I first heard about Forshofgut when having lunch with the impossibly glamorous Stephanie Rist. As well as having worked closely with the doyenne of spas, Susanne Kaufman, for over 10 years, she was also born and brought up in Austria’s Vorarlberg. And as is the case with any conversation between two mothers, inevitably it turned to the bane of our existence: how to fill the endless school holidays and decent kids clubs — and this was the only place that she would effervesce about.
Looking it up, I learn quickly that Forsthofgut is part of a growing cluster of Kinder hotels. No, nothing to do with those deliciously nostalgic chocolate eggs, but rather a trend with hotels in Europe that are created with the whole family in mind — without stuffing it down your throat or compromising on the aesthetic. From my research, it seemed that they mostly crop up in Alpine Austria and Germany and tend to attract a mostly local clientele.
We booked to visit in April — the perfect month, to paraphrase Mean Girls, when it was not too hot and not too cold, and we could still have a chance of catching a little ski time before the slopes closed for the summer. Though it would also be wonderful for a winter break, with ski season starting in December.
For full disclosure, I do not come from a skiing family, nor is it something I’ve felt drawn to until this year, where I have treated every family holiday as a Gap Week to learn something new. Plus, I’d get to learn with my five year old daughter Mila, which would be pretty special (until she’d inevitably eclipse my pizza technique with her deft parallel skiing, much to the chagrin of my instructor Tillman).
The hotel itself was a marvel – clad in classic Alpine chocolate box style on the outside, but completely fashioned for the modern traveller within. We swerved the drama of arranging lift passes, hiring equipment and arranging transfers with all our gear in tow to the slopes thanks to the stellar concierge team and a smart hire shop in the basement car park.
Food can also be a bit of an ordeal when you are trying to satisfy the whims and appetites of a three, five and 37-year-old at various times of day. Not here: breakfast was served buffet style (the fresh morning pancakes were a big hit for my son Rafi), lunch was usually on the slopes, usually at the very vibey Hendl Fischerei, and dinners were back at the hotel at one of the three in-house restaurants. Our favourite? Restaurant 1617 where the fondue was as traditional (and boozy) as we had hoped, with a little theatre tableside when they rolled out the trolley to flambee my Crepe Suzette for pudding.
So what of the kinder element? Aside from a dedicated ski school for tiny learners, the hotel also housed the kids club, Rocky’s, on site for those who wanted a little R&R while mummy and daddy slipped off to the spa or multiple saunas (side note: nudity is de rigueur so no blushing here). Family rooms were thoughtfully stocked with child-friendly toiletries, towels, snacks and baby monitors, which were built into the room’s phone system. Game changers when you would really rather not pack the kitchen sink for a week’s trip.
When the snow melts, the Leogang mountains surrounding the hotel transform into a verdurous carpet of forest and meadows, a true hikers paradise and holding the promise that this might just be a year-round family destination. While my ski-spa-ski routine became a natural flex, I’m tempted back for the summer. If only for the superlative kids club.
The details
A family suite is priced from €1040 per night (minimum stay 7 nights) for a family of 2 adults and 2 kids aged between 2 and 5 years old. The price includes ¾, daily childcare from 9 am to 9pm including entertainment and lunch, and a nursery lift pass for children up to 5 years old.forsthofgut.at
For details about skiing in Leogang area, lift pass prices and ski school reservations. visitsaalfelden-leogang.com
