A Birthday at Theresa’s – Hotel Theresa – Zell im Zillertal

If you are not overly familiar with Austria’s Tyrol region, you might imagine it to be a place to visit exclusively in the winter – when the snow is deep, the sauna’s are ready to soothe any ski induced aches and pains, and dinner typically involves some form of melted cheese…

Of course it does all of that (and much more!) very well, but if you get the chance to visit in the summer months, you absolutely should!  This region is great for hiking, mountain biking and para-sailing (if you fancy it) to name but a few activities…  Or, if you are feeling slightly less energetic, you could just get a cable car to the top of a nearby mountain, perch at the top, and admire the stunning, stunning views for a few hours…

Hotel Theresa, in the very picturesque Zell im Zillertal (in the Zillertal Valley funnily enough!) is the perfect setting to begin your love affair with the place (because it will turn into that, believe me), and take part in some (if not all!) of the above.  And I should know, because I spent my birthday there recently…

Of course you could just happily sit and stare at the stunning vistas that surround this place and not do much else (if you don’t have small children!) for the entirety of your stay, but Hotel Theresa offers much besides in terms of relaxation, including several pools, a spa area, childcare (which always helps with relaxation!) and some pretty good food…

This place has been run by the same family for the past fifty odd years (quite a few ladies in the family are also called Theresa by the way, which is useful if you are terrible with names, like me!), and the main ethos here is that every single member of your family should be made 100% welcome during a stay!   Not yet truly aware of this on our first night, I expressed my concern at being in a dining room that contained a lot of older diners – what with the Small Baby heading up our table (dining is half board.  You select your menu the day before and children enjoy a more child friendly buffet) and the possible squawking he might treat everyone to.   I was immediately put at ease by one of the Theresas however, who said “this is a family hotel, you mustn’t worry.  Sit, relax and enjoy”.   And as if he understood every single word, the Small Baby was exquisitely behaved at just about every mealtime.   But then again, that could have been because he was made a complete fuss of by both staff members and fellow diners.

Be warned.   During the day there are a lot of hard decisions to be made.   Where should you best spend your time?   Outside by the pools with those mountain views (there’s an indoor pool too if you don’t like mountains!) or in one of the quiet (adult only) relaxation zones for a snooze (and the sudden realisation that your tinnitus is super loud at your first experience of complete silence in many months…)?

The children had equally hard decisions to make – like which kinder club experiences to go for (my older two opted for a morning’s hike, which they came back enthusing about the “box of bees” they had discovered and investigated (at a safe distance and under supervision!) and the river that they got to paddle in), which pools they would swim in the afternoon, and most importantly, which ice cream they would eat at dinner…

Their baby brother likes everyone to get the most out of a trip, so he gets us up super early. Then we have time for things like “breakfast chess with a view”… #mountains #tyrol #travelgram

A photo posted by Emma (@bavariansojourn) on Aug 16, 2016 at 10:57pm PDT

I didn’t get time to investigate the spa area and the many treatments on offer this visit sadly (I am still cross I didn’t check out the heated water-bed relaxation area upstairs – which is understandably adult only – it could be one hell of a wobbly trampolining area otherwise!) this visit sadly, but I did get up at the crack of dawn on my birthday for a swim in my favourite pool and was treated to the entire place to myself with nothing but the sun stretching itself out across the mountains, and a few swifts eating breakfast for company.  And all whilst everyone else slumbered on…

7am birthday swim. Because everyone else is still asleep! #pool #instapassport #poolside

A photo posted by Emma (@bavariansojourn) on Aug 13, 2016 at 10:35pm PDT

I think I might have to award this place my favourite hotel in Austria so far, with its lovely family friendly staff, relaxing rooms and great food and amenities.  It’s like going to a (newly discovered) favourite Aunt and Uncle’s house for the weekend…    My only complaint would be that three days is truly not long enough… Oh well, there’s always next time! Thank you Theresas.  See you again…