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24 Hours at the Jagdgut Wachtelhof

Have you ever dreamed of a Private Ski Hideaway with lots of fur, fire places, wooden rooms, elegant design and a perfect situation - meters from the lifts and slopes - in the heart of the Alps? Well, you might have, but never thought that this dream is even affordable. Alright, it is not Gstaad, St. Moritz, Courchevel or Kitzbühel - it's simply Maria Alm - more exactely Hinterthal. That doesn't mean that you have to miss five stars, excellent food, luxurious furniture and personalized service: the Jagdgut Wachtelhof has everything. 

So why else should you spend your holidays at this lovely Small Luxury Hotel Property (SLH)? I would define the factors service, spa, food, location as well as my favourite part: design. Styled and designed by no one else than Mr. Michel Bönan himself, this hotel could also be a hotspot in Florence or Rome (he also designed the famous J.K.Place hotels). This was why my colleague, Mr. Beverage Executive and me arrived with high expectations and a need for a day of doing simply nothing than relax (we have been skiing for three days in various ski resorts in the Tyrol before).

Upon driving the driveway, we were impressed by the charme of the building and the location, near the slopes. Mrs. Maierhofer welcomed us and while we filled out the paper work, we were treated with an excellent rosé sparkling wine which tasted like fresh berries from the forest. After a short tour through the hotel, including the private cinema (a real highlight), the underground bar "Schluf" as well as the spa, we were accompanied to our wnderful yet spacious Deluxe Room.

Inside the room we found a handwritten letter and a small sledge with the hotel branding as a welcome gift - a very nice touch. The minibar as well as a large bottle of sparklig water was complimentary and much appreciated by us (most of the hotels only offer still bottled water). The whole room was larger than expected and we even had a sofa, walk-in wardrobe, hallway and a small but very nice bathroom with shower-/tub combo, toilet and single vanity. The toiletries were branded by the sister hotel and made by a German soap factory - however the smell was very good and the size at 100ml is very generous, too!

The yet so stylish "Heurigen Spa" turned out to be even more glamorous in the inside. Beside a huge dry sauna, an armomatic shower, changing rooms, vast showers and a small bar in the heart of the small building, there was an impressive and perfectely designed relaxation room overlooking the heated outdoor pool, snow capped roofs and mountains as well as fire places around the pool. There was also a jacuzzi around the corner, but at 26 degrees celsius we didn't find it comfortable to use - by the way the water level of the swimming pool is simpy too low (guessing it was 1 to 1.20 metres) and the temperature was also way too low - also the reason why no guest was using it. This should be considered to change in order to be a real spa hideaway.

Another important part of our stay - the food and beverage outlets: Having dined at the best restaurants, we found the cusine of the Jagdgut Wachtelhof very good for the region and the type of hotel/restaurant which is the typical Austrian chalet style. From the salmon tartar, the cream soup of chestnut, to the main course, which was a perfectly cooked fillet of venison with butter "spätzle" and an excellent sauce. The grand final was a parfait of elderberries on a milky and creamy souce. We had an excellent Barbera d'Alba (perfect to meat) and a glass of excellent Austrian Eiswein, followed by a housemade nut liquor. 

Last but not least - a stay with Mr. Beverage Executive wouldn't be final without having an excellent post-dinner drink -  we got two different ways of Gin Tonic (in fact it wasn't something you might think of!). I took the excellent "Mare" with spanish Gin, while my colleague chose the one with German Gin (helping to his home country ;-) ). Honestly, it was the best Gin Tonic we both ever had and it took our breath with every sip we took! This was the best barkeeper and hopefully he doesn't return to Apulia - where he is originally from.

All in all this is a perfect ski hideaway in the real Austrian Alps and we guess the prices are very moderate for what you get. You will feel like owning a private ski chalet - due to the guest-staff ratio of 17 rooms and nearly as many staff members.

We were invited by the Hütter-Bönan Hotel Group for a test stay at the Jagdgut Wachtelhof. All our above written represents our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced in any way.

24 Hours at the Hotel Cervosa

The first hotel of our first and only "Ski Week" indeed exceeded all our expectations. In the real center of Serfaus - one of the loveliest ski towns I have ever seen - a bit up on a small hill, there is a true wellness and gourmet temple: The Hotel Cervosa Serfaus. Owned and managed by the welcoming Westreicher Family - Mr. Hugo Westreicher takes care of the guests by himself when he walks through the restaurant every evening during the dinner. Mrs. Westreicher, the friendly and welcoming soul of the house welcomed us with a glass of sparkling wine. 

