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Find out more about Hotel Alpenfriede
» The character of a cosy mountain lodge.
The amenities of a 4 star hotel. «
Whether it’s the careful preparation of our rooms, when serving our culinary delicacies or advising our guests at reception: everything we do is done under the motto “Alpenfriede is not just a place, but rather a feeling.” And you, valued guests, will be able to feel this special warm atmosphere in every corner of our hotel. We are very proud to welcome many regular guests back to our quality ski hotel year after year. And perhaps you’ll soon be one of them?
Preserve what we cherish.
Pay attention to detail.
Hochsölden and Hotel Alpenfriede simply belong together. Our traditional hotel has been around for over 70 years. Of course, a lot has happened since we opened in 1936. Accompany us on a short journey to the past.
The family history
The Hotel Alpenfriede is now managed by the third generation of the Lengler family. The owner is Gernot Lengler. His wife Susanne Bernhard does not work actively in the business. But she is an indispensable team member in the "background", not least because of her boundless creativity. Their son Simon has the option of becoming a fourth-generation hotelier. However, he should not see this option as a corset in the sense of a compulsively prescribed career path.
As a "gray eminence" the senior boss Gustl Lengler is at our side with words and deeds. His exciting and entertaining stories about the history of the hotel are an important pillar of the individual charm that makes the Alpenfriede so special.
You simply have to know the family and hotel history:
In 1925, Maria, the mother of our senior chef, gives birth to her first child: Ignaz. Meanwhile, his photo determines the recognition value of our house as our trademark. At that time Maria was 24 years young and a cook at the Hotel Mohren in Ötz. However, she was burdened with a peculiarity that was considered a great flaw or even a disgrace in those days. Ignaz was an illegitimate child. Fortunately, her parents Josepha and Ignaz ("the elder") were modern, open-minded and understanding. They lived in what is now the Hainbacherhof, located at Sölden's northern entrance to the village, and took touching care of their grandson.
This gave Maria the opportunity to spoil the guests of the Sonnenhotel in Hochsölden with her cooking skills. The year was 1934, and it was the best hotel in the entire Ötztal. The fact that running water was available on every floor was a great novelty at that time. Finally, Maria received a piece of land in Hochsölden from her father.
With a lot of courage and energy, she built the so-called Pulverhüttl, which was the initial spark for today's Hotel Alpenfriede. On the first floor, Maria ran a small store where she sold items such as skis, ski goggles, gloves, sunscreen, chocolates and postcards. In addition, the Pulverhüttl had four guest chambers with straw beds. Electricity and running water were unthinkable at that time. Since Maria continued to work as a cook in the mornings and evenings, she was only able to open her small store during the room hour, that is, during her rest breaks. Her parents spent the summers together with their grandchild Ignaz in Hochsölden on the alp. It is the first small hut, which is located on the right side when you drive to the Obstlerhütte.
In 1936 Maria began quite ambitiously with the construction of the Alpenfriede. The fact that at that time there was no road leading to Hochsölden truly did not make her undertaking any easier. The only support was provided by the material ropeway, which had been put into operation seven years earlier. Since the first lift did not start work until 1948, Hochsölden was until then only accessible on foot.
But back to the family history: Around 1936/37 Maria met her later husband Wilhelm Lengler, who was staying in Hochsölden as a guest. In 1939 the time had come and the happy couple married in January. Exactly nine months later, our senior chef Gustl saw the light of day. Two years later, Ignaz and Gustl were happy about their first little sister. She was christened Hildegard. The family's happiness became perfect when Maria gave birth to the little "straggler" Rita at the age of 47.
With the outbreak of World War II, difficult years began for the Lenglers, as they did for many Tyrolean families. Wilhelm had to go to war and was stationed in Zagreb. For our senior boss, his father's return in 1947 is one of his fondest memories. Step by step, the family was able to return to normality. Wilhelm took care of the administration and the commercial side of things, benefiting both from his sound education and the professional success he had enjoyed before the war in a Würzburg forwarding office. The extent to which his skills were appreciated is underscored by Wilhelm's position as operations manager of the Sölden-Hochsölden lift facilities, which he held until 1956. Maria - supported by one or two employees - sacrificially took care of the children, the rooms, the kitchen, the laundry and the service in general.
In our daily work, the Lengler family remembers with deep gratitude the great achievements of Wilhelm and Maria, who laid the foundation for our wonderful hotel, which inspires winter sports enthusiasts far beyond the borders of Austria.
During the war, the guests were mostly from Germany. They were mainly soldiers on home leave or leave from the front, who wanted to enjoy a few carefree days with their families. In the post-war period, the public quickly became international: English and French traveled to Hochsölden, and in the summer numerous Swedes enjoyed nature and the unique Tyrolean hospitality. From today's perspective, this development seems quite surprising, because at that time it was common to travel by train. In addition, it was necessary to take the autobus from the Ötztal train station and finally to walk all the way up to Hochsölden.
Skiing was increasingly becoming a magnet for tourists who loved winter sports. It is therefore not surprising that clever marketing minds introduced a ski pass in the form of a points card. It soon became clear that the aforementioned single chairlift was no longer sufficient. Thus, in 1952, the lift from Hochsölden to the Rotkogel was opened.