There were champagne bottles opened in front of the screen and tears of joy when the winners of the Wellness Aphrodite 2020 were announced. For the 18th time, the travel portal meintophotel.de honored the best wellness hotels in German-speaking countries. This year’s victory in the overall concept category went to the Seerose Resort & Spa in the Swiss Meisterschwanden.
The announcement of the winners of the Wellness Aphrodite 2020 was particularly emotional this year. Due to the current situation, the coveted trophies could not, as usual, be awarded at a festive gala event. The Freizeit-Verlag therefore decided to inform the winners via a recorded video call. “We could feel how important this award is to hoteliers, especially in these difficult times,” said Jacqueline Schaffrath, Head of Mein Tophotel Print & Digital. “That touched us very much.”
Freizeit-Verlag awarded the Wellness Aphrodite 2020 in seven categories: wellness cuisine, fitness & sport, beauty & treatments, spa design, accommodation, spa personality and overall concept.
The award ceremony was preceded by a digital jury meeting with the publishing director Jan Peter Kruse, Tophotel editor-in-chief Nina Fiolka and Jacqueline Schaffrath, head of ‘Mein Tophotel’ Print & Digital, Prof. Dr. Marco A. Gardini from the Bavarian Center for Tourism and Professor for International Hospitality Management and Marketing at the Faculty of Tourism at the University of Kempten and Anke Brendt, Project Manager at Fibo Cologne, the leading international trade fair for fitness, wellness & health.
Wellness-Küche
The Reiters Reserve Supreme jury in Bad Tatzmannsdorf (A) was convincing in the wellness kitchen category. The kitchen team around three-toque chef Helmuth Gangl performs at the Reiters around the clock. Only the best ingredients are used – regional and as organic as possible. The Reiter family has been producing their own food in a natural way for decades. Angus cattle are not only raised on the resort’s grounds, their forage comes from their own production, but wine and fruit are also grown and honey is produced. The jury was particularly impressed by the Reiter family’s request to pass on their flair for high-quality products to their guests. All of the products produced can also be purchased at home in our own enjoyment workshop. Owner Karl Reiter was delighted that his passion was valued.
Also nominated: Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten am Schluchsee, Juffing Hotel & Spa in Thiersee (A).
Fitness & Sport
The place for a really good time is the Hotel Jungbrunn (A), a place created by the Gutheinz family full of atmosphere in the Tannheimer Tal. Here guests not only experience a real sense of well-being, but also draw on an infinitely extensive range of options to be active and get fit. 40 sports and fitness courses alone are offered per week, in the open air or in the 300 square meter fitness house with a weight room, mental room, gym, fitness coaches and personal trainers. The focus, however, is on outdoor activities: tennis, hiking, climbing, biking and fishing in summer – all kinds of winter sports in winter. The Gutheinz family is convinced that exercise contributes significantly to mental fitness. To follow this maxim – this is what the hosts convey to their guests in a casual way. The Wellness Aphrodite 2020 in the Fitness & Sport category therefore went to the Hotel Jungbrunn.
Also nominated: Bad Clevers Gesundheitsresort & Spa in Bad Grönenbach, Quellenhof Luxury Resort Passeier in St. Martin (I).
Beauty & Treatments
In the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa in Interlaken (CH), a spa is convincing that has committed itself in an incomparable way to the holistic Better Aging philosophy – with individual Better Aging programs, osteopathy, physiotherapy, nutritional coaching and sport. Particularly popular: the four or seven day “Better Aging Break”, one of the exclusive treatments developed in collaboration with the Nescens research team. In Victoria-Jungfrau, the Swiss company’s second spa in the world was opened with top-class beauty treatments at a level that Wellness Aphrodite 2020 has earned in the Beauty & Treatments category. An excellent treatment concept, judged the jury and congratulates the Wellness Aphrodite 2020.
Also nominated: Naturhotel Waldklause in Längenfeld (A) und Bio- & Wellnessresort Stanglwirt in Going am Wilden Kaiser (A).
