Few places can withstand a repeated test of expectations, even over a short period of time, much less surprise to to the upside. Thurnhers Alpenhof managed to deliver a positive surprise on all three of my visits – with impeccable, even flattering, service, a warm, casual atmosphere, and a fresh take on traditional food. All of this served and enjoyed for far less than you would expect to spend for this quality of experience.
My very first visit was a quick, desperate one, in search of a last minute bite, on the evening of January 1 – just as multitudes of Arlberg area locals and hundreds of skiers from Lech, Zurs, St Anton, and surrounding villages were taking their positions outside, a bit further down the street. Preparing to watch the once in a year coordinated display of acoustic fireworks, the area’s finest. As many other establishments were quick to find a polite excuse for why they can’t feed me or host me at the bar, a Thurnhers bartender kindly offered a quick menu and proceeded to expand his offer to a memorable plate of designer gulash. Mouthwatering, dark, and hearty, it was served in a deep-seated wide-brim bowl, and came recommended with a glass of house Zweigelt, equally dark and hearty. Spaced out at the small curved bar and sinking deep into a feeling of intense satisfaction – a few succulent bites is all it took to challenge my mental league table of the best meals of that entire trip – I thoroughly enjoyed every one of the next ten minutes between ordering to paying.
I was treated to a delightful sequel later that same night – despite my now elevated expectations, naturally – when I cheerfully led what remained of our group of eight back into the lobby bar. To conclude with a couple of glasses of perfectly balanced and universally underrated local reds, under a helpful guidance of the person in charge of the curved bar. Twice in one evening, I found the vibe at this family-run inn, one of about twenty in the village of Zurs, to be just as positive, the experience just as pleasant.
The third time came a few days later and was an absolute, and blog-worthy, highlight. Despite having no reservation – just a quick attempted consultation by phone and a rushed conclusion that there was no need to make one – and, ostensibly, as an apology for being inconvenienced, we accidentally got the best spot in the house. Under a chandelier. In the chic and most welcoming bar lobby. And across from a tastefully stylized fireplace. Live piano music playing not far, and in the most spirit-lifting way imaginable.
This enviable placement and a quickly arranged table for our group of eight – more like three tables joined in series and surrounded by curved red velvet chairs in the best corner of the lobby – was accompanied by a generous and totally uninvited offer of complementary rosé champagne by the Maitre d’… In turn followed by an offer of a standard prix fixe menu. Which itself, almost instantly upon our humble request, was supplemented by an eagerly and courteously extended option to order from the menu a la carte, basic limited offer of wines expanded to include a glass from a premium unopened bottle unavailable by the glass. All unsolicited, unprovoked, and without our asking.
Then came a flurry of inbound inquiries, genuine and entertaining, from a succession of attentive servers and hosts – and when it comes to giving credit for attentive service, I am as skeptical and suspicious as anyone – from ‘how do we like the food’ and ‘how is the wine’, repeated at every course, and ‘would we like anything else’, and ‘is there anything else they could do for us’, to ‘is the temperature in the lobby comfortable enough’. First came our talkative waitress from Düsseldorf who, as a North German, disliked people from Munich, dismissing them as ‘fake’ compared to the stoic and straight-shooting North-Rhine-Westphalians. Then came her boss, all buttoned-up and matter-of-fact. Followed by a chatty – and a bit high or seriously drunk – shift manager/host of Greek descent who was going on and on about the fact that the next day was Orthodox Christmas they planned to mark by a special menu. Only to be succeeded by the cosmopolitan and refined host/sommelier from Rhineland, who had somehow managed to pick up a British accent and was intent to make sure it doesn’t get lost on us that he was under pressure of late from his wife to open their own joint in Berlin. All so dutifully adhered to by every layer of management, they just kept coming.
Eventually followed by – the highlight of our dinner – a surprise visit by a delicate and slightly tipsy little old lady who casually referred to herself as the owner of this famous local establishment; Mrs. Thurnhers vocally and unilaterally decided that I, of all people, was the sole German speaker in our otherwise American group, and remained completely unperturbed by my honest claim that nothing could be further from truth. In a fitting closure to this procession, last but certainly not least, it was the younger Ms Thurnhers, the old lady’s daughter – the hotel’s current chief executive – who showered us with attention in a meaningfully more polished English, with a Hollywood smile, and all the manners of a hospitality aristocrat. Little Ms Thurnhers – originally from an hour further West in Western Austria, on the Swiss border, and now spending six months a year, every year, in Bavaria and six months in Zurs – extended a generous invitation to our group to join them, in VIP capacity of course, for a special Austrian night they were gearing up to host the following evening.
I never thought the org chart of a family-run Alpine lodge had such depth, such multitudes, such hierarchy of responsible staffers, such finely delineated areas of responsibility. Each of them brought a unique story, his or her own geography, all going out of their way to check in, inquire, welcome, to make sure we were at the very least comfortable. As a person sitting at the head of this hastily but perfectly arranged dinner table, I got the bulk of this love and attention from this suite of visiting hosts.
In the meantime, rounds of delicious food, excellent wine, and cheeses kept coming, interspersed with occasional visits to the superbly provisioned buffet stations, impressive even by the famously high Alpine standards. All for what turned out to be a devastatingly discounted price. Perhaps consensus formed among our hosts and their management – all on its own, based on a unilateral and untested assumption, and without a feedback loop or any attempt to seek input or obtain confirmation – that I must have been a food critic… or worse.
Perhaps they felt guilty over not being able to seat us in the beautiful – but frankly not as welcoming and less appealing – main dining room. We will never know the real reason – was it self-imposed guilt? pity? misplaced hopes? a simple misunderstanding? – but after my three excellent experiences in one week, I can recommend this place to anyone with the highest confidence and with full conviction. Check it out – for a last minute bite, a glass, or dinner, planned or unplanned: Thurnhers Alpenhof does not disappoint…
