Smart gastro hotel located by a calm river in rural Austria

Mühltalhof / Unternberg / Austria

I love to find places off the beaten track. I have realized when I look at many of which I consider to be my favorite hotels that they are located off the most travelled roads. Just like this one. This hotel is called Mühltalhof and is located in Unternberg, Austria, just north of regional capital Linz. I came across this hotel in one of my go-to places when looking for new, interesting hotels, The Aficionados (the site used to be called White Line Hotels) which is a very inspiring collection of individual hotels and their partners.

Mühltalhof is a gastro hotel, where people come to eat first and to stay over second. The food, by chef Philip Rachinger is really great. Rumor has it that they just renovated the kitchen and the restaurant so I can only imagine what that will do to his already great cuisine.

The hotel has 19 different rooms (13 rooms, 5 suites and 1 studio). Our room was facing the back of the property and therefore the beautiful river. The building is a combination of an old structure that has been around forever and a newer, more contemporary extension. I realize when writing this, that this kind of set up seems to be extra common in the Alp region. Or maybe it is only that they do it so well here that it stands out and is worth writing about. Anyhow, the design feels very ”real”. Not like a random designer was hired to create something generic but it feels like the interior has developed over time resulting in something that has an air of yesterday.

I am a huge fan of brutalist architecture. Like this modern steel building that has been added to the existing, more traditional Austrian house.

This photo is taken from the opposite river bank.

The hotel is made up of one old, traditional part and a modern section covered in dramatic corten steel, located right on the river.

The new addition to the hotel with spa downstairs and restaurant upstairs.

Vintage desk, vintage lamp and vintage thoughts. :-)

I love the color combo yellow and black so had to snap a photo of this good looking match box.

This is where we parked ourselves for a lazy afternoon snooze follows by a coffee.

I love this slow river and the way it helps to slow down your pace.

M having a post swim shower after testing the cool river water.

The eclectic looking Stube where we had our dinner. There was a more modern looking part and this more traditional one. We chose to have our dinner in this part for an extra portion of ambiance.

Love the mix of traditional and contemporary. Great with a splash of color in an otherwise neutral looking space.

An over excited skipper taking the hotel boat for a romantic ride with the husband.

Another beautiful photo of the hotel and the river in the pale Summer evening.

RG inside info

This place is perfect if you…

…want to go somewhere were you are the only non-German speaker. All the guests coming here are either German or Austrian according to what was shared with us. All working here kept on asking us why we were there, how we have found it and if we weren’t bored. Trust me, we weren’t. So calm and relaxing.

My favorite thing about this place…

…is the food! I love Central European cuisine and the way that chef Philip Rachinger cooks, it is elevated to another level. And another thing I really like was to go for a cool dip in the calm river. Especially after a stint in the hotel sauna.

What not to miss when staying here…

…is the row boat belonging to the hotel. Don’t miss to take it out for a spin on the river. Maybe row over to the other side and enjoy the view for a moment.

If you like this place you might also like…

Talldungen, Brösarp, Sweden

La Maison, Saarlouis, Germany

Pure Hotel, Diksmuide, Belgium

Location