Schloss Velden
The Schlosshotel am Wörthersee has long been on our bucket list. An iconic hotel with tradition, a meeting place for high society, artists and aristocracy in the 1950s and 60s, owned by the bon vivant and millionaire Gunther Sachs for more than ten years from 1990, film set for the TV series A Castle on Lake Wörthersee…. On the legendary Wörthersee, where grandparents enjoyed adventurous water skiing and summer flirtations. For the current issue of eMove360° magazine in german language (free download PDF), we visit the hideaway on the iconic box seat on the western shore of Lake Wörthersee with the Polestar 2. Slow living and summer dreaming are the watchwords amidst a successful blend of charming nostalgia and modern luxury.
By Sabine Metzger
Slow living. I like the motto. A fairy godmother has conjured up fine chocolates in a bowl on the delicately grained, lacquered wooden table as a welcome gift. With the taste of Marc de Champagne on my tongue, I lie on the mustard yellow designer armchair and celebrate my arrival. Warm brown and beige tones dominate the elegant, modern junior suite, light marble in the bathroom, and the room technology such as lighting and temperature can be controlled via touch panel. Our “quarters” are located in the modern 2-storey cube building, built in 2013, which surrounds the castle garden in a U-shape. Châpeau: The architects and interior designers have succeeded in combining the historic and the modern with a feel-good atmosphere. And not just in our suite.
The warm hospitality of the hotel staff also contributes to the feel-good atmosphere. This is very important to the young hotel manager Julia von Deines. “We don’t want to be snobby. Everyone should feel at home. Although the five-star hotel is one of Austria’s top luxury hotels and has won countless awards, the atmosphere is relaxed, unagitated, casual and courteous. A quick, searching glance is all it takes for someone to be on hand to help.
We look for the breakfast room. We are attentively guided to the ballroom with its sun terrace. There, late risers or those who have already had some action in the form of jogging, tennis, yoga or swimming will find a veritable land of milk and honey until 11 am. Lots of regional products such as cheese, arctic char, fruit and vegetables that can be freshly pureed in the smoothie maker, cold meats, warm porridge, sensational bread from the Joseph organic bakery in Vienna: the buffet leaves nothing to be desired. And what you don’t find there, the caring little helpers from the service team try to make possible. For us, for example, the world’s best wafer-thin pancakes filled with apricot jam.
Slow living or action? That’s the question now. We would love to have at least the summer to discover everything the region has to offer. We would go on a hiking tour in the Nockberge mountains, climb the Karawanken peaks, play a golf course or two, go shopping in nearby Udine in Italy, visit the old town of Ljubljana… Today we opt for slow action. A lake cruise on the steamer, which departs virtually from the hotel doorstep. With an Aperol Spritz, we spend the next three hours relaxing on the sun deck of the MS Klagenfurt, watching Pörtschach, Maria Wörth, Krumendorf and Klagenfurt pass us by. Enjoy the leisurely ride and the magnificent views of the hilly landscape, the glistening lake and the wispy white clouds chasing across the deep blue sky.
Spa. Back on land, the next Slow Living destination beckons: the 3600 m² Acquapura SPA with its extensive range of saunas and treatments and highlights such as a garden sauna, sauna infusions, direct access to the lake and a well-tempered indoor and outdoor pool. We relax and do our lengths until our stomach gives the signal: It’s time to eat.
Slow food: Slow is also the motto when it comes to enjoyment. The hotel’s award-winning cuisine bears the signature of head chef Thomas Gruber. Cuisine meets art in the Salons restaurant. A hobby of hotel manager Julia von Deines, who offers talented, mostly local artists a stage in changing exhibitions. When we are guests, it is an artist who brings modernity to the elegant rooms in the castle tower with colorful, large-format portraits of women. There is also a view of Lake Wörthersee.
The philosophy of slow enjoyment can also be perfectly experienced in the Seespitz restaurant directly on the shores of Lake Wörthersee. Slow food dishes – including vegan – are on the menu at the restaurant, which has been awarded 92 points, 2 Gault Millau toques and 3 Falstaff forks. You can order a menu with or without wine accompaniment or choose individual dishes. We opt for the Nuart mozzarella (a local type of sheep), salted strawberries with lemon and almonds as a starter and the Arctic char with root vegetables, umami broth and wasabi leaf as a main course. Those who prefer classics such as Carinthian Kasnudeln, Wiener Schnitzel and Ötscherblick pork tomahwak will also find what they are looking for.
Nightlife. Time to pay a visit to the legendary Charly Walker Bar in the Schlosshotel. Roy Black and Otto Retzer have already turned night into day here with cocktails and live music. Incredibly good live jazz music is reminiscent of a jazz club in New York, with the occasional Udo Jürgens classic in between. After all, a little nostalgia is allowed on Lake Wörthersee.
Summer dreaming. On Sunday it’s time to say goodbye. Very slowly. After all, this also needs to be celebrated. The sun is shining from the sky. The beach club beckons with its 20-metre-long pool filled with lake water and its comfortable loungers, all facing the lake. Enjoy pole position one last time. A refreshing dip in the lake, a last spritz (Prosecco, grapefruit, soda) … Summer dreaming
Further information: Falkensteiner Schlosshotel Velden Julia von Deines & Thomas Haslauer, Schlosspark 1, 9220 Velden am Wörthersee, Tel. +43/(0)4274/520000,
schlossvelden@falkensteiner.com, www.falkensteiner.com/schlosshotel-velden; Price: from 349Euro
Charging: 6 charging stations in the hotel’s underground parking garage.
Click tip for the region: www.woerthersee.com