Upon entering our wonderfully designed and very spacious "Junior Suite de Luxe", we were really surprised to find a bottle of sparkling wine and a nice welcome plate with apples and chocolate donuts. I really liked the layout of our suite - the bathroom was kind of open plan with access from the bedroom and the hallway. A very nice touch was the Nespresso coffee machine, the warm colors of the room as well as the balcony on the south side overlooking the wonderfully snowed town and the new spa building. 

I would describe the atmosphere of the room as very comfortable and welcoming, simply perfect for a ski hotel like the Cervosa. Our huge bathroom offers a bath tub, walk-in shower and a separated toilet with bidet. The toiletries were by Bulgari and therefore as luxurious as the complete experience we had during these two days. In addition to the furniture, I experienced the bed sheets and the mattress as very heavenly. 

One of the most important parts of this hotel is the vast wellness and spa area which boasts more than 3.000 square meters of pure tranquility and relaxation over three floors. The entry level is equipped with a large indoor pool, two jacuzzis and a separated area for treatments. Furthermore there is a huge thermal area, a large and wonderful steam bath, an aromatic sauna as well as a jacuzzi, hot loungers and water beds on the first basement. A recently added spa building can be accessed through a tunnel. In this spa building there is a small bar for tea and drinks, two wonderful relaxation rooms, a breath-taking panoramic sauna as well as a heated outdoor pool with fire places and views over the snow capped mountains and house roofs of Serfaus.

After the relaxing spa break, we headed down to the hotel's own restaurant. Fortunately we arrived on Sunday and were therefore invited to be part of the Gala evening with an amazing Gala Dinner, including six courses. The first course was a sashimi of tuna, followed by a creamy cocos-curry soup, a breast of quail and a sorbet of mango with lots of champagne. The main course was an excellent fillet of veal with potato gratin and vegetables - sounds not as good as it tasted. The grand final was a wonderful chocolate cake with a gorgeous mock ice cream. Finally we were treated with excellent cheese from the Tyrol.

On Monday we had the possibility to discover the slopes of the enormous ski resort "Serfaus Fiss Ladis". Unfortunately the weather was not the best and therefore not that good for a lovely ski day. During our ski day we discovered that the resort attracts a lot of families and beginners. If you want to live your ski dreams as a professional skier, you need to hide away to the black, more extreme slopes. All in all, there are some really goof food outlets, such as the Lassida Restaurant, the Fine Dine at Masner and the new Seealm Hög. 

A very special thanks to the Westreicher Family for the generous invitation to the overnight stay with half board. Our ski day has been sponsored by the tourism region "Serfaus Fiss Ladis".

48 Hours at the Aria Hotel Prague

Our party was divided into two groups. One stayed at the new and ultra chic Emblem Hotel, while we decided to stay at the more casual and more luxurious Aria Hotel. Never did we regret this simply amazing choice. Upon arrival we were greeted with a smile and a welcoming "Welcome to the Aria Prague!". I wouldn't say that probably this is the most personal front desk staff if I hadn't stayed at so many luxury hotels. Honestly this is the secret formula for a successful hotel - a place where also I will return many times. 

Our rooms were situated on the fourth floor meaning that our rooms are designed in the Classical colour scheme - well, the rooms are not as chic as at the Emblem, but they definitely are twice as comfortable and welcoming with lots of warm colours. The bathroom was large and the tub was huge as well. I also loved the huge shower head - honestly it reminded me of The Savoy in London, probably because the toiletries are from London, by Molton Brown!

The Apple TV is really really cool and we could even connect our iPads to the TV and could hear our Music through the excellent loundspeakers! There is also a turn-down service with chocolate, which was done normally between 4 and 5 pm - guess it could be a bit too early for some people! In contrary to the Emblem, the do not have boxspring beds, but therefore enormous King beds with a size of approximately 2m x 2 m. A very nice gesture when we arrived: a bottle of red wine and a fruit plate!

