Kontor Boutiquehotel

Intro

Built into the original Medieval town walls of Hall, this former guilders’ house of traditional Tirol style has stood here for well over half a century with records dating back to 1450. Today, behind the rose petal façade, lies the small boutique Hotel Kontor – a restored icon of stucco charisma with a handful of stylish suites. Following a long and intense period of restoration, which involved scraping paint, wallpaper and plaster layers off by hand, the raw historical architectural characteristics of the house were slowly revealed to create a canvas of heritage meets design.

Delicate Baroque ornamentation, chunky lime-washed walls, wooden-beamed ceilings, twisted rafters, waxed parquet flooring, gorgeous oriel windows and salvaged fixtures cling to the secrets of a bygone era and breathe a sense of deep ancestry. Where else does a spiral staircase wind itself around an exposed patch of a pared-back stone wall - letting guests see the very fabric and soul of the hotel. Equally contrasting is the sleek glass elevator that shows the heart of the building, embedded in its historical wall. Elegantly simple, Kontor Boutiquehotel's design is contemporary with boutique furnishings, bespoke carpentry and minimalist accents offset by a subtle palette of clock-face whites, cardinal reds, cotton greys, wet putty and oatmeal. Other nods to its heritage are heavy wooden doors that retain original iron door handles and sweeps of original 18th-century stucco ceilings paired with modern light fixings. Elsewhere stylish seating means plenty of places to sit and breathe in the history or simply plan your day - perhaps visiting the chocolate-box surrounds of Hall-Wattens with its lush green pastures, fresh mountain air and alpine adventure.

Kontor Boutiquehotel is the new hand-made crafted retreat found in the cobbled streets of Hall, known as the secret capital of Austria.

Rooms

Foodie

Location

Owners

Ursula, born in 1988 and raised in Hall, is a mathematician. Marek, 31, was born in the Czech Republic, but grew up in Corsica, where the two met and lived together for several years. What unites the Tyrolean and the Czech Corsicans was from the beginning a passion for old houses. Ursula says: "We looked at half-ruined houses in Corsica and fantasised about what you could do with them. I said: Let's buy a ruin and make a bed and breakfast out of it!" Marek's reaction: "You're crazy!"

Owners Marek and Ursula have used great care to respect the heritage of the building it occupies. Once a former trading house since 1450, it was a place of importance, with corresponding pomp and baroque flourish in its appearance, which was discovered as they slowly and delicately peeled back layers of history through the years of paint, plaster and wallpaper.