The Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon, Austria, is the winner of the "Hotel Property Award 2023"
Other finalists are: Hotel Goldene Rose (Dinkelsbühl, Germany) and Scandic Munich Macherei
All three award winners have a positive impact on their respective surroundings.
Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon, Austria. Image: Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon
Munich, 7 October 2023 – This year’s "Hotel Property Award 2023" goes to the Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon in Austria. The prize was awarded yesterday as part of the 196+ forum conference in Munich.
Andreas Martin, Jury Chairman: "The Falkensteiner Michaeler Tourism Group, FMTG, refocussed its operations several years ago onto holiday hotels. The Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon convinced the jury by applying a construction concept involving a centrally-located general hotel area, plus two wings of rooms placed diagonally on top of it. This helped to successfully integrate the building complex into the topography of the downward-sloping terrain. The land owners and developers illwerke operate a hydroelectric power plant nearby which ensures that the hotel is supplied with sustainable energy by using waste heat from the power plant, whilst providing the option of cooling it from the reservoir. The two buildings accommodating the staff of the hotel, who consist of a team from all over Europe, were built within walking distance of the hotel using a modular timber construction. The Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon, a member of Leading Hotels of the World, complements the range of hotels in the Schruns-Tschagguns holiday region in the 5-star segment, which is predominantly characterised by individual family hotels in the high-end segment of the market, and thus also attracts new guest structures to the region."
The Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon is the first international 5-star family hotel in Montafon, located directly at the middle station of the Golm Adventure Mountain. An important aspect of the hotel is the construction concept employed, and its sustainable energy supply; the hotel has been aiming to operate in a climate-neutral manner since it opened. The Studio Snohetta firm from Innsbruck was responsible for the architecture. This was originally a Norwegian architectural firm, founded in Oslo in 1989 by three architects from Norway, the USA and Austria. The goal of the team led by Innsbruck-based architect Patrick Lüth was to create a building which both harmonises with its surroundings and meets exacting sustainability criteria through its intelligent construction techniques and energy supply. The interior design by Vudafieri Saverino Partners from Milan adopts influences from the region. The traditional Montafoner Schragazu – a type of fence that stands up unassisted and where the wood components are joined together without the need for any nails – can for instance be found in different variations in the hotel. The architecture of the Maiensäss huts typical of the region, and the nature-orientated cycle of three-field farming, are also stimuli that have been incorporated into the interior design. In addition, the hotel, which is geared towards young families, offers a 1,700 square metre wellness and water world with indoor and outdoor pools as well as water slides and a separate “Adults Only” sauna and spa area.
The interdisciplinary 18-member jury pre-selected among the 33 candidate hotels from seven European countries to choose ten nominees from three countries. The following three hotels were selected from among these nominees for the final round (in alphabetical order):
Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon (Austria, Montafon)
Hotel Goldene Rose (Germany, Dinkelsbühl)
Scandic Munich Macherei (Germany, Munich)
"The three finalists could not be more diverse as hotel properties, but all three developments have one thing in common: They have a positive impact on their respective surroundings", says Martin. "These consist of an innovative, mixed-use urban quarter in a hitherto relatively neglected district in the east of Munich, a district town in Central Franconia that is unjustly far too unknown, and an underestimated holiday region in Austria. The three completely differently-designed hotel operations are already demonstrating in the first year of their operation what important economic stimuli appropriately-designed, well-managed hotels can do to benefit the economic development of a location and of a region."
The Hotel Goldene Rose in Dinkelsbühl can look back on a varied history. The present owners Harald Mack and Bernhard Friedrich first acquired the main building, which dates from the 15th Century, the former Goldene Rose. Then one by one they also bought the four adjoining properties located behind it. The idea arose to combine all the buildings under one roof, whilst focusing on preserving the historical substance. The five buildings had previously served a wide variety of functions: Whilst the Goldene Rose has always welcomed travellers, among them Queen Victoria, the adjoining buildings were used over the centuries as an inn, a cinema, a dance hall and apartments. Developing a uniform, contemporary spatial concept out of this diversity of functions without glossing over the traces of the past was the greatest challenge faced in the revitalisation and partial conversion of the five buildings. The traditional patrician façade of the Goldene Rose, with its wooden beams, as well as the pointed roofs common to all the buildings, enable the hotel to fully exploit its medieval flair. Behind this front, a spacious wellness area with various saunas and a small infinity pool extends over the entire roofscape of the buildings, which have been connected together. The “Vicky” bar, named after Queen Victoria who once stayed here, serves as the hotel’s entrance and central meeting place. The former dance hall, later a cinema in the 1950s, has been put back to its original use instead of being converted into rooms. Artists regularly perform here today, or films are shown. The highlight is that if you book the Cinema Suite which is attached to the ceiling above the “Rose Hall”, the former cinema, the otherwise public stage becomes your private cinema screen. The design concept of the project developers and interior designers from NOA from Bolzano permeates the entire hotel: The past is translated into the present.
