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» Home / / Menu / All about the Hotel / Your host Günter Pfefferkorn
Once upon a time there
was a young man from Lech who, after attending the grammar school in
Bludenz and completing his studies at the Innsbruck Commercial Academy,
jobbed for a while on the Bermuda Islands. Today he is one of the
best-known and most successful hoteliers on the Arlberg – the story of
what happened in between is a unique tale packed with multifarious and
exciting tasks, challenges and responsibilities.
While he was still earning his living in Bermuda,
Günter took up his father’s offer to run a hotel in Oberlech, along with
his best friend, the brilliant distiller, Günter Rochelt. At that time
the heads chef of Hotel Krone in Lech, the latter was to die tragically
early. For 3 years, Günter Pfefferkorn was hotel manager in Oberlech,
and he married his first wife, Gabi, who was also a graduate of the
Innsbruck Commercial Academy. Two children followed: Liz, who now runs
the family’s sport store, Sporthaus Pfefferkorn, and Axel, managing
director of a five-star hotel in Lech. As a city girl though, Gabi never
really felt at home in the quiet world of Oberlech, so that a new
proposal from Herr Pfefferkorn senior came at just the tight moment.
Having inherited a piece of land in the centre of Lech and then buying
an adjoining plot, he said to his son, “take the site and see what you
can make out of it!. This sentence proved to be the starting signal for
what would become the present-four-star hotel, Pfefferkorn’s. The years
between 1972 and 1985 saw a perfumery, supermarket and several
apartments come into being; major expansion followed in 1986, the whole
was transformed into a hotel, and the nightclub was added in 2000.
However, Günter Pfefferkorn was, and is still, not
“merely” a hotelier but a brilliant sportsman, too. A passionate skier
he was state champion in downhill skiing and the alpine combination
discipline (downhill and slalom). For 26 years on the trot, he was
chairman of the Skiclub Arlberg and, with his friend Richard Nenning,
was particularly engaged in training up-a-coming talents. It was under
his aegis that the first four World Cup races were held in Lech. When
other venues had to cancel at short notice owing to lack of snow and
Lech was one of the few viable alternatives, those responsible had as
little as 4 days to organize the event - a seemingly insuperable
challenge. Supported by a dedicated team and in the face of considerable
risks, he further succeeded in organizing 13 European Cup races and
managed to break even, too.
Nonetheless, Günter’s sporting ambitions extend
beyond the ski slopes, with tennis being another passion, while he has
enjoyed the pleasures of competitive small-calibre shooting from his
28th year onwards. A mixture of perseverance, talent and ambition meant
that he was state champion an amazing 30 times and Austrian champion 9
times, and he even achieved a world record with a target score of 600
points. His specialty was shooting in a lying position. “It just
happened that way”, Günter smiles with a mixture of modesty and
legitimate pride. It is only 2 years ago that he was last declared
Austrian champion. And what is his recipe? The answer: autogenous
training, peak concentration and a natural ability to shut out all
distractions and focus entirely on the matter in hand.
Nowadays, Günter Pfefferkorn plays golf, but only
for fun. His hotel is a source of enjoyment, too, as he is hotelier
through and through, dedicated to promoting tourism and everything
associated with it. After many years of involvement in local politics
and as chairman of the Lech-Zürs advisory Board for Tourism, he laid
down all of his offices 7 years ago and now only holds a single official
post: he is chairman of the Hotelry Section of the Vorarlberg Chamber
of Trade and Commerce. His first priority, though, is his family. His
charming partner, Petra Walser, who has a Ph.D. in German Studios and an
M.Sc. in Geography, looks after the business with Günter. Their
daughter, little Anna-Sophie, is their pride and joy, and is the
favourite of both the staff and the guests of the hotel, where and
elegant ambience and welcome cordiality are key features.
Pfefferkorn’s Hotel is on e of the leading
establishments in the town, enjoying a central location right next to
the Rüfikopfbahn. Guests staying in Pfefferkorn’s can forget about the
car, as everything can be reached on foot. Pfefferkorn’s is rather like a
small village: under a single roof, there is a large supermarket with
an area of 450m2, a perfumery, a wine shop and a gift boutique. In the
hotel itself, ski-hire and servicing are also available – what more
could one want? Well, all of the creature comforts, of course, and these
are provided by the excellent rooms, suites and studios offering every
imaginable convenience. Stepping out of a suite that is cosily heated
with a traditional tiled stove onto its balcony, one is greeted by an
awesome winter panorama.
The spa facilities pamper guests with a variety of
saunas and treatments ranging from ayurveda therapy to classic sports
massage in a relaxed atmosphere. So what about a sonic massage and light
therapy while relaxing on heated marble, for example? Those who have
had a long day on the ski slopes are warmly (in every sense) recommended
to try a session in a Physiotherm infrared cabin.
It goes without saying that the culinary delights to
be savoured in Pfefferkorn’s are of the very finest. The atmospheric
ambience of its restaurant, Pfeffermühle, promises a feast for all of
the senses as one embarks on a gastronomic odyssey that takes one from
Vorarlberg to every corner of the world, with the accompaniment of
exquisite selected vintages and spirits. The head of the house is only
too happy himself to join his guests who share his philosophy summed up
in the saying, “wine accompanies you, schnapps grabs hold of you”.
In Pfefferkörndl, the tavern within the hotel, the
world and his wife enjoy dropping in for a cup of coffee or tea, a glass
of champagne or a classic Italian dish from the varied menu. Here and
at the ice bar in front of the hotel, locals and guests find the perfect
après-ski atmosphere while enjoying a warmed mulled wine and some great
music, with the magnificent mountain scenery of Lech serving as a
stunning backdrop.
Last but not least, night owls gravitate towards
Pepper’s Club, the place to be for music, a drop of the hard stuff and
the right atmosphere late into the winter night.
Quelle: Trends & Lifestyle „Arlberg“ von Cornelia Haller und
Christian Gufler, erschienen im Umschau Verlag 2010 Neustadt an der
Weinstrasse, Germany |
