SAUNA HEAVEN
FORSTHOFGUT NATURHOTEL, LEOGANG, AUSTRIA
We like everything to be the best,” said Herman, as he applied expert pressure to the knots of lactic acid in my shoulders and neck. Ninety intense seconds later, the knots had “exploded” and I was despatched to do some kneipping in the spa: 20 minutes of hot sauna action followed by an ice-cold shower and a 10-minute lie-down. A few rounds of this would help my body metabolise any toxins released from my abused upper back and I would feel no pain the next day, he promised. Or I could trot outside in my dressing gown and plunge into the bathing lake, currently zero degrees. Reader, I went to the spa. Which, being textilfrei (nudity required) was not without its challenges. Eye contact, yes or no? Is it ever okay to sweat on a stranger? And what were those baskets of miniature multicoloured clothes pegs for? Several hours later I’d worked my way through three glorious, cocooning floors of steam rooms, saunas, candlelit forest-view relaxation rooms and the heated outdoor infinity pool, ending with a triumphant 20-minute bake in the 90-degree cedar-scented Leogang Sauna. I felt fantastic. Full disclosure: I love Austrian spas – all that clean air, vigorous nudity, gourmet food and sparkling wine at every opportunity (even breakfast) is just so life-affirming. But I’ve never been anywhere quite like Forsthofgut. Family owned, it’s a juggernaut of quiet excellence, sleek yet cosy, and manned by unflappable staff. I for one didn’t
ever want to leave. It’s warm, elegant and impossibly welcoming, with clues to its past as a forestry business and farm everywhere. A Negroni-style cocktail named A Walk In The Forest contains mushroom-infused gin and eucalyptus bitters (potent and delicious) and, when it’s warm enough, an outdoor treatment bed and reflexology station can be reached in a nearby clearing via a barefoot walking path. In the restaurant, one menu uses produce sourced no further than 50km from the hotel, while another is 100% vegan. As I left, I noticed a sign in the lobby asking guests to post suggestions for improvement into a box. I could honestly think of nothing.’