Your Hosts and History

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Snowboard Pulverschnee Sprung Kleinwalsertal

Bar mit offenem Dach Kleinwalsertal-Ifen

Hahnenkopfbetten - Auenhütte im Kleinwalsertal

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We live the life we love

Before telling you more about the Auenhütte, we would like to introduce ourselves. We that is the husband and wife team Christoph and Tanja Bantel, both passionate snowboarders, mountain bikers and mountaineers. We love living close to nature, on and off the ski slopes. Thus, we decided to turn our passion into profession.

How it all began – After having graduated from the “Belvoirpark” Hospitality Management School in Zurich, Christoph returned to the “Kleinwalsertal” Valley in 2011 and took over the management of the Auenhütte, which was then still a humble self-service eatery. However, being aware of the great opportunities, Christoph set himself the goal to breathe new life into the Auenhütte. While he was undertaking the first refurbishment work to the inn, Tanja was still studying in Innsbruck. Since 2014, both have jointly managed the Auenhütte to fulfil their dream.

Hand-crafted

Full of motivation, they continued to pursue their project in the following years. Everything was running smoothly, but the best was yet to come: In 2016, Klaus, one of their regular guests, suggested to re-use the marvellous timber of his 250-year-old farmhouse in Algovia. Later that year, Christoph travelled to Algovia and demolished together with Klaus the house reclaiming 30 m³ of old timber, which he cleaned undertaking the painstaking removal of the nails. The Willam Sawmill took care of the rest, cutting and drying the timber as well as adding the tongue and groove joints.

However, the hardest work was still lying ahead. After having gut and renovated the entire first floor, we undertook the panelling and flooring work using the recycled timber. The outer parts of the old wood beams were used for the wall panelling, whereas the inner parts were transformed into massive 2.5 centimetre thick planks for the flooring. Thereby, the rooms of the Auenhütte Hotel were given their unique and distinctive character.

Half-Way between Tradition and Modernity

One year later, the refurbishment project went again full steam ahead with our rooms being equipped with simple bunk beds, allowing us to welcome for the first time in 25 years resident guests to the Auenhütte in the winter season 2012/13. We continued our work step by step, year after year: In autumn 2013, we refurbished the second floor so that we could accommodate 45 guests by the winter season 2014. Spurred by the success and driven by enthusiasm, we started in summer 2014 renovating the south-facing lounge, where we found a hidden treasure: finest old timber that only needed to be slightly burnished. Being in full swing, we also had a sound system and the lighting installed, thereby creating a fine mix of tradition and modernity on a few square metres. The concept gained praise and the lounge became a sought-after quirky party venue. A long-cherished dream had come true!