HERBST TIME
for many years.

On 26 December 1989 we (Elfriede and Friedl Herbst) opened the Riederalm together with my brother Leonhard Eder. The Riederalm was then a ski hut, dance hall and restaurant in one. In the following year, 6 apartments were built - we had the first hotel guests in the winter of 1990/1991. The Riederalm hosted several dance events and became the meeting place of the youth in Leogang. We also became known with various live music events (Stoakogler, Goldried Quintett, Nockalm Quintett, etc...).

Family-friendly à la carte restaurant

With the then chef Ralf Heinze (13 years in the company), the Riederalm became a popular a la carte restaurant. A varied offer was served with the farmer's buffet, Holzknecht nights with the 'Verschärften' (music group) and other events. With the 1st Austrian Children's Traffic Education Park, the Riederalm became more and more a family restaurant.

In 2000, the offer was expanded with the construction of our popular Almgartl (heated guest garden) and an expansion of the playground. Our two sons Andreas and Thomas graduated from the tourism school in Bad Hofgastein. The two gathered in-depth expertise at renowned companies. They had excellent training and they are experts, whether its about specialities of different countries or the gourmet weeks 'Wald und Wiese'. So we decided in 2006 to build the 4-star Hotel Riederalm.

Our new hotel opened on 30 November 2007. The new era began with our two sons Andreas and Thomas in the kitchen, Fernando Fanaro as restaurant manager and Andrea Saller (daughter-in-law) at the reception. In 2009, an apartment in the main building was converted into our Suite Alpenglühen - and in November 2010, our restaurant was renovated. The Spielbergstube, our cosy fireplace lounge and the new bar were built.

In 2010, Kurt Zehentmayr became chef so that Andreas could expand his expertise at the restaurant of Mario Lohninger (Chef of the Year 2010 in Germany) in Frankfurt. After Andreas' return, Thomas switched to service and was awarded the sommelier diploma in June 2012. Andreas has been the creative head in the kitchen since then, and our daughter-in-law Andrea works in the reception and is in charge of marketing.

The Riederalm hotel has received several awards for its philosophy of 'personal care, family-friendly offers and gourmet cuisine' in the first 4 years:

• Relax Guide 1 Lily
• Zoover Award 2010 (Best 4-star hotel Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang)
• Award 2010 Best 4-star hotel from Top of the Mountains (awarded in Ischgl)
• Award 2011 Best Restaurant - Top of the Mountains (awarded in Saalbach)
• Our greatest joy was the birth of our granddaughter Juliana on 12 June 2011.
  With her, the third generation has now started at the Riederalm.
• On 14 May 2014 our grandson Laurenz was born - another ray of sunshine for the whole family.
• TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Award 2015 in Leogang - thank you for the great reviews of our guests and to our team for the tireless commitment!

In the spring of 2014, our 5 remaining holiday apartments in the hotel part Asitz (main hotel) were converted into exclusive suites and comfortable rooms. The result was 2 spacious family suites (Suite Himmelreich & Suite Landleben), 1 beautiful junior suite Bergglück and 4 comfort double rooms (Heimat & Almidylle). The new comfort was a next step in the right direction that inspired both our guests and ourselves.

In 2014, we all decided together to take the next step and take our hotel to a new level. We were forced to renew our existing pool - and as an extended family working fully with three generations, we took this as an opportunity to realize our vision. So we expanded the Hotel Riederalm with a spacious SPA area (Mountain Spa & Pinzgauer Wasserfestspiele water area - over 1,500 m²), with 25 exclusive suites & rooms and new restaurants. Our motto was: 'We stay who we are, only better, bigger and more comfortable!' Our family atmosphere, the well-known Riederalm friendliness and our gourmet cuisine (but these of course with some novelties!) remained.

The best quality for our hotel guests - this was and is always a concern for us. That is why we have been committed to continuous development since our very beginnings. The year 2016 needed the following innovations:

• Unique sun sail and the beautification of our sun terrace
• Our new climbing wall with slide in the game room
• Expansion of our in-house herb garden
• Our unique wine cellar 'Weinblick'

We were particularly pleased with our awards again, which we owe to our excellent employees and our great hotel guests.

• HolidayCheckAward 2016
• Traveller's Choice Award 2016 by TripAdvisor

In order to offer our guests even more comfort, we decided to expand the Mountain Spa (exclusively for adults). After brainstorming, thinking, and discussing and even more conversations on how to enhance our uniqueness and concept, we decided to do the impossible: We built Leogang's first thermal pool. Our motto of 'regionality' perfectly reflects this, as the healing water comes from St. Martin near Lofer. The following extensions have been made:

• Thermal pool (20 m) with indoor access
• Panoramic sauna (90 °C) with guided sauna infusions
• Plunge pool 'Gletschereis' (glacier ice)
• Pine Relax Cube with Panoramic View

In May 2018, the 31 rooms and suites in the 'Spielberg' building were newly renovated and now offer modern comfort and an alpine feel-good atmosphere.

Redesigned:

• 22 panoramic rooms deluxe
• 6 family studios 'Stoaberg'
• 3 Good Life Suites

The anniversary year 2019 was celebrated and there were again some novelties for our guests.

• The large playground has been expanded with the unique motor activity course.
• In the game room, the soft play area with ball pool for the toddlers was created.
• Our indoor pool has been enlarged.
• The Spa Living room 'Hochsitz' has been amenitised and enlarged with many extras.
• The Junior Suite 'Almfeuer' with double infrared cabin and many exclusive details has been designed.

But 2019 was also one of the most successful years in Riederalm history with MANY awards:

• Andreas Herbst was accepted by the Jeunes restaurateurs d'europe JRE - the chef's elite in Europe!
• Andreas Herbst & his team were awarded 2 toques (13.5 points) by Gault Millau.
• In the 'A la Carte Guide', the kitchen team around Andreas Herbst and the service team around Fernando Fanaro received 83 points, 3 stars and 2 wine bottles!
• 2 lilies in the Relax Guide
• The Riederalm received the Traveller's Choice Award from TripAdvisor

In 2021, our hotel was expanded by an entire hotel wing. New restaurants, luxury suites, comfort rooms as well as new massage rooms have enchanted our guests ever since.<br/> The following extensions have been made: 

• 'dahoam' gourmet restaurant
• Restaurant 'Bergseele' with a view of the Leogang mountains
• Family restaurant 'Wald & Wiese' with view of the playground
• Exclusive Luxury Spa Penthouse Leogang suites
• New Family Suite Deluxe Leogang
• Comfortable double room 'Baumtraum'
• Stylish massage rooms
• Enlarged breakfast buffet
• New bar area

We are looking forward to many more exciting years.

Your Herbst family