill offers lunch and dinner, as well as a fine morning buffet. The menu places a focus on Mediterranean inspired cuisine and is carefully considered to include many plant-based dishes. Hot and cold experiences are available in the spa, and the rooftop terrace is a great place to unwind.

Housed in a classic chalet-style building, the five-star Hotel Tannenhof has a regal feel inside (quite possibly due to many pops of the traditionally royal colours purple and red throughout its textiles). Its spa was completely redesigned five years ago, it has stunning mountain views, luxury holistic treatments, indoor and outdoor pools – the former with a counter-current system and the latter with a natural hot spring – 16 treatment cabins and an aroma steam bath. Guests can enjoy Alpine haute cuisine, suites with private balconies and a Maserati chauffeur-driven private car service.

A boutique five-star hotel, the Gasthof Post is full of history, as evidenced by the many antiques and features. It has a quintessentially Austrian exterior, chalet-style and has been a part of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux collection since 1976, hosted by the Moosbrugger Family for eight decades. Contemporary haute cuisine by Chef David Wagger is presented in the venue’s three restaurants. Outside, verdant botanic gardens with extensive mountain views surround an outdoor heated pool, adjacent to the Badehaus Spa, beauty salon and yoga room. A super choice for families, the hotel has a playground, organised activities for kids, a water slide – and guests can bring their well-behaved pets along too.