History and Philosophy

Cinderella

Why Sporthotel Cinderella, why in Obertauern a “Cinderella” and not a “Lärchenhof”, “Fichtenklause” or “Wipfelspitz”? Certainly, there were no few locals who asked the same question back in 1993, when they first heard that Hansi Gruber wanted to build a new hotel with this odd name, one that really didn’t seem to fit into the mountain setting of Obertauern.

After construction of the hotel was begun in 1994 and a girl from Finland arrived in June, things became even more interesting.

The hotel was built with small towers, the wood of the roof timbers and balconies, rather than being in the usual brown, was dyed blue and the façade, instead of being the white so common in Obertauern, received a yellow coat of paint...

What had happened?

Heli- Paevikki and Hans Gruber had often been in the United States, and had seen how hotels were designed in the Rocky Mountains as well as Las Vegas. They tried to take these same ideas and adapt them to the setting of the Austrian mountains. The fairy-tale hotel staffed with extraordinarily friendly people was the fundamental idea that was to be implemented from the very outset. Sporthotel Cinderella was originally able to accommodate 56 guests. After initial skepticism, Sporthotel Cinderella enjoyed outstanding appeal. 1999 saw construction of even more rooms, so that now the hotel’s capacity was around 70 guests.

2001 marked yet another important event. A whole new wing was built with additional underground parking garages, an indoor pool and the first outdoor hot tub in Obertauern, along with a new wellness facility known as the spa village. Furthermore, the restaurant and also some extra rooms were built. Back then, the term “wellness hotel” was overused for practically every establishment with its own sauna, so instead the spa & resort Cinderella.sanum per aquam (wellness through water) was created... a vacation destination offering several different opportunities pointed the way to the future.

To this very day, we continue to make on-going improvements, which explains why Sporthotel Cinderella, spa & resort is chosen time and again by countless regular guests and friends for their vacations. Many changes and innovations are planned for the Cinderella in future, so stay tuned – you are certain to be pleasantly surprised!