In an increasingly popular market, relative newcomer Mount Med Resort is a wellness retreat with a difference. Buried high in the Wildschönau valley, in Tyrol, it has been curating its own concept of ‘wellness’ since it opened its doors at the end of 2024.
Wallpaper* checks into Mount Med Resort
This Austrian retreat is unique in that your experience is truly what you make it. Here for a fully holistic experience? The programme is packed. After more medical, aesthetic treatments? External specialists are here for plastic, aesthetic, and reconstructive surgery, and every aspect of your recovery is carefully tended to. Nothing works in isolation here, and every area is fully integrated and tailored to you. Mount Med is guided by five pillars, which work in tandem, depending on what you want and need – diagnostics, treatments, oxygen, nutrition and personal guidance.
What to expect
What this means practically is a tailored treatment even before your arrival, where you can choose what you wish your focus to be, from a range of options including weight management, a preventive programme for a vitality boost, aesthetic procedures for age reserve or support for greater mobility. There is help and practical action on hand if you are keen to reach a sustainable weight, alleviate discomfort or fix your focus. Physicians can guide you through a medical framework, if that is right for you, while non-invasive treatments and an emphasis on regaining strength and mobility lean into a more holistic approach.
Helping you decide exactly what you need is a full range of diagnostic tests upon arrival. Bloods, oxygen levels and metabolic testing provide an understanding of your health that informs all areas of your treatment and stay. Your personal health concierge works alongside your physician to coordinate your experience, from nutrition to movement, therapies and diagnostics.
What is the atmosphere?
Not to say that there is anything medical about the atmosphere here. The building itself is a striking blend of history and cutting-edge technology. Formerly a monastic barn dating from 1275, the resort respects and pays homage to its heritage, incorporating ancient architecture into the new development, which encompasses ten interconnected buildings. It is a new direction led by the brothers at the heart of Mount Med Resort, Stephan Papp and Dr Alexander Papp, the latter leading the resort’s medical philosophy.
What are the stand-out treatments?
The team are warm and friendly, and their advice and support will elevate your experience into something very special. Flexibility is key – you are at the heart of the programme, and it evolves with you. During my stay, the team encouraged me to embrace an eclectic menu of treatments centred around holistic methodologies and peace, from neuroscience, which offers a moment of calm and aims to reprogramme your relationship with sleep – sorely needed – to cryotherapy. I hadn’t realised until I immersed myself in a freezing cold chamber for three minutes, said to reduce inflammation and promote better sleep, how much I needed the energy boost. It was so good I went back the next day, and will be seeking something similar in London. Lymphatic massage, too, leaves you feeling refreshed; personal training, revitalised.
What is the food like?
Arguably the biggest highlight is the food – meals are creative, thoughtfully considered and of a Michelin-starred standard (indeed, there is also the award-winning restaurant Aurea on site). You eat often, with three full meals a day, and two snacks. Nutrition is carefully tailored to ensure maximum support to your metabolism, and to reduce inflammation. More surprisingly, dishes are delicious, and inventive – this is nutritionally perfect food, but it doesn’t feel like flavour or experience is being compromised.
What else is on offer?
Alongside your tailored programme, downtime is very special. I hiked in the Wildschönau valley and through the pine forest, quiet except for the church bells. I swam in the indoor pool and the heated outdoor one and tried the mineral and forest steam rooms, the bio mountain-herb sauna with salt stones and Dragon Fire sauna in the 3,500 sq m spa. The support continues when you get back to reality, with a nutritional plan and digital check-ins on offer – but even without that, this is an experience that will stay with you for a long time.