Alpenrose Familux Resort Review | Tyrol, Austria

We closed out 2021 and welcomed in 2022 with the most delightful, family-friendly and all-inclusive holiday at the Alpenrose Familux Resort in Tyrol, Austria, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

On a whim, a few days before the New Year, I looked to see if I could find a kinderhotel with availability in Austria—it was a long shot since I’ve looked before and they’ve always been booked any time I checked.

But to my complete surprise, the Alpenrose in Lermoos, Austria, had a room for us with exact dates we wanted*. We made a quick decision and booked it, and had the best time.

I mean, look at this view straight from our balcony.

Truth be told: I didn’t take many “styled” or super purposeful pictures for this post (in hindsight I can think of so many more photos I could’ve taken to truly express the resort). This was a true vacation for us, though and we really enjoyed disconnecting while here.

The kids played, we ate delicious food, saw amazing sights, and we relaxed…something almost unheard of for my husband. I can barely remember the last time he wasn’t doing school or tending to something with work on a trip. This time, though? He barely even looked at his phone—the sign of a great trip.

I hope this post will give you a good overview of what our stay was like—we weren’t really sure what to expect before we left, so I hope this will be helpful.

All About Kinderhotels

Before we moved to Europe I heard about these unicorn hotel/resorts called “kinderhotels” that sounded too good to be true.

They’re (usually) all-inclusive hotels that focus on the family and don’t just welcome kids, but embrace and cater to them.

It gets even better; check out these perks:

Kinderhotels offer drop-in/out all-day childcare (aka a cool kids’ club with tons of activities), and the opportunity for grown ups to eat together alone. But wait. That’s not all.

All of your food is included (more on that in a bit), plus other perks like: attention to small details (different sized robes for the kids, staff who remember names), swimming pools and water play areas for different ages, multiple playgrounds, ski schools, free DIY laundry facilities, food and drinks all day long, bikes in the summer, go-karts, multiple saunas, etc.

The list goes on and on, and honestly, with three kids under our roof, it sounded too good to be true. Thankfully, I’m here to say that it’s very, very accurate, and I’d easily compare it to a cruise on land.

The only things we paid out of pocket for were alcoholic drinks (although some kinderhotels include those) and any additional spa services (I got a pedicure and paid extra for it).

There are different types of kinder hotels, but the Alpenrose is part of the actual Kinderhotel brand that has high standards for each location. I’m hoping to put together a post with all the different sources I’ve been looking for kinder hotels in Europe. There are a lot out here.

Where the Alpenrose Resort is Located

Alpenrose is located just over the German border in Austria. It’s in the Tyrol (Tirol) region in Austria at the base of the alps in a little village called Lermoos.

Conveniently located, it’s a great getaway spot.

If you’re coming from…
Geilenkirchen NATO Air Base/JFC Brunssum: about 6.5 hours away
Spangdahlem Air Base: about 5.5 hours away
Weisbaden: about 4 hours away
Stuttgart: about 2 hours away
Munich: 1.5 hours away
Innsbruck: 1 hour away
Neuschwanstein Castle: 30 minutes away

Note: If you’re driving into Austria, make sure you grab a vignette on your way in. It’s a little sticker you’ll place on your car’s windshield depending on how long you’ll be in the country. You can grab one just after you cross over the boarder at any gas station.

Also, if you’re military and driving from central/northern Germany/Netherlands, we stopped at the Patch Barracks in Suttgart (Pascalstraße, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany), and filled up lunch and gas at their Esso station. It was a nice excuse for us to have a little piece of back home for a bit.

Where we Stayed at Alpenrose Familux Resort

Kinderhotels have rooms specifically for families—and as a family of five, this is huge selling point.

Our room was on the smaller side compared to other rooms they offer (remember, we got it super last minute and it was the only one available).

We stayed in the Marienberg Apartment (but it was just like a regular room*) and had a queen-sized bed and a couch in the “living” area. The couch was large and comfy—two of our kids swapped sleeping there each night. Then there was a small room with bunk beds. This room was 100% fine for us, and I especially liked the balcony and the split shower/bathroom.

*I wasn’t sure how the resort was situated, and I was slightly worried that our “apartment” would be separate from the other rooms and in another building. Instead, it was in the absolute perfect location and near everything, and I’d almost be hesitant to try another room next time since we loved this location so much.