The Scandic Munich Macherei supports the philosophy of the mixed-use quarter "Die Macherei" with Scandic’s concept of "your friend in town", and interior design incorporating "industrial chic". The building’s striking exterior and interior architecture allude to the former industrial brickworks site. Architect Matthias Hollwich from HWKN Architekten, who was born in Munich and works in New York, was responsible for the architecture, and the team from Koncept Stockholm worked on the interior design. Open ceilings, visible installations and bare concrete and brick walls are combined with a homely interior. There is an open lobby concept that is also intended to invite outside guests from the neighbourhood to meet there, eat together or work. The meeting spaces which Scandic formally provides are not offered in the hotel, except for two small innovative meeting rooms, but space accommodating up to 400 people is available in the adjacent Design Offices branch. "Hygge" as a design idea is a mindset for Scandic, linked to the mindfulness concept that runs through all areas of the hotel: Starting with a cosy design, individual products which are both sustainable and reusable, comfortable relaxation areas, the focus on sports and leisure options, either for a daily fee in Gold’s Gym next door, or in the in-house gym, and finally the warm, hospitable atmosphere created by Scandic’s team members. The 234 rooms have muted rust red and beige colours and have everything you need for a hotel stay; most importantly, ten percent of the rooms are designed and furnished to be accessible, with doors and window curtains that open automatically. Braille and tactile floor signs in the hotel lead to reception and to the lifts. Rooms with additional bunk beds are offered for families, and there are rooms with built-in kitchenettes for long-term guests from among the neighbouring international office tenants. Finally, sustainability has been a visible, tangible part of Scandic’s DNA since 1993.
The "Hotel Property Award" competition targeted both hotel developers, owners and operators. Competition applications were received from hotels which were opened between January 2022 and June 2023. The jury was looking for a successful interplay between architecture and design, integration into the project’s environment, sustainability and technical innovations, the originality of the concept, as well as cost-effectiveness.
The finalists of the "Hotel Property Award 2023":
Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon
Location: Montafon, Austria
Owned by: illwerke vkw
Operated by: Falkensteiner Hotels & Residences
Project developer: illwerke vkw
Architect: Snohetta Studio Innsbruck
Interior design: Vudafieri Saverino Partners Milan
Type of operation/category: holiday hotel, 5 stars
Construction period: 19 months
No. of rooms: 123
Hotel Goldene Rose
Location: Dinkelsbühl, Germany
Owned by: ICV GmbH
Operated by: Hezelhof GmbH
Project developer: ICV GmbH
Architect: Simpert Holzl, Haberlein
Interior design: NOA, Studio Bolzano
Type of operation/category: city hotel, 5 stars
Construction period: 33 months
No. of rooms: 57
Scandic Munich Macherei
Location: Munich, Germany
Owned by: Bayrische Versorgungskammer
Operated by: Scandic Hotels Germany GmbH
Project developer: Art Invest & Accumulata
Architect: HWKN Hollwich Kushner Architects
Interior design: Koncept Stockholm
Type of operation/category: City hotel, no classification
Construction period: 28 months
No. of rooms: 234
You can find image material on the finalists via the following link. Please note the photo credits that are in the picture name. If this is not the case, please name the hotel: Finalists.
10 nominee hotels in alphabetical order:
7Pines Resort Sardinia (Italy, Arzachena)
Falkensteiner Hotel Montafon (Austria, Montafon)
Hotel Goldene Rose (Germany, Dinkelsbühl)
Liebesbier Urban Art Hotel (Germany, Bayreuth)
nhow Frankfurt (Germany, Frankfurt)
Revo Munich (Germany, Munich)
RIVER LOFT Hotel & Spa (Germany, Brunsbüttel)
Scandic Munich Macherei (Germany, Munich)
the cōmodo (Austria, Bad Gastein)
The Grand Green - Familux Resort (Germany, Oberhof)
Previous winners of the "Hotel Property Award":
Hotel Wilmina Berlin (2022), Ruby Luna Düsseldorf (2021), Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Croatia (2020), Schgaguler Hotel Castelrotto/Kastelruth (2019), QO Amsterdam (2018), Bretterbude Heiligenhafen (2017), Reichshof Hamburg CURIO Collection by Hilton (2016), Hotel Zoo Berlin (2015), Holzhotel Forsthofalm Leogang, Salzburger Land (2014), Radisson Blu Hotel Nantes (2013), Hotel TOPAZZ Vienna (2012), 25hours HafenCity Hamburg (2011), Roomers Frankfurt (2010), Lindner Park-Hotel Hagenbeck (2009), 25hours Frankfurt (2008), Schloss Elmau Luxury Spa & Cultural Hideaway (2007), Hotel Daniel Graz (2006), Colosseo Erlebnishotel Rust (2004), Rocco Forte Hotel Amigo Brussels and Accor Suite Hotel Hamburg (2003), Hilton Köln (2002).
More information about 196+ forum Munich:
196+ forum Munich is the European Hotel Development Conference, which has been a regular annual feature accommodating networking and exchanges between experts when it comes to hotel properties since 2002. As a specialist conference, 196+ forum Munich offers a highly-qualified communication platform, with a varied stage programme and various networking formats for the hotel properties industry, as well as an established start-up pitch for the "Hospitality Upgrade Award" competition. It will culminate in the presentation of the "Hotel Property Award". 2023’s 196+ forum Munich will be held on 6 and 7 October. We are back at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, and you can find us at KaSpaces on the second day with workshops on more technical topics.
Media contact:
Martina Rozok
M +49 170 2355988
martina.rozok@196plus.com