Review of Hotel Krallerhof in Leogang, Austria
Tucked away in the mountains of Leogang, Austria, Krallerhof is the kind of hotel that instantly makes you slow down. Well actually, it first made me slow down my scroll on social media to be exact.
In 2025 I fell in love with mountains. Even though I’m not much of a hiker and far from an great skier, there is something about mountains that completely captivates me. They feel majestic, powerful and mesmerizing. Now imagine those mountains as the backdrop and add the most beautifully designed luxury spa hotels in front of it. That’s literally what Hotel Krallerhof is.
When I first came across a photo of this hotel’s incredibly breathtaking pool with mountains in the background on my instagram feed, I had no idea where in Austria Leogang was, but I was already adding this place to my hotels bucket list.
In December 2025 we got to spend 2 nights at this wellness-focused hotel. Was it worth it? Is it as beautiful as portrayed on social media? Well keep reading to find out.
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Hotel Krallerhof
Krallerhof has been run by the Altenberger family for generations, dating back to 1956. What originally began as a traditional farm has been thoughtfully transformed into a five-star luxury wellness hotel, all while preserving a strong sense of tradition and identity. Despite the many changes and expansions over the years, the hotel has never lost its connection to its roots.
Over the years Krallerhof has gone through expansion and renovations to its growth into a large scale property, but it still feels intimate and personal. In fact, we met one of the owners Josef during dinner, as he walked by every table greeting guests. It’s a small gesture but really reflects the level of care and hospitality I’ve never seen at a hotel of this scale.
In recent years, Krallerhof has become especially well known for its focus on wellness and architecture. In 2023, Krallerhof opened Atmosphere, a brand new adults only spa and wellness area featuring one of the most gorgeous pools I have ever seen. It is also perfect for a ski holiday, with ski-in ski-out options.
Where is Krallerhof
Krallerhof is located in Leogang, a picturesque alpine village in the Salzburg region of Austria.
Reading through reviews, some people seem to have mistakenly thought that the hotel was close to Salzburg the city, but it’s actually about 2 hours away from Salzburg.
It would be easiest to arrive by car but the Leogang train station is just a few minutes from the hotel, and the hotel has a shuttle that can pick you up and drop you off at the station so it’s quite accessible.
By train:
Munich to Leogang: 2 hrs 40 minutes
Salzburg to Leogang: 2 hours
Vienna to Leogang: 4.5 hours (passes through Salzburg)
I used Omio to book my train from Salzburg to Leogang, and from Leogang to Munich.
If you’re traveling from the United States, you can fly into Munich as there are many cities with direct flights, and take the train, or ask the hotel to help arrange a transfer from the Munich airport to the hotel.
Surrounded by mountains and nature, the hotel feels wonderfully secluded while still being easy to reach from major cities like Salzburg and Munich.
This makes Krallerhof an ideal base for a wellness focused escape, a romantic getaway, or a slower paced alpine trip where the hotel itself is the main destination.
Rooms and Suites
Krallerhof has a total of 124 rooms and suites, each designed in a different style. If you are curious to explore the various room categories and layouts, you can find a full overview on the hotel’s website here.
We stayed in the Purple Suite, which is 64 square meters and designed to accommodate two to four guests. The suite came with a main sleeping area with a double bed, a living area with oriental upholstered furniture, and a separate room with 2 single beds (we were just the two of us so we used this room like a walk in closet).
Walking in through the main door, there was a large bathroom on the left with double sinks, a tub and a separate waterfall shower space. The toilet was in a separate bathroom down the hallway and I found this somewhat inconvenient, but given that the room is designed for a family or small group (up to 4 people), having this separation made sense.
I’m pretty picky about hotel shampoo and toiletries, but I did liked the La Biosthetique shampoo and conditioner. The shower gel, hand soap and lotion were an Austrian brand that had the hotel’s name on the bottles, and these smelled quite good too. There was a tote bag that you can use throughout your stay with bath robes.
Note: the hotel does not provide slippers so if you’re a slipper person like me, bring your own pair.
To the right of the bathroom was a set of wooden doors that are centuries old from India. Open these doors and you have yourself a living area with a double bed on one side, and a couch with oriental upholstery. A spacious balcony led to views of the lake but on our arrival day, it was extremely foggy so we really couldn’t see anything but fog.
Back to the main door, to the right you had a spacious closet to hang your coats, a small bathroom with a toilet, bidet and a sink, and a smaller room with 2 single beds along the wall and a small desk.
I can’t really speak to housekeeping because my husband and I prefer not to have our room cleaned every day during our hotel stays and since we were only here for two nights, I opted out of cleaning.
