Why travel to a far- flung corner of Austria nestled against the Slovenian border? How about: for great wines; great staff; excellent cooking; and, oh, yes, amazing views?? Schoene Aussichten has had them all for some time, but now with new owners (Familie Mueller) at the helm, it is better than I had reasonably hoped for.
For now, the nice, roomy and totally individual rooms are the same. The Gastfreundlichkeit (which could scarcely have been improved from the previous owners) was as good as before. At that – preserving the high standard which has gone before - I would have been more than happy. But the cooking was clearly a step better than before.
Describing a chicken dish as superb is not often heard, but that’s just how good the chicken at lunchtime was – perfectly cooked, tender, and with a delicate cream sauce. I had to hold myself back from ordering a second. All the lunches and dinners were excellent and stood on a solid cooking base with enough creative flair to please the adventurous – but not so much as to put off the not- so adventurous. This held for meat and fish dishes as well. Salads tell a trustworthy tale about how much care the kitchen is taking, as good ones cannot be faked. Their salads were very good – seldom do I see lettuces and greens so fresh, and with a pleasing variety. The dressings (different every meal) all complemented the salads nicely.
The guestrooms are all individual, and to underscore the point, each has its own name, not a number (this visit, my room was “Peach.”) Peach is smaller than the average room here but still large by many standards. The rooms on the ends are very large, with 270 degree views. All that I have stayed in have balconies, the most common view being to the east, looking across a valley to the opposite hills in Slovenia (the border is a stream in the valley.)
One room, which is really more of an apartment than a room, can be configured for business meetings and works very well for that purpose – up to 12 comfortably, 18 at a squeeze. Bring your own projection kit / flipcharts if you need that! It has its own bathroom and kitchenette.
There are some very nice hikes and walks in the area which one could do just by setting off on foot from the hotel. With a car, there are many worthwhile sights within easy reach. And the whole region has a volcanic soil base, making it an excellent wine region, with numerous vintners to visit.
