Hotel Kristall

The Hotel Kristall is in Weidach, one of the twenty-four hamlets scattered along the sixteen kilometres of the Leutasch valley, on the plateau of Seefeld in Tyrol. The altitude is the one the house itself declares for the village, 1,136 metres, in a sunny basin between the wall of the Wetterstein and the Gaistal, one of the most snow-sure areas in Austria. The house presents itself as an Adults Only Hotel and has a second building, the Landhaus Kristall, with apartments.

Who may stay, and where the threshold changes

Here two ages are declared, and the difference counts. On its page of useful things to know the property writes that it deliberately positions itself as an Adults Only Hotel, a place of quiet and rest for adults, that it has no equipment for children and that it therefore offers the stay not before the age of 14. The wellness area, which the house calls the Kuschel SPA, carries a higher threshold instead, declared in plain words: entry from the age of 16. The booking portal writes that children are not allowed, with no figures. Among the sources the property's own wins, so this entry reports 14 years for the stay and 16 for the spa.

Swimwear, where it is kept on and where not

This is the fact no portal publishes and that the website does declare in full. There are two pools, on opposite floors of the house and with different rules. The infinity pool is on the fifth floor, on the roof terrace, is heated all year round and is open from 8.00 to 19.00: from there you look at the Mieming chain and the Karwendel. The indoor pool is in the basement instead, in the room the house calls the Spa Cocoon, sits at around 30 degrees and is open from 11.00 to 19.00; the website writes that, unlike the infinity pool, it is a textile-free zone, textilfrei, and adds with a joke that there the swimsuit can happily stay in the bag. Anyone unfamiliar with the custom, widespread in German-speaking areas, should know it before going down the stairs.

Saunas and resting

The cabins are spread over the two levels. Upstairs, on the fifth floor, there is the Bergglut panorama sauna, with its window opening onto the Leutasch valley as far as the Karwendel, open from 11.00 to 19.00, and next to it the Weitblick resting lounge with its loungers in front of the glass. Below, in the Spa Cocoon, there are the Finnish sauna, the infrared sauna and the Sandsteingrotte steam bath, between 40 and 50 degrees with humidity close to a hundred per cent and the cold water hose for the Kneipp reaction. The two resting rooms are called Zeitlos and Auszeit: the first for full silence, the second for anyone who wants to talk quietly. Massages, treatments and wellness packages are booked separately, and there is also a day spa offer. Neither of the two wellness zones is accessible without stairs, while the entrance, the rooms, the hall and the restaurant are.

Rooms, dogs and practical matters

The categories are many and small: from the Tirol Pur single of around 16 square metres to the Alpine and Tirol doubles between 20 and 30 square metres, to the Eleganz, Feinschliff and Farbenspiel junior suites between 30 and 35, up to the Rubin and Kristall suites of around 40. The furnishing is in wood, with bed linen for people with allergies on request. The room is taken from 16 and left by 11. Dogs are allowed, with dedicated rooms and a rate between 15 and 35 euros a night, but they do not go into the spa and the dining room, and in the room a mat or a blanket must be laid down.