Overall, the suite felt very spacious, airy, and welcoming, and it was a comfortable place to relax between spa visits and meals.
Wellness and Spa
Okay, this is the obvious highlight of hotel Krallerhof and I have so much I want to share about it.
There are two spa areas in the hotel. The original spa is called Refugium, and the newer addition adults only spa is called Atmosphere.
Refugium Spa
Refugium has:
- 9 saunas & steam baths including infrared cabin
- Family indoor pool
- Family outdoor pool
- Whirlpool and outdoor sauna pool
- Plunge pool filled with fresh spring water
- 4 spacious relaxation rooms
- Treatment rooms for treatments & massages
- Tea and vitality snack bar
- Fitness area with professional equipment
This spa area is children-friendly.
We really didn’t spend much time (actually, zero time) here because probably like most other people who visit Krallerhof, the new Atmosphere Spa was the main reason for booking a stay here.
Atmosphere Spa
This brand new spa building was designed by German architect Hadi Teherani, and just opened in 2023. While the rest of the hotel looks more traditional, this spa building has a unique design that looks stunning with smooth lines, yet somehow blends harmoniously into the mountain world surrounding it.
Just picture this. There’s a sleek building with spa areas and in front of it there is a lake with a 50-meter infinity pool floating in the lake. Can’t quite picture it? Let me show you.
The 5,500 m2 nature bathing lake is artificial, but it was filled with natural spring water. While I wasn’t brave enough to get into the icy cold, frozen over lake in the middle of December, I did see a guest go for a quick dip. I was busy cozying up in the heated infinity pool surrounded by the lake. In winter, the steam from the heated pool (about 30°C / 86°F) rising up creates an atmospheric vibe.
There was also a smaller whirlpool hot tub heated to 36°C / 96.8°F with the most jaw-dropping views, like ever! Like I mentioned before, it was quite foggy on our first day but when the fog cleared and I finally saw the Steinberge mountains appear, it felt so unreal. Honestly, I think this view alone makes a visit to Krallerhof hotel worthwhile. On our second day the mountains made themselves visible for just about 10 minutes before they hid in the fog again.
On the morning of day 3, however, there wasn’t a trace of fog anywhere, and we could finally see all of the beautiful surrounding area.
The Atmosphere spa building is 2 floors. On the first floor there is a Finnish sauna and an Herbal sauna with views of the Steinerne Meer and Leogang Steinberge. There is also a steam sauna, infrasal room, women only herbal sauna, an ice grotto, a beautiful blue grotto, and a relaxation room.
I have to mention, some of the areas of Atmosphere spa are textile-free zones. As in, yes, naked zones. I’ve grown up in Korea where our bathhouses require you to be completely naked, but it’s always separated by gender. The saunas and textile free zones at Krallerhof spa are co-ed, and this took a bit of time for me to get used to. There are plenty of towels stocked so you can always cover up with a towel if you’re uncomfortable, or wear your robe in the relaxation room.
Upstairs, you can grab refreshing drinks at Café am See while admiring the mountain views. The homemade lemonades were really delicious, and my husband enjoyed the Stiegl beer (brewed in Salzburg). This is also where you’ll find the 50-meter pool and the artificial lake. The lakeside café and the floating lake and pool areas are NOT clothing-free, so pack your swimwear for this area.
My husband and I had a full body massage during our stay, and it was so very worth it. Unfortunately they were not able to do a couples massage at the same time for us, so we ended up each having a session separate times of the day, but neither of us minded that.
There are other face and body treatments available for extra fees at the spa.
Dining at Krallerhof
Dining at Krallerhof is an experience in itself. Meals are beautifully presented and thoughtfully prepared, with a focus on high quality ingredients and seasonal flavors.
During your stay you’re assigned to the same table for every meal. This was a new concept to me, but I did enjoy walking into the restaurant and basically feeling like at home at my designated own table.
Breakfast is buffet style and the selections were quite good.
Instead of lunch, there is a snack-time in the afternoon with light bites.
Dinner is a multi-course meal with a different menu each night. You’ll have a choice of starter, soup, main dish and dessert to choose between.
Final thoughts
Krallerhof is also known to be a ski resort, though we didn’t ski during this trip (because I’m here for the spa and relaxing). You can purchase ski passes and rentals directly in the hotel, and ski lessons are available as well, making it a convenient base for winter travelers.
Hotel Krallerhof is undoubtedly one of those luxury hotels where the hotel IS the destination! I would happily return again, perhaps in the summer time when things are green and I’d be brave enough to take a dip in the lake!
Another relaxing escape to the heart of the Austrian Alps? You won’t have to ask me twice.
Disclosure: We were hosted by Krallerhof for this stay, but as always, all opinions are my own.
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