Unusual Wellness Experiences in Austria
Austria's wellness hotels and thermal spas reimagine the concept of relaxation - and sometimes the results are quite surprising. Who would have thought that a bath in a beer tub would become a wellness experience after all? Or that traditional products such as goat butter and pumpkin seed oil could turn into the new stars of modern spa treatments?
Austria shows that effective wellness treatments do not always have to follow the known paths. Here, centuries-old knowledge is combined with contemporary therapeutic approaches to create extraordinary spa treatments – unusual and effective at the same time.
Beer baths & straw beds
Beer bath in Upper Austria's Innviertel region anyone? It might sound strange at first glance - but once you've made yourself comfy in one of the rustic wooden tubs at Hotel Moorhof, we dare you to not fall in love with one of the most unusual wellness treatments in Austria.
While your body fully relaxes in the warm hop blossom bath, you can treat yourself to a cold beer from the tap. "Beer inside and out" so to speak. And afterwards? An "après bath" of a special kind awaits: a four-poster bed filled with oat straw. Another 30 minutes of peace and complete quiet, apart from the gentle rustle of the straw under your body. Enjoy Innviertel's light-hearted answer to the global wellness trend.
Chocolate body treatments
Hotel Sacher has always been a synonym for culinary delights. But their spa oasis in Vienna takes it one step further: Here, the cocoa bean isn't turned into a tasty chocolate treat but a luxurious wellness experience.
Their signature treatments make use of the most valuable ingredients of cocoa: The one-hour "A Taste of Chocolate" offer comes with a firming peeling and a chocolatey body massage while the 90-minute "Symphony of Chocolate" includes a cocoa bean peeling, a full body chocolate wrap and a relaxing massage.
Those who like it particularly rich can choose the "Dream of Chocolate" option, a revitalising mix of an exfoliating massage and body wrap. Or how about the "Sensation of Chocolate" treatment, a moisturising cocoa butter body wrap?
Unlike the classic Sacher cake, these sweet temptations are not to be eaten - but they will pamper you body and soul just as much (and they're calorie-free too!).
Goat butter body wraps
The Mountain & Spa Resort Alpbacherhof in Tirol uses a particularly valuable, yet rather unusual natural product: goat's butter. A former staple in traditional medicine, it is revitalised here as a body pack.
The creamy wrap is a real blessing for stressed and sensitive skin. People with extremely dry skin, neurodermatitis or psoriasis will especially benefit from the intensive moisturising and nourishing effects of goat's butter. The treatment restores the skin's natural balance and soothes irritated areas.
The goat butter pack shows that sometimes the simplest methods are the most effective.
Floating in the salt grotto
The brine grotto of Verwöhnhotel Kristall in Pertisau am Achensee awaits with a very special water experience - floating in warm salt water.
The grotto, shimmering in soft colours, transforms into a personal retreat where gravity seems to lose its power. Not only do physical boundaries dissolve in the warm salt water - everyday life equally slowly drifts away.
Whether you'd like to relax all by yourself or share the experience with your partner - the floating grotto allows both. A wellness experience that sets new standards in terms of lightness.
Massage with pumpkin seed oil
Styria is known for its "green gold" - pumpkin seed oil. At the Heiltherme Bad Waltersdorf this regional power product is not only used in the kitchen, but also as part of a very special healing concept: the "Traditional Styrian Medicine" (TSM).
This unique form of therapy combines centuries-old local healing knowledge with modern treatment methods. The pumpkin oil massage turns into a wellness experience that is deeply rooted in Styrian culture. Developed with scientific evidence by the in-house spa team, it is part of a holistic health concept that relies exclusively on the healing power of regional products.
The massage with the nutty oil is part of a range of traditional treatments, including soapstone massages with honey and herbal oil or facial treatments with cereal-pumpkin seed packs. This is wellness in Styria - down-to-earth and highly effective.