Why the Bavarian Alps are the perfect summer getaway
FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Boris Johnson and Joe Biden might not be at the top of your list when seeking a peaceful summer getaway. Yet pride of place is given to a picture of the pair on the walls of Schloss Elmau, in the Bavarian Alps, where they gathered with other world leaders for a G7 summit two years ago.
Perhaps the resort, which bills itself as somewhere families can escape to but where they can also take a break from each other, is the perfect setting for some conflict resolution. Set in the Valley Elmau, surrounded by cloud-covered peaks and pristine lakes, the German hotel is a favourite retreat for the star players of Bayern Munich. I even bumped into the team’s soon-to-be ex manager Thomas Tuchel in the lift on our first day, although he seemed more interested in his phone than my thoughts on Harry Kane’s best position. At least with the hotel’s football camps run by top Bundesliga coaches I could pack my kids off safe in the knowledge they’d learn more from them than from me.
Regularly named as one of the world’s best hotels, Schloss Elmau certainly offers enough in the way of distractions to keep everyone happy. There are endless activities on offer from tennis, hiking and horse-riding to archery, yoga and dance classes. Wellness is a key theme at the hotel’s seven spas, complete with indoor and outdoor pools, although a dip in the crystal-clear stream which runs through the grounds is hard to beat
In winter, the hotel becomes a popular destination for skiers with easy access to the Zugspitze Glacier and the Austrian resort of Seefeld.
But it has much to offer as a summer destination. It is a perfect base for hikers and cyclists to explore the mountains — and, if you want to spare yourself the legwork, it also has a fleet of e-bikes. You can take one up to the stunningly beautiful Eibsee lake for the chance to swim or kayak between its eight islands. And if you feel the need to venture out to any of the nearby villages, or make the 90-minute drive to Munich, the hotel will lend you one of its electric BMWs.
Schloss Elmau takes sustainability seriously, using wood waste to generate 80 per cent of its heating and sourcing food from local farms. It aims to be completely sustainable by the end of this year.
The hotel’s 162 rooms and suites are split across two buildings, The Hideaway and The Retreat, with both offering views of the Wetterstein mountains, which provided the backdrop to the G7 team picture. Its 10 restaurants range from the French-Japanese Michelinstarred Ikigai to La Salle, with its family-friendly buffet. It is the resort’s cultural programme, however, which is perhaps closest to the heart of its software entrepreneur owner, Dietmar Mueller-Elmau. The hotel, which his grandfather opened in 1916, attracts some of the biggest names in classical music to its purpose-built concert hall, with performers having included Benjamin Britten and
Yehudi Menuhin. Stars are offered a free stay rather than payment, which, in this case, seems like a fair deal. I’m sure they’d agree that whatever, or whoever, you are trying to get away from, Schloss Elmau is the ideal place to plot your escape.
• Schloss Elmau offers double rooms from €280 per person per night on a B&B basis. schloss-elmau.de
Hikers and cyclists can explore the mountains — or take an e-bike to the Eibsee lake to swim or kayak