Waldruhe | Natur Hotel in Osttirol - Tradition meets alpine Lifestyle

Griaß di, Servus.

Tradition and Lifestyle since 1929.

Welcome to East Tyrol, to the mountaineering village of Kartitsch, to a very special house. Everything except ORDINARY. Winding and grown. Not big, but not small either. Definitely big enough to be really cozy. Only 28 rooms. But all identical and natural. Everything made from high-quality natural materials. Swiss pine. Oak. Larch. Reclaimed wood. Steel. Straightforward and casual. Stylish and cozy. Craftsmanship from East Tyrol. The full power of nature in and around our house. A collector's item, where almost 100 years of history combine with the new. With rough edges. A bit like a vintage car. Far away from the mainstream. Just the way we like it.

Since

1929

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We.

Family business since 1929.

We, the Strasser family, have been doing this for almost 100 years. Uncomplicated and genuine. Authentic, in other words. Without stars or seals. Just like that—with our principles of regionality and quality. With an honest “you.” Sometimes with mistakes, because that's only human. No artificial entertainment—just passion and genuine friendliness. I, Franz, run the business with my local team. With passion, joy, and lots of humor.

Calm Pole.

Enjoy the simple things.

We don't like the “higher, further, faster” attitude. That's why we take a more relaxed approach to things. Slow down – enjoy the simple things in life. Nothing staged – just nature. Peace. Enjoyment. Relaxation. Activity. Our location is laid-back, and definitely unique. You have to get used to the peace and quiet at first. Far away from mass tourism in the gentle mountaineering village of Kartitsch. There isn't much there except untouched nature, which in turn reflects quality of life and true luxury. A haven of peace in a “stressed” world. And yet you can reach the Dolomites in a short distance.

E-Mobility

Simple. Charging.

Charging - simple with our charging station with 2 charging points (22kW AC) directly in front of the hotel. With direct payment option at very good conditions.

28 rooms. stone pine. nature.

A lot of feel-good space.

Uniquely silent.

ONLY 28 nature rooms.

Bright and friendly. Natural. Reduced to the essentials. Fragrant Swiss stone pine wood. Sleep in a Swiss stone pine bed. Balcony or terrace. Extremely quiet. Interior made of Swiss stone pine and oak. Not oppressive, simple and cozy. Natural bathroom with rain shower. All rooms are identically furnished. They only differ in size. ZIRBE Small (2 rooms), ZIRBE Standard (4 rooms) and ZIRBE Family (2 rooms) in the main building, as well as our main category, ZIRBE Comfort, in the annex (20 rooms). We do not have an elevator in the building, but there are ground-floor rooms for guests with limited mobility. These terrace rooms are also ideal for guests with dogs. Both variants are COMFORT ROOMS.

Stylishly woody and very cozy. Treasures from over 90 years are scattered throughout the house. History and stories. Well, there's a lot to tell. A true family business since 1929. The house is practically a small museum. Never demolished, always expanded and restored with all facets of local craftsmanship.

Cuisine.

We love regionality.

WIt's a very important part of our philosophy. We work with selected farmers from the region. Farm to table, so to speak. The same applies to our daily evening cuisine. The shorter the delivery routes, the better for us. 100% from the Lesachtal valley, East Tyrol, and neighboring South Tyrol. The relaxed, young kitchen team led by Martin, Dominik, Silvana, Heidi, and myself will spoil you with fresh and trendy dishes. Service managers Kati, Tina, Dani, Veronika, and Selina will take care of the perfect drinks to accompany your meal. Completely free of additives, just like our cuisine :-) hihi. Every day, we offer fresh fish from Greifenburg, 100% Lesachtal meat, and exciting vegetarian and vegan creations. We also bake most of our bread ourselves. Sourdough and partly Kartitscher grain. Freshly cut fruit for breakfast. The best ham. As you can see, we place great importance on freshness and regionality. You can book half board directly. Overnight stays including breakfast are also possible, of course.

