Yoga & Spa Days in the Salzburg Alps at DAS.GOLDBERG

The hotel is in Sportgastein/Böckstein at the head of the Gastein Valley, about 1,200 metres up, with nothing but mountains around it and a cable car station a short walk away. You arrive on the Friday, settle in, and the first yoga session is usually that evening before dinner. The daily rhythm over the three nights is roughly: yoga before breakfast, a long breakfast buffet, free time in the morning for the spa or a walk, a second yoga session late morning or early afternoon, then afternoon free, and a third session in the late afternoon on days when it's scheduled. Dinner is a five-course menu served in the evening, with a choice of main courses.

Yoga takes place in the hotel's own yoga room, which has a view out to the summits, or on the wooden platform in the garden when the weather is good. The sessions cover pranayama breathing work, asanas, karanas and aerial yoga, depending on which teacher is leading that week. During Yoga Autumn the whole valley runs a wider programme, so there are usually several visiting teachers on site over the course of the week rather than one instructor running everything.

What separates this from a standard yoga retreat is the spa. The Nature's Nest area includes a sauna world with regular infusions in the panorama sauna, a whirlpool, a natural water pool with a waterfall, the 32-34°C infinity pool, a natural bathing pond with a sand beach (open in summer), and the Gold.Stollen — a rock gallery unique to the hotel. There are also dedicated quiet rooms for lying down between sessions. None of that is an add-on; it's included for every guest.

The food is a bigger deal than at most yoga hotels. The hotel runs its own bakery, so bread and pastries are made on site, and a lot of what's served — jams, spreads, cakes, some of the charcuterie — is made in-house. Breakfast is a buffet with cooked options, there's a help-yourself Soulfood.bar for the afternoon, and dinner is a five-course menu where you choose your main. Vegetarian and vegan options are available at every meal if you tell them in advance.

On the included treatment, you get a partial massage, wrap or peeling that you can book for any time before 3pm during your stay, plus an overwater massage. Between the yoga, the treatments and the sauna circuit, the three days fill up quickly — most guests end up skipping at least one session to sit in the spa instead.

What's included

- 3 nights in a studio or suite - 2–3 yoga sessions daily during the Yoga Autumn programme - Daily breakfast buffet - Snacks from the Soulfood.bar - 5-course dinner each evening with choice of main - Partial massage, wrap or peeling (redeemable before 3pm) - Overwater massage - Welcome gift - Access to the 1,500 m² Nature's Nest spa area - Sauna world with panorama sauna infusions - Infinity pool (32-34°C) and whirlpool - Natural water pool with waterfall - Natural bathing lake with sandy beach (summer) - Access to the Gold.Stollen - Free use of the yoga room and garden yoga platform

What's not included

- Travel to and from the hotel - Airport or station transfers - Additional spa treatments beyond the included ones - Alcoholic and soft drinks outside of meal inclusions - Lunch (snacks only) - Personal expenses - Travel insurance - Tourist tax / Kurtaxe - Ski passes or cable car tickets