Mühltalhof

Intro

Pastiche in nature, the riverside Mühltalhof Hotel & Restaurant in Neufelden is a humble foodie legend that adopts Austrian heritage married to subtle modern design.  Spanning three family generations, who in turn, have each imparted their gastronomic skills to the table of this famous haunt attracting taste pilgrims from far and near. Under the direction of family member, Philip Rachinger, the restaurant is famed for its propriety style of cuisine which people flock to from across the culinary world.

More restaurant with rooms than your atypical hotel, Mühltalhof touches the senses and is a place that encourages you to slumber, chill and relax without trying too hard: a natural venue of slow-paced wellness in the Granite Highlands of Upper Austria. Restorative refurbishments by Linz architect Klaus Leitner enabled the owners to hold on to their roots and heritage whilst letting modern design sweep through the hotel and restaurant: Mühltalhof is anchored into its long history dating back in parts to 1698 and yet, it is a thoroughly modern, sustainable encounter that borrows the canvas from its forested, idyllic riverside location.

Three combined riverside houses, each with a distinctive DNA from the old thickly plastered gabled façade to the sleek cubic elegance the later builds, one in white and one wrapped in rusted steel: the effect is cleverly dramatic bringing the colours of the forest and river into the dialogue as well as referencing traditional building materials. 

On entering, you’ll be greeted by a homage to natural materials – wood dominates the scene. Forming slats from ceiling to floor, itcreates a soothing, ordered pattern whilst providing functional design intentions – such as the wooden pegs that protrude, holding the room keys. The reception desk is a swathe of blond wood, held in place by a boulder of granite – in honour of the epic stone that graces the lower mountains of Upper Mühlviertel. The dining room is encased by blackened wood, adding drama to the ambience in honour of this hotel’s famed gastronomic legacy. By contrast, the spa is all lightness and buoyancy, with smooth blond slatted wood playing with pattern as daylight falls in shadows on the floor. Rooms and suites use oak from the Bohemian Forest, quarried granite, linens, locally made beds from scented woods, family heirloom antiques, sleek designer pieces and those lovely Mühltalhof gestures of nostalgia convey its artsy, nonchalant soul.

A fabulous foodie haunt and artistic venue, this chillax riverside hotel in Upper Austria is a traditional modernist that plays with heritage, the arts and nature between the Bohemian Forest and the Danube.

Rooms

Foodie

Mühltalhof is simply all about food and the flavours couldn’t be better sourced than from the bountiful fertile lands, the water-rich pastures, verdant hilltops and dense forests filled with rare produce from berries to wild herbs – all on the doorstep in upper Austria’s Mühlviertel region. Pair this natural bounty with a family of original talented chefs and you get to sense why the Mühltalhof is a foodie legend. In 2014, son protégé Philip Rachinger took the reigns alongside his father, Helmut –himself a celebrated chef and the driving force with his sister Johanna in establishing this little hotel and restaurant as one of the best. Philip had been out in the world nurturing his creative skills learning from the best kitchens: Steirereck in Vienna, Döllerer’s, Pfefferschiff and Tantris in Munich, before working with Sven Chartier at the Saturne in Paris, Sketch London and Isaac McHale in London, at the Clove Club and the Ten Bells. 

His passion for food was ignited by his grandmother who taught him the basics of good food and was, his strongest mentor and critic, alongside his father of course.

Wellness

Location

Owners