In 1989 the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club (ÖAMTC) opened a new driving technique centre in a former gravel pit next to the grounds of the Hotel Gut Brandlhof. A young man from Lower Austria called Alexander Strobl was appointed a director. Already at the first business meeting with the hotel owner Birgit Maier, sparks went flying: The two of them became a couple, got married and expanded the driving centre as well as the hotel. The two of them share many passions, for dogs, and for the mountains, golfing and road racing, and automobiles – and you can feel all these passions everywhere in the hotel.
The passion for vehicles of all kinds, and the local as well as emotional proximity of the driving centre and the hotel, characterised our business area in many ways – no wonder that the Hotel Gut Brandlhof is Austrian’s top location for events of the automotive industry.
Birgit Maier and Alexander Strobl are supported by the General Managers Thomas Bauer and Thomas Heit and a team of over 130 people for creating our guests perfect events and wonderful vacations. We treat our team like we do with our guests: friendliness and warm hospitality are daily traditions at Brandlhof – not just for our guests: more than half of our employees also live at Brandlhof.
“It’s like coming home, just everything is much bigger than at home,” said one of our regular guests and is very precise with our thoughts and actions. The exposed location of the Brandlhof has always motivated us to think and act creatively. This turned the Brandlhof estate into a very special house that we are very happy to own. It is our goal to share this joy with our guests and our employees.
Constantly improving the quality of the facilities and combining the Europe-wide range of leisure activities around the hotel into a harmonious symbiosis of fun, action and relaxation.
To operate profitably even in demanding and challenging times in order to be able to make future-proof investments.
Recognize the performance of each individual employee, provide them with a pleasant environment and a secure job.
To provide employees with further training and opportunities for advancement and to give them the feeling of working in a very special place.
It is important to us to employ healthy employees in good social relationships with one another through company sports and team building activities. And to create a pleasant atmosphere for employees and guests.
To operate the entire hotel complex as self-sufficiently as possible, taking into account the environment and resources. This enables us to collect, store and infeed our mountain spring water, operate the biomass heating plant and prefer to buy local products.
To position the Brandlhof as a successful hotel that is unique in its overall range and size on the market and in society. To represent it with the core business areas of business, golf, relax and action as the leading hotel in the alpine region.
The chronicle of the house can be traced back to 1372. The name of the farm comes from more recent times. Initially, the Brandlhof was in the service of the St. Peter monastery and already had hereditary rights in the 16th century.
In 1979 Anton Maier, a merchant from Wels in Upper Austria and father of Birgit Maier, acquired the Haflinger stud farm “Gut Brandlhof” with 480 hectares of woods and meadows, 40 Haflingers, 200 chickens and a private hunt. The ground floor of the estate was still partly used as stables for the Haflingers, in the manor house some rooms on the first floor as well as the living hall were in use for the owners at that time. As tourism increased steadily, a bed and breakfast was built in the Brandlhof, which was subsequently converted into a sports hotel. This was opened in 1982 with around 80 rooms, indoor swimming pool, sauna, indoor tennis courts and indoor riding arena.
As early as 1983, the 18-hole golf course was built, and numerous construction stages in rapid succession constantly enlarged the Brandlhof, making it an unmistakable jewel in the hotel and restaurant business.
In 2000 the conference area was extended to over 3,000 m² and in 2007 the new building “Brandlhof West” was added. The event location EventO was created.
For all car fans, the brand-neutral autohaus was designed in 2016. But sport was not neglected either: 2016 saw the ceremonial opening of the hotel’s own football pitch with FIFA dimensions. Since then, international football clubs have been training in Saalfelden at the Sporthotel Gut Brandlhof. The story is not over yet: in 2018, the third employee residence was newly built as well as the lodge as a holiday home for guests.
In the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the enforced break by Corona was used for the renovation of 36 rooms in the main house. The restaurant received a new coat of paint. Another 35 rooms followed a year later.
For the environment: In 2021, the Brandlhof developed an electromobility concept and offer all guests 28 e-charging stations. A good holiday starts with a good conscience and an environmentally friendly arrival & departure.
In spring 2022, the hotel lobby and reception were completely renovated and redesigned.
We cannot yet say what the future of the Brandlhof will bring. But two things are certain: we still have plenty of space – and plenty of ideas.
Today, the Brandlhof is run by the owners Birgit Maier and Alexander Strobl together with the management Thomas Bauer & Thomas Heit.