Speaking of the resort’s layout: when you check they give a tour of Alpenrose that I 100% appreciated. It’s not a huge place, but it was so great to not wander around like a lost little puppy.

All About the Kids’ Club

Time for the coolest thing about kinderhotels: The kids’ club.

At the Alpenrose Familux Resort, the price you pay includes all-day childcare every day for each kid. Basically, they open at 8am and close 11pm, and you leave them the entire time, none of the time, or have them pop in and out whenever they/you want.

They do activities throughout the day (see what a typical day looks like here), and if there isn’t a planned activity they can play in the jungle gym, rock climbing wall, slides, video game room, etc.

We allowed our kids to leave the kids’ club area (only if all three of them stuck together), but you can choose to keep them in the inclosed area if you’d like. For the younger kids, they get a tag on their shirt (kinda like the security alarm on clothes at a store), so that an alarm goes off if they leave the kids’ club area.

You can also drop kids off as young as 7 days old and up to 16 years old (their teen club had some really cool activities). The amount of things they had for babies all over the resort was also extremely impressive.

Our kids (4, 6, and 8 years old during our trip) LOVED it and literally cried when we’d pick them up to go somewhere or in the evenings when it was time to go to bed. Plus, don’t even get me started on their tears when we left the resort.

Our favorite kids’ club perk was that they could eat lunch and dinner with the kids’ club, leaving the grown ups to enjoy their dinner a-l-o-n-e! I’ll talk more about that in the next section.

You’d think with that many kids running around it’d be chaos, right? WRONG. They were all pretty well behaved—no loud shenanigans.

(Honestly, the reason I don’t have many pictures about this is because we hardly saw our kids—they were having the time of their little lives!)

Covid Safety

As of December 2021/January 2022, they checked checked each kid’s temperature before going into the kid’s club area. There was also disinfectant throughout the entire resort.

Adults are required to wear an FFP2 mask at all times unless eating or drinking, and while I don’t think I saw anything specifically stating kids had to wear one, most kids had on some sort of mask. Our kids wore these particular masks and never complained (but they’re very used to wearing masks at this point.

The entire resort seemed extremely clean, and we felt safe and distanced from other guests.

You can read more about their safety protocols here.

The (Delicious) Food

Oh. My. Gosh….the food! I honestly wasn’t expecting much with the food. I was anticipating a mediocre version of cruise ship food, and boy was I wrong.

Everything we ate was unbelievably delicious. It was very fancy-schmancy, but not overly pretentious; I wish I had recipes I could attempt to recreate at home.

And from what I read, they are very accommodating if you have allergies; just let them know ahead of time.

I’m not sure if it’s only because of the pandoozy, but we had the same assigned table everyday, which was actually quite nice since we always knew where to go.

The Breakfast Buffet

The breakfast buffet was out of this world—like a continental breakfast on steroids.

Seriously, they had everything: freshly squeezed OJ and juices, yogurts, omelette station, the best dang waffles, pancakes, sausage and bacon, lochs, every fruit you can imagine, a bread station, baked goods area, meats and cheeses, and more.

Don’t forget to check out the section with to-go bags, boxed water and juices, and foil so you can pack up fruit and food for lunch later. We did this a couple times if we knew we wouldn’t be back for lunch.

Every morning at breakfast we’d have a pamphlet on our table with the day’s activities and the menu for dinner. We’d fill out our dinner requests so they could prepare for it later that night.

Pro tip: if your family likes all of one drink, like orange juice, get a carafe instead of hauling individual glasses. We figured that out on the last day.

I thought this was cool: on our last morning there they had beer pretzels and brats (not pictured) for breakfast. Beer before 9am? Don’t mind if I do!

Lunchtime

Eating lunch at the resort was tricky since we were usually out exploring, but since we wanted to take full advantage of meals being included, we’d pack meat, bread, and cheese from breakfast to take with us.

Lunch was always aa buffet with a salad bar, grilled meat, sides, cold meats and cheeses, and more.

SNACKS!

The afternoon snacks were an absolute highlight of my day.

