Alpine Strength & Ski Week: CrossFit Training with a Rooftop Nightcap in Saalbach

The set-up is simple and unusually well-executed: a CrossFit box on one side of the road, a 22-bed design pension on the other. The gym — known as the Werkstatt, with the Pit and an outdoor training garden — has been laid out so a group can walk in and start training without rearranging anything. Sessions run to whatever programme the group brings, and for hosted camps the gym is reserved exclusively for defined time slots at no extra cost.

The pension itself has 10 double rooms across four categories, with two of those able to take a third bed, giving a maximum of 22 guests excluding staff. Every room has a balcony, a TV and high-speed wifi. Expect limewashed walls, full wood floors, natural materials and design pieces rather than alpine kitsch — the whole building is meant to feel calm after a hard training day rather than theme-park Austrian.

What makes this different from a standard training camp is the food and the evening setup. The breakfast is a slow-food spread with regional cured meats and cheese alongside the fruits, yoghurts and eggs you would expect; half-board is available for groups and the kitchen will work around dietary restrictions. Franziska's Rooftop functions as the living room — mountain views at breakfast, fireplace and cocktails at night — and the panorama forest sauna with ice barrel is the recovery routine the owners themselves swear by.

It sits seven minutes on foot from the centre of Saalbach and the nearest ski and bike lift, which means you are not dependent on a car. In winter that lift gets you onto the Skicircus pistes; in summer the same valley serves bikers, runners and hikers. The owners will help plan a programme around whatever the group wants: trail runs, hikes, bike days, a mountain lake workout, rafting, or the high ropes park if you fancy something that isn't lifting.

The people running it — Vali and Chris — searched for a venue that paired holidays and training and, not finding one in Austria, built their own. That is worth knowing before you book, because the operation is hands-on and small. There is no conference-hotel distance here. You will see them at breakfast, on the rooftop, and probably mid-set in the gym.

What's included

- Accommodation in the Grand Pension Franziska (10 double rooms, balcony, TV, high-speed wifi in every room) - Slow-food breakfast with regional produce - Rooftop access with mountain views, fireplace and bar - Access to the CrossFit Werkstatt (the Pit and outdoor training garden) to an agreed schedule - Sanctuary for groups: exclusive gym use at pre-defined times where a hosted camp is booked - Panorama forest sauna with ice barrel - Planning support and programme advice from the owners

What's not included

- Flights and travel to Saalbach - Airport or station transfers (can be arranged on request) - Lunch and dinner unless half-board is booked - Drinks from the rooftop bar - Ski passes, bike park tickets and lift tickets - Rafting, high ropes park and other paid excursions - Travel insurance - Personal training sessions not included in the programme