INCLUDED SERVICES:

East Tyrolean breakfast buffet from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m

Products directly from the farmer - "Farm to table"
HOME BAKED BREAD from our SLOW Food baker Martin
100% regionality for dairy products. Cheese. Cold cuts. eg.
Fresh egg variants from the mobile chicken coop.
Coffee specialties "Swiss masterpiece (Thermoplan) meets East Tyrolean quality roasters (Mocafe)"
Organic tea assortment from Bioteaque

Strudel and cake 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m
Evening cuisine 6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m

Salads and antipasti from the buffet
Soup
Main course (daily choice between meat from the Lesachtal, fish from Greifenburg and vegan/vegetarian dishes)
Dessert

5-course surprise menu every Sunday
Barbecue evening every Wednesday from the Ofyre Grill (in summer)

SPECIAL.

Fasting

Together with Chrissy Gaetz Kettner, we offer you the opportunity to participate in alkaline fasting 4-5 times a year (summer and winter). You can obtain the exact dates and information directly from Chrissy at fastenistmehr.at. Please feel free to ask Chrissy directly here.

Lounge and garden.

Our big livingroom.

The relaxed heart of the house. The meeting place for reading. Chilling out. Chatting. Etc. Our large living room. In winter, you can enjoy the view through the glass front with a magnificent view of the garden. In summer, we open it up and simply merge the indoors with the outdoors. Because in summer, lounging also takes place outdoors. Enjoy breakfast or dinner with a view of the Dorfberg. But it's best to find your own favorite spot here with us. Because that's how vacations are at Waldruhe. The legendary summer barbecue evenings every Wednesday in the summer garden. Once experienced, never forgotten.

History.

1929.

My great-grandmother thought that something was missing on her beautiful piece of land. And just like that, she built a casual snack bar. Originally for the local woodworkers.

1950 - 1970.

Her son, my grandfather, Franz, of course, being the eldest, did not want to take over the farm, but rather this alpine dairy. He invested for the first time in expanding it into a guesthouse with accommodation. A whole bunch of children were born, namely Dad and his sisters. That's how it used to be.

1959.

The first major blow came when my grandfather's wife, my grandmother, died at the age of just 38, leaving five small children without a mother. My dad was only two years old at the time. It's unimaginable. A few years later, our grandmother Paula came along, married my grandfather, and took over the children and the kitchen.

1970 - 1984.

The house continued to develop. My grandfather also ran a travel company on the side. His day trips and multi-day tours to Venice and Switzerland were legendary. Somehow, it was always clear that my father Franz and my mother Maria would be the next generation. Dad didn't really have a choice. It was more like, “You HAVE to.” He was a "Vollblutwirt".

1984.

My dad Franzl and my mom Maria took over the business with a lot of debt. This happened quite suddenly after Grandpa Franz had a stroke.

1985 - 1990.

Papa Franz is stepping on the gas. Investing in rooms, infrastructure, and so on.

1993.

My grandfather passed away on my birthday, unexpectedly. But he was able to see the plans for the extension.

1994 - 2014.

Short and sweet. It was expanded and substantial investments were made. Most notably in 1993 and 1994 with the construction of an extension with 18 rooms and a wellness area.

2014 - jetzt.

And that's where I come in. Having been with the company since 2010, I took over the reins at Waldruhe on June 1, 2014. Since 2015, we have actually been restoring and renovating every year. The number of rooms has remained the same for over 30 years, and we have no plans to change that. Alpine casualness combined with regionality. Casual. Authentic. Uncomplicated. That's what we like. Preserving old treasures, new designs. Local materials and companies that are friends. A house with rough edges. Like a classic car, a collector's item :-) Especially the main building, which sometimes creaks and groans, so you have to take it easy and take good care of the old classic. Since 1929, it has not been demolished, but expanded. This allows us to preserve the soul of the house, which has so much to tell. We experienced what was for me the greatest blow of fate on August 13, 2021. When my dad, Franz Senior passed away suddenly at the age of 63. We miss him. As a dad, as a person, as a friend, as a pillar of support. But at the same time, I draw so much strength from the beautiful memories and am so proud of him. We will definitely continue to write the story. THANK YOU FOR READING and sorry for any spelling mistakes 😊