One of the nicest touches at this musical themed hotel is the afternoon tea, held daily between 4 and 5pm - fully complimentary for hotel guests. With sweets, finger food, hot tea and wine (during christmas time), we were completely in the mood for the christmas markets at the Prague castle, Venceslas Square and Old Town Square - the most wonderful I have seen in Prague!

After all these excellent reviews on Tripadvsior (and of course because we were extremely tired of our 5 hours drive ;-) ) we decided to eat at the Coda Restaurant. Again, an excellent choice! Our menu consisted of three courses and an accompanying house wine, which was incredible! Beginning this excellent evening with an Amuse Bouche, a slice of tuna, followed by Foie Gras - it was truly magificent. I was quite insecure if it is a good idea to take the "Papardelle with Truffle" in December. As you might guess, all my believes were incorrect! These papardelle were simply extraordinary - never had such excellent truffle dish outside the Piedmont or Italy before! For dessert we had the famous Valhrona chocolate cake, another fabulous choice! Honestly all our expectations were exceeded on all ways! Congratulations to the chef David!

Of course we discovered some of Pragues best cocktail bars before we headed back to our worldclass accomodation. At breakfast we were greeted with a smile once again and started the day with some scrambled eggs and omlettes, together with a real Capuccino!

Finally I can just assure that you won't regret to forget the Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental and head therefore to this picturesque Boutique Hotel in the real heart of one of our Top favourite cities in the world. If you are looking for something really special, then book one of the few Suites overlooking the Vrtbovska Garden - one of the most wonderful baroque gardens in the world, accessible free of charge from the hotel. 

A special thanks to the team of the Aria for being so welcoming and kind!

Our stay at the Aria Hotel Prague was sponsored by Mr. Vostiar and we were guests of the hotel throughout the weekend. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

Restaurant-Check - Innsbruck - Lucy Wang

Yesterday, we have been to Innsbruck's latest Restaurant addition - Lucy Wang - a completely new concept and extremely cool design in the capital of the Tyrolean Alps. Recently, many new restaurants opened in Innsbruck during this season (Ludwig's Burger, L'Osteria, Ebi's, just to mention the best ones), but after our experience at this extraordinary place, we are sure that this is by far the best place to be and to-be-seen in Tyrol. 

Upon entering the glamorous restaurant you are welcomed by an elegant smell - reminding us of a luxe London Restaurant in Knightsbridge - and a kind staff member who takes care of your jackets and accompany you to the main restaurant. We decided to take two non-alcoholic cocktails. One was a Mango Colada - excellently tasty with a taste of coconut - and the other was called Lipp Gloss, very refreshing with ginger and berries. 

As starter we had excellent Sushi with salmon on top, lobster, spinach, avocado and wasabi in the inside. It might not sound tasty at first but it was gorgeous! Simply the best sushi I have tasted outside Japan. It was also very fresh, not like we were used to at Sushi Shop in France, where we had good Sushi, too. 

Our next course was probably one of the most expensive dishes in Innsbruck at this time: US Rib Eye with mashed potatoes, vegetables and a excellent red butter jus. The presentation of the dish was completely different from how we imagined, but therefore the taste exceeded by far our expectations - we were impressed! On the other side, I would say it was exactly what should be expected for 28 Euros per dish.

One of our favorite things at this marvelous place is of course the design, the color scheme as well as the atmosphere and the smell. All guests of this restaurant made the impression to be really wealthy and belong to the upperclass of Innsbruck. The whole restaurant goes a heartwarming feeling and you think like dining in a In-Restaurant in Central London or New York City. We believe that this restaurant fits perfectly into the Alpine landscape of Tyrol and we are sure that this place can make it to the Top place of the Best restaurants in Innsbruck.

All in all, 90 euros for two courses with water and cocktails is a lot of money. If you take a bottle of wine and a dessert you will be spending 150 euros for the two of you! Well, not something for the everyday life, but really a place to be when you are seeking for something sophisticated and very elegant in Innsbruck.

Our test dinner at Lucy Wang was not sponsored by anyone. We paid for the food and beverages by ourselfs. Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

48 Hours at the Byblos Saint-Tropez

Some people describe it as legendary, some as an institution. After my unforgettable stay I agree with both and conclude it as a one-of-a-kind experience - and finally it was the absolute highlight of my summer holidays! A real Leading Hotel of the World as it should be!