Spa-Design
With the new construction and renovation, the Mountain Resort Feuerberg in Bosensdorf (A) has achieved a masterpiece in terms of bathing and wellness. Saunas, such as the concert or stone pine sauna, offer panoramic windows with a view of the Carinthian lakes, mountains and the Julian Alps. Many of the 16 relaxation rooms also have fantastic views, are equipped with modern floating loungers, water beds or themed – never overloaded, but carefully and thoughtfully designed so that there is always a Feng Shui feel-good atmosphere. The “sunbath” is thematically dedicated to the sun, which is evident in the light building with lots of glass and in the sun mandalas that hang in large panels from the ceiling. The glass sky pool is like the icing on the cake at the mountain resort, with the 25-meter infinity pool also being one of the highlights of the modern spa. The Berger family was not only visibly touched by the award, but also by the appropriate reason.
Also nominated: Angerhof Sport- & Wellnesshotel in St. Englmar, Bollants Spa im Park in Bad Sobernheim.
Logis
In the opinion of the jury, every detail in the Silena, The Soulful Hotel in Vals / South Tyrol (I) was designed with a lot of love and sensitivity in such a way that the guests are supported in getting down to earth, arriving and letting go. The interior design is inspired by Feng Shui in all areas, including the guest rooms. Concentrated on the essentials and equipped with high-quality furniture, decorations and fabrics based on the nature of the area. The design hotel succeeds in bringing the high moor landscape around Vals into the interior and creating a harmonious feel-good atmosphere. The jury was particularly impressed by the literature guest rooms, in which literature lovers will find “heaven on earth”: They have a selection of 200 books at their disposal that they can immerse themselves in during their stay. Owner Ida Mair was delighted with the award for the whole family.
Also nominated: Hotel Klosterbräu & Spa in Seefeld (A) und das Hotel Engel Obertal in Baiersbronn.
Spa Personality
Madlen Prior is the spa hostess par excellence. She has been part of the team at the five-star Severin*s Resort & Spa on Sylt since it opened. There, the trained therapist took over the management of the spa in 2018. Since then, it has been the face of “individual attention”, as the most popular application at Severin * s is called – but as one could also summarize the philosophy of the spa. As a state-certified beautician, therapist, yoga teacher, meditation leader and breathing therapist, Madlen Prior is about the big picture, individual approach to guests, but also about the loving care of employees, the further development of the company and the implementation of new ideas. This includes, for example, the “Sylt Power Compass”, with the help of which each spa visitor can find out which of the applications corresponds to their current state of mind. The charismatic charisma, the passion for her job, her conviction and her warmth make Madlen Prior a worthy spa personality 2020.
Also nominated: Laura Seyrling-Rieß aus dem Hotel Klosterbräu & Spa in Seefeld (A) und Nancy Mettke aus dem Naturhotel Waldklause in Längenfeld (A).
Overall Concept
Since the Seerose Resort & Spa in Meisterschwanden (CH) on the Hallwilersee was expanded by a third building, the “Seerose-Cocon” with 32 suites, a restaurant and the spa, wellness enthusiasts have raved about the wellness retreat and its extraordinary concept – Thailand meets Meisterschwanden. The Suhner family has long been infected by the magic of Thailand. She always brings new ideas and products back with her from her travels to Southeast Asia. Every little detail is authentic and far removed from any folklore kitsch. This can be seen in the multi-award-winning restaurant “Samui Thai” as well as in the “first authentic Thai spa in Switzerland” – consistently implemented: from the Thai herbal sauna to the Thai care range to the treatments, all used by knowledgeable Thai women. Above all, the spatial and thematic connection of three worlds has been successful: in one the Swiss tradition dominates, in the second the original Thai concept. The third is the symbiosis of the two, which are very compatible. The result is a completely new, unique concept – also when it comes to gastronomy.
Congratulations on winning the Wellness Aphrodite 2020 in the overall concept category went to the Suhner couple and the managing director Tina Halbeisen, who popped the champagne corks right in front of the screen on the occasion.
Also nominated: Bergkristall – Mein Resort im Allgäu in Oberstaufen und Reiters Reserve Supreme in Bad Tatzmannsdorf (A).
The Wellness Aphrodite 2020 was supported by Reed Exhibitions Deutschland GmbH, Philips Professional Display Solutions and ZPG Productions & Eventservice GmbH.
Note: The travel portal Mein Tophotel belongs, like Tophotel, to the Freizeit-Verlag and thus to the media group Holzmann Medien.
Source: https://www.tophotel.de/verleihung-der-wellness-aphrodite-2020-80979/
