From the moment you step out of the car, you feel enveloped in quality. Quality in the level of care and service and quality in the design and furnishings. The style may not satisfy the design cognoscenti of the world but it is as in most cases trumped again by this attention to detail and quality.<\/p>\n
We stayed at the Retreat which is the newer wing in a very spacious suite, which was probably larger than we needed. From the bed we could see a full view of the mountains and walk straight out from our large balcony and down through a lush lawn to the stream where small decks with sun loungers are placed. We ended up spending a lot of time just reading and dipping our feet in the cold spring water while being lulled by the constant distant clanking of cowbells.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/d15ap29giwmq9i.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/14221903\/SE_Spa_Badehaus_nSchlossElmau_7703.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
There is endless choice of food and beverage, including a Michelin starred Italian and even a Thai restaurant. We tried most of them but actually enjoyed the breakfast most. I usually hate buffets but I have to admit that I cannot avoid those at high-end German hotels where there is honey from the farm next door to most regions of the country or a plethora of country breads that leave me scratching my head. It\u2019s simple, things that keep well are in the buffet and things that need to be made a minuit are by order\u2026. if most hoteliers would do the same.<\/p>\n
For fear, we got through most of the days avoiding the massage and just sampled little pieces of the spa services to get a feel for it, my wife the manicure, myself their famous hammam. For those who like to be washed like a little kid on a marble platform by a middle aged Turkish man, I am sure it doesn\u2019t get much better than this but I realized a few minutes in that it was going to leave me feeling a little too \u2018touched\u2019. Even with the surprise hammam experience, on the very last day I woke up with a tight shoulder and decided, \u2018what the heck, let\u2019s give the massage a try\u2019. If I had only just dove right into the massage at the beginning of the stay, I am pretty sure we would have been doing a few hours a day. My masseuse was just amazing! In Thailand we get a lot of generally good masseuse who are well trained and have good technique but this was different. It was like having a master who knew how each and every muscle came together and the very best way of fixing problem areas while rendering such a sense of relaxation. I would go back just for this alone. This story would not be complete if I didn\u2019t mention a few other things: 1) the spa is its own separate multi-level building with everything: bathhouse, hammam, massage rooms 2) the heart of this place is in the arts as it started out as a place for artists to stay and teach other younger apprentices and there are performances from famous musicians most times of year 3) they have a little mountain log cabin that is a must visit at the middle of a long hike with quintessential red and white checkered table cloths and tall glasses of beer, unreal.<\/p>\n
So when you next feel the need for fresh mountain air and a quality spa experience, shake off the fear and head to the Schloss.<\/p>\n