Alpenstern Genießerhotel

The Alpenstern is in Oberdamüls, the upper part of the village of Damüls, in Vorarlberg, at 1,580 metres between the Bregenzerwald and the Furkajoch pass. It is a four-star superior hotel run by the Bischof and Steinfeld families, with a 770-square-metre wellness area the house calls HIMMELREICH, meaning kingdom of heaven.

It is a hotel that welcomes children and equips itself for them: a free baby package with cot, changing table, bottle warmer and kettle, an app for the baby monitor, a children's bathrobe ready in the cot, a child carrier on loan, ski school for the little ones and price reductions in the parents' room up to the age of fifteen. The rule that concerns adults lies entirely in the way the sauna department is divided, and the website makes it plain on its frequently asked questions page.

Two saunas, two worlds

In the pool area there is the family sauna: a herbal bio sauna at 65 degrees, which the website spells out as a Textilsauna, meaning one to be used clothed, where younger guests may also go in. On the third floor, instead, there is the HIMMELREICH SPA, described without mincing words as adults only, with the herbal bio sauna at 62 degrees and 40 per cent humidity, the steam bath at 45 degrees with full humidity and the panoramic Finnish sauna, declared at between 85 and 90 degrees, its windows opening onto the peaks of Damüls and infusions at regular intervals, eucalyptus or lavender. The fact that the house calls only the family cabin a Textilsauna means, according to current usage in German-speaking countries, that swimwear is not worn in the adult cabins: you go in wrapped in your towel, which is then spread on the bench. The property does not publish a minimum age in figures, so anyone who needs the exact threshold would do well to ask for it in writing.

Water, rest and the table

There are two pools and both are at 33 degrees. The indoor pool measures around fourteen metres, opens at 7.30 and is ringed with padded loungers. The outdoor infinity pool looks out over the drop towards the valley, measures around twelve metres, opens at 10 and has bubble loungers for a massage in the water. Both close at 19.30, like the saunas, which open at 14 instead and in bad weather are heated up as early as 11. The relaxation rooms facing the mountains and the vitamin bar, with herbal teas, seasonal fruit, nuts and water, stay available all day.

The house is completed by the fitness room with strength and endurance machines, massages, cosmetic treatments, yoga classes and the Day SPA programme, open also to those not sleeping at the hotel. The dining side is spread over several names, from the Löffelspitze restaurant to the wine cellar and the Bar Novum, awarded by Falstaff in 2025. Dogs are allowed with a daily surcharge, but not in the restaurant rooms and the wellness areas.