Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

In May, I wrote that the former home of the Von Trapp family – made famous by the film, The Sound of Music - was to open as a hotel - Trapped In Your Hotel.

Salzburg, Austria

Sadly for lovers of the evergreen musical, the local council in Salzburg has now turned down the proposition. Residents of the Aigen area, where the villa is situated, had put pressure on the authorities, fearing they’d be overrun by fans.

The residents’ spokesman said the identity of Salzburg should be tied to its most famous son, Mozart, and not to what he called this ‘tacky’ musical.

But one of the entrepreneurs behind the project said it was folly to block a venture like this when the global financial crisis could reduce the number of tourists coming to Salzburg. According to one estimate, 40 per cent of overnight stays in the city are by fans of the film.

The developers plan to appeal and are also talking of court action because they’ve already reportedly spent €400,000 (£348,000 / $511,000) in adapting the 14-bedroom villa.

The von Trapp family lived in the house from 1923 until 1938 when they fled the Nazi takeover of Austria. Those years in the house inspired one of the most successful films of all time, in which an aspiring nun, played by Julie Andrews, charms the widower, Baron von Trapp, and his seven children.

by Andy Moreton

You may not be able to relax in the Von Trapp villa, but Luxique can offer four of the best luxury hotels in Salzburg.

I read that the former home of the von Trapp family – made famous by the film, The Sound of Music - is to open as a hotel.

From July, visitors to the Villa Trapp hotel just outside the Austrian city of Salzburg will be able to sleep in the family’s former bedrooms or get married in the chapel. Entrepreneurs plan to make no alterations to the building other than essentials such as painting and re-wiring.
The von Trapp family lived in the house from 1923 until 1938 when they fled the Nazi takeover of Austria. Those years in the house inspired one of the most successful films of all time, in which an aspiring nun, played by Julie Andrews, charms the widower, Baron von Trapp, and his seven children.
After the family fled, the villa was appropriated by the SS and Gestapo chief, Heinrich Himmler, who used it as a private home during the war. Later, when the von Trapps were building a new life in the United States, the villa was bought by a religious foundation, which has now agreed to lease it as a hotel because of the growing demand from fans of the 1965 musical.
According to tourism officials, 40 per cent of overnight stays in Salzburg are from fans of the film, although in Austria itself, the von Trapp villa isn’t that famous.

by Andy Moreton
Scheduled to open July 25, the team at Luxique will review the Villa Trapp hotel to see if it makes the grade to be included amongst our hand-picked Salzburg luxury hotels. Stay tuned.