The Spa Hotel Jagdhof is a Relais & Châteaux ski hotel with multi award-winning cuisine, a stunning spa and a warm indoor-outdoor pool set within beautiful gardens. The hotel sits on the edge of a pretty Tyrolean village and looks out across a breathtaking valley backed by dreamy Austrian mountains. Crucially, this gem of a hotel has 130 km of well-maintained ski trails directly from its door and offers is a courtesy shuttle to and from the Stubai Glacier. At over 3,000 m in elevation, this Glacier is the most snow-sure ski area in Austria and is open from October to June.
Location
The transfer to Spa Hotel Jagdhof is less than 30 minutes from Innsbruck airport, making this an ideal spot for a long weekend skiing. Fly in from Heathrow with direct flights on British Airways or arrive from Gatwick on Easyjet.
Ski Conditions
We visited at the end of an unusually warm March. It was 20’C on the valley floor, which meant that most alpine ski resorts had closed or offered pretty terrible conditions. Even in the nearby and supposedly snow-sure Lech & Zurs, the remaining snow was a mass of slushy ice. In contrast, all the runs on the Stubai glacier were in perfect condition and were brilliant to ski on. The free minibus up to the gondola station which takes you to the glacier is an amazing perk at the Jagdhof. Once on the glacier there are over 100 kilometres of ski pistes to choose from and while we were there, the sun shined every day.
We were both delighted and surprised to discover how perfect the conditions on the glacier were, even though the resort was warm enough to sunbathe around the pool.
Style & Character
Spa Hotel Jagdhof is a beautiful example of a traditional Austrian chalet with classic decor using plenty of pine, complimented by rich, warm carpets. The bar area was particularly cosy, offering lively après-ski, with small seating booths set around the bar, a fire place and live music each night. It was a fabulous place to enjoy refreshing Tyrolean beers.
The communal areas, which included the halls and restaurant, all had great character with real antlers and stuffed deer heads on the walls, lots of comfy corners with fireplaces along with fresh flowers and pretty table decorations. When we were visiting, Easter was the theme, so Easter bunnies and wooden eggs were dotted about and there was an Easter egg tree in the courtyard.
Rooms
Rooms at Spa Hotel Jagdhof are again decorated in typical traditional ski chalet style. They are all large and offer large balconies kitted out with loungers and views across the valley. When you opened our balcony door, you could hear the water rush past from a nearby mountain stream which was very soothing. Inside our room, there were pine floors and a large bed as well as a sitting area which was useful when battling to pull on your ski boots. A pine ceiling and a stone deer head on the wall finished the look.
Service & Facilities
I loved the service at the Spa Hotel Jagdhof. The attention to detail was outstanding, from knowing who we were when we arrived, check-in on the verandah with a complimentary drink, to the fact that we didn’t once come back to our room without it having been invisibly serviced. Every staff member seemed to genuinely care that we were having a good time and had everything we needed.
For us, an absolute highlight was Paul who was the resident ski guide at the hotel. If you want to fall in love with skiing on this glacier, a couple of hours with Paul made it so easy to navigate and were such fun. When we were travelling up and up in the gondola with him, he pointed out some horrendous vertical runs that he had enjoyed, and yet he was equally good directing my husband and I to runs that were perfect for our abilities while he taught our son to ski … in 4 hours. Yes, if you have young limbs and little fear, expect to be bombing down the nursery slope with just four hours of tuition.
Food & Drink
The food at the Spa Hotel Jagdhof is multi award-winning with two toques (15 points) and rightly so, every dish that we chose was excellent and beautifully presented.
Breakfast was buffet in style and extensive. In fact, it was so extensive that it took a few trips to fully navigate all of the food trays. All the food was set out in an ornate pine clad room. There were cereals, yoghurts, meats, fish, fresh breads, fruits and an egg lady who would make you up a delicious omelette, plus loads of juices and hot drinks. The choice was vast and delicious.
A bonus at the Spa Hotel Jagdhof over other half board ski hotels was that they also supply cakes in the afternoon. So, when you return from skiing, you can gorge yourself with mouth-watering apple strudels with cream, tiramisu dessert cakes and other creamy-lovelies that I couldn’t identify.
The evening meal was a highlight. Once again, the experience was enhanced by the smiling staff and little touches. As an example, my son’s plate of chips came with a little aeroplane that he could play with. For the adults, there was usually a 4-course offering with artistic and tasty starters such as fish, squid or duck dishes. This was followed by a choice of soup or consommé. Next up were some outstanding main courses, usually with 3 choices including veal, fish (turbot, char etc) and chicken options, although these changed nightly. This was followed by a huge selection of desserts and cheeses- you could select as much or as little as you wanted and once again the range was vast, so you were guaranteed to find at least a couple of mousses, cheesecakes, fruit dishes or cheeses that you would love. Don’t miss the Sunday night Gala dinner when you get an extra course.
Spa
The Spa at the Jagdhof was excellent. In fact the whole Spa area, with the indoor-outdoor pool, the masses of loungers bathed in sunshine and the extensive gardens with all sorts of hidden spots to laze, meant that you could waste hours here even if you didn’t want to book a spa treatment.
Nice touches included a complimentary tea and snack area offering every tea under the sun, plus snacks consisting of bowls of fresh fruit which were all set up throughout the day.
I choose to have a facial at the spa which incorporated all sorts of medically approved collagen creams and was excellent. I rate any treatments that make my skin look more plump and healthy and this one was both relaxing plus I could see a real difference when I looked in the mirror afterwards.
Spa Hotel Jagdhof surpasses expectations. It is a snow-sure Austrian lovely that is less than 30 minutes from Innsbruck airport. If you like skiing, fine dining or just want to laze in a glorious mountain setting, the Spa Hotel Jagdhof is a hidden gem that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Jagdhof hotel & The Stubai glacier also features in our best ski resorts in the world guaranteeing late season snow.
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