Saint Tropez, the capital of jetset has of course many many luxury hotels on relatively small space. I was always seeking to stay at the new Sezz or the Muse, both near Ramatuelle, and far from the old town of Saint Tropez. Due to the fact that I only had two nights to discover Saint Tropez, I knew I had to find an alternative. I wanted to go to the beach by hotel shuttle during the day and visit the town at night. So the only option was to look for a hotel in the centre. Therefore I came across the Byblos and I never regret this decision during my stay.

From the kind first "Bonjour" at the entrance, the experience continued by a very kind and smooth check-in by the so kind Barbara at the front desk. As they know how to manage a world class hotel, they upgraded me to a breath-taking Two Bedroom Seaview Suite and continued with treating me like royalty by serving a bottle of Rosé Byblos and homemade sweets - I was overwhelmed!

The style is typical for this part of the Cote d'Azur and I can assure that the Byblos is 100 per cent Saint Tropez, no minimalistic design nor unprofessional staff members. Of course the main highlight of the day was my Suite with a balcony overloooking whole Saint Tropez, the pool and the Mediterranean Sea of course. Upstairs there was another bedroom with twin beds, en-suite bathroom with shower and a completely new Samsung LED-TV with the function to connect your mobile device. On the main floor of this Deluxe Suite, a large living room with writing desk was connected by a sliding door to a master bedroom with oversized King abed and en-suite bathroom and double basins. The only toilet was situated next to the entrance of the Suite.

The concierge was extraordinary and reserved a table at a fabulous new Retaurant called "Le G" and made it possible to get sunbeds on Club 55, without having lunch there (Normally impossible during the high season)! The shuttle goes to every beach you want to go and whenever you want to go. When we arrived at Club 55 we were given one beach bag each with two towels, provided by the driver of the Byblos.

The breakfast comes with a picturesque terrace, perfect service and pool views. The buffet is well selected with high quality products and the best: it is served until 12 noon! That's amazing, isn't it? And welcomed as well, after a typical Tropezian night in one of the world renowned clubs. Unfortunately the glamorous Le Caves du Roy was not open on weekdays so we could not attend one of the dazzling party nights there. Instead we enjoyed a late-night dinner on the harbor in a very chic restaurant, followed by a drink on the terrace of Byblos' B-Bar. 

Finally, the Byblos is simply a gorgeous place. I love this hotel and will return there again soon.

We would like to thank the Byblos Hotel Saint Tropez and Groupe Floirat for the generous special offer and the amazing suite upgrade.

24 hours @ Il Salviatino

                       

As a short stop between Innsbruck and Porto Ercole (Il Pellicano) we stayed in the luxurious five-star-hotel "Il Salviatino" in Florence, Italy.

Upon arrival we were already expected with a friendly smile and a delicious rosé sparkling wine. Due to the fact that the rooms weren't ready yet, the kind front desk employee accomapnied us to the terrace and explained us some facts about the city Florence.  

After we came back from the sightseeing-tour we were shown to our rooms, wich were quite beautiful and very generous. The only downsite has beed the very used floor in the shower, but otherwise the bathroom was quite beautiful with an old English basin, fresh flowers, seperated toilet and bidet, walk-in shower with rainshower head. The best part were the heavenly twin beds and the high-definition TV wich is built into the mirror with a big choice of international channels. When we experienced that they also offer free shoe shine service, we tried it out and after only two hours all three pairs were proper. 

Due to the fact that we expected three large pools we were kind of disappointed when we arrived at the pool area and recognized that it also could be one average pool. The view is also not that spectacular but therefore it is really silent and the pool service was attentive, too. Afterwards we wanted to visit the spa. The kind lady showed us one Spa Suite, which looked really generous with a free standing tub, a shiatsu bed and two massage beds as well as a changing area with steam bath. They also offer a fine selection of Men Treatments. 

Another highlight was the beautiful garden infront of the hotel. It was romantically designed with rose trees, other flowers and two fountains. In the evening they lit up the alley to the hotel with white candels.

A perfect place for a honeymoon or a romantic holiday for just the two of you!

Our stay at the Il Salvuatino was not sponsored. We came up to the whole expenses by ourselfs.

Our above written review is our personal opinion and hasn't been influenced.

written by:

Lukas Spendler - Beverage Executive