ASTER Boutique Hotel & Chalets

The ASTER Boutique Hotel & Chalets is on the Asterweg, in the locality of Pairfeld on the Pankrazberg, the terrace of meadows and farmsteads that belongs to the municipality of Fügenberg and looks down on the floor of the Zillertal, at about seven hundred and fifty metres above sea level. It is not a village hotel: you get there by climbing up from the valley floor and the house stands alone among the meadows, with Fügen and the Spieljoch cable car a few minutes away by car. It is run by the Plattner family, who have worked here for almost fifty years and have added a few chalets and a couple of separate houses to the hotel.

Why it ends up among the Adult SPAs

This is not a property that bars children. The website has a whole section devoted to the family holiday, with an outdoor playground, an indoor playroom for rainy days, a water game with a wheel, a stream and wooden channels, and a barbecue hut in the garden. The distinction is made by the wellness. In the Saunawelt there are three cabins and the website labels them one by one: the Finnish sauna entirely in oak at ninety degrees is given as adults only, the mountain herb steam bath at forty degrees is given as adults only, while the bio sauna in Swiss pine at sixty degrees is the Familiensauna, that is the textile sauna open to families too. The saunas are open every day from 15:15 to 20:00.

The rule of the hours

To the division between the cabins a second one is added, which concerns the whole area. The frequently asked questions on the spa page say that children are welcome in the wellness area until 18:00 and that after that hour the centre stays exclusively for adults, in order to guarantee a quiet atmosphere. For the infinity pool the rule is declared with even tighter hours: children may use it accompanied by their parents from 11:00 to 17:00, and before 11:00 and after 17:00 the pool is an adults only area. Anyone looking for silence knows when to go, anyone travelling with children is not left out. The exact minimum age is not declared anywhere on the website: the restriction is built on the hours, not on a threshold of years.

What there is

The infinity pool is heated and faces the valley, open in summer from 8:00 to 20:00 and in winter from 15:00 to 20:00, and from 20:00 it can be booked for exclusive use. Beside it is the Natur Pool, a pool of spring water alone without chlorine, with natural purification, which serves as the cold bath after the sauna. The rest rooms, open from 8:00 to 21:00, have daybeds and panoramic lounges facing the peaks. The massage list runs from classic relaxation to sports massage. The Day Spa is accessible to outside guests too, by reservation and with limited places, and the pools are heated with the biomass plant of the farm.

It suits anyone who wants a small, well kept house in a high and quiet position, with a sauna that in the evening becomes an adult affair. It suits less anyone expecting a large, fully equipped spa: here there are three cabins and two pools, not a thermal centre.