Everyday they had snacks out between lunch and dinner. Little cakes and sweets, along with (24/7) drinks, and ice cream, too. But the highlight for me were the fresh meats and cheeses.

They always had freshly shaved prosciutto, hams, and other meats fully stocked. They had warm breads, soups, and other warm foods.

There was a large lounge area near huge floor to ceiling windows. The seats were often occupied, so it was extra exciting when we could grab a spot to just hang out.

Dinner

Our dinners were fantastic. Everything was incredibly flavorful, presented beautifully, and quite filling. Our NYE dinner was EIGHT courses, but every other evening was around 3-4 courses. Every morning at breakfast we received the menu for that evening and could pick what we’d like. There were typically at least two options, but sometimes three plus a vegetarian option.

There was always a salad bar, international cheese/meat section, and the kids’ buffet you could eat from, too.

We truly looked forward to dinner every night, because it was like a date night every time. There was no whining, no complaining, no shushing…it was just us. We enjoyed each other’s company and definitely enjoyed the food.

The kids actually ate dinner with us once, and that was because we practically begged them on the last night. As crazy as it sounds…we missed their company a little bit! Every night there was a kids’ buffet with more kid-friendly food like hamburgers, pasta, chicken strips, fries, etc.(Grown ups could totally get that if they wanted to, too.)

They typically ate with the kids’ club in the adorable kids’ area in the restaurant.

Things to do Around the Alpenrose Familux Resort

Let me just get this out of the way: we’re not skiers, and we’re not really familiar with winter weather (as in…we definitely don’t have the right outfits for it). And, since we booked this so last minute, we didn’t get the gear we’d need.

With that said, we did fun stuff outside the resort (coming in an upcoming post), but we really spent a lot of our time at Alpenrose, so I’m going to focus on that below.

The Pools

The kids pool was perfect for our kids. Two of our three can’t swim on their own yet (we’re working on it), but I felt like they were 100% safe since the water was never higher than around 2 feet.

We never left them unattended, but it was so nice to not have my guard up the entire time.

All three kids had a blast and literally played there for hours.

There was a giant, interactive pirate ship, a little lazy river, six slides (that grown ups can go on, too), and a fairly large baby section, too. The baby section is to the right of this area, so blocked off from the big kids area.

Across the hall was the main pool area. This one was more serene, but it was still family-friendly.

We loved the indoor-outdoor option; there’s nothing like swimming outside in warm water when it’s freezing outside!

Surrounding the pool are little alcoves with bed-like seating, and bed-like swings that are big enough for families. Kenny and I spent time in that area just to read and relax when the kids were playing at the kids’ club.

The Saunas

The adult sauna area was incredible and so serene. It’s a traditional (aka nude) sauna area, but everyone was very respectful. And there were a few women who wore bikinis (note to self for next time…).

We spent A LOT of time in the sauna area. It was so relaxing and enjoyable, and with 7 different sauna experiences, you won’t be bored.

There’s also a family sauna area (aka, kid-friendly with swimsuits on), but our kids always wanted to play on the slides.

We seriously walked around feeling so rejuvenated.

The Cost

Okay, the cost was the part that kept us from booking anything sooner—that and because these kinderhotels always seem to be booked solid.

Here’s the thing: our holiday was expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. We stayed there over a very popular holiday (NYE), and it was a last minute booking that set us back around € 5,000 (I have heart palpitations just typing that since it’s very opposite of how we typically travel). BUT: I looked the week after we were there and a bigger room was half that price for the same dates.

Keep in mind that EVERYTHING is included, and we made sure to utilize as much of the resort as possible. We typically stay in AirBnbs and bring/buy/make our own food for every meal. This was the opposite of that, and was a very welcome break to have a true vacation.

We were going to only stay for three nights, but to make the most of our stay and take advantage of all the meals, we added an additional night and made sure that we arrived early enough/left late enough to not miss out on any food opportunities.

So, if you’re flexible with dates

Overall Thoughts on the Alpenrose Familux Resort

I’m certain I probably missed about a dozen more features from our stay at the Alpenrose Familux Resort, but I hope this was a helpful overview.

If you couldn’t tell: we absolutely loved it, and now we’re forever ruined when it comes to traveling since this set the bar so high.

Feel free to ask any questions if you have any.

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