Sleeping in a Tower: The Distinctive Rooms of the Tannerhof

Key points at a glance

• The four Hüttentürme designed by Florian Nagler received the German Timber Construction Award in 2013 for their sustainable concept.
• The five historic Lufthütten from 1905 keep the fasting tradition of the house alive – deliberately without Wi-Fi or television.
• At just eleven square metres, the Kammerl give a radical answer to the question of how little space a restorative stay actually needs.

The Hüttentürme: sleeping in a wooden tower on the slope

Anyone looking for an unusual place to stay in Bavaria soon comes across the most distinctive image of our house. On the gently rising slope above Naturhotel Tannerhof stand four slender wooden structures that settle carefully into the alpine landscape. The Hüttentürme were designed in 2011 by the architect Florian Nagler. Their building principle comes from an ecological conviction: rather than sealing valuable alpine pasture with wide foundations, we stack three compact double rooms vertically. The space grows upward instead of outward, and the alpine ground keeps breathing.

Each tower holds three separate double rooms of around 26 square metres, each conceived as a retreat in its own right. Inside, the character is minimal, carried by the warm scent of solid timber and the feel of natural materials. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors open the view into the valley and lead out to a private seating area, giving every level its own perspective on the surrounding mountains. The reduction is not incidental but deliberate: there is no television, and no Wi-Fi or LAN connection either. It is the absence of digital stimulus that opens up room to arrive at yourself.

The Lufthütten of 1905: where the fasting tradition lives

The historic nucleus of the house sits on the gently rising slope, surrounded by dense mountain forest and open meadows. When the physician couple von Mengershausen founded the place in 1905, the first guests came here for summer air and untouched nature. These five Lufthütten still stand for the roots of our philosophy, which is inseparable from therapeutic fasting. They are rustic, carefully renovated wooden cabins above the main buildings, where time seems to slow down. Up here it becomes tangible how little space a person needs.

• Simple comfort across 16 to 22 square metres, in single, double and Grand hut layouts.
• A private, weather-protected veranda with a wide view over the Leitzach valley.
• A deliberate step away from digital distraction: no Wi-Fi and no television in the huts.
• No more than five minutes on foot from the main house, balancing solitude and company.

Choosing a Lufthütte means choosing reduction, and perhaps the most concentrated form of retreat at the Tannerhof. Without the constant hum of digital networks, there is room for thought and relief. It suits people who want an undisturbed connection to nature during a restorative break or a fasting week, carried by the wind in the treetops and the smell of sun-warmed wood.

The Kammerl: eleven square metres of radical consistency

When we talk about the architecture of the Tannerhof, we talk about characters. The Kammerl, in the turn-of-the-century building of the Neue Tann, are perhaps our most radical design and show how traditional and minimal architecture meet on our grounds. They pose a simple question: how little space does a person need for deep recovery? Our answer measures exactly eleven square metres. It is a deliberate step away from the superfluous, and it has nothing to do with deprivation. The reduction sharpens the view of what matters, while the Bavarian Alps rest outside.

• A bed for clear, undisturbed sleep
• A table and a chair as an invitation to simplicity
• A wardrobe, an armchair and a small bathroom
• Your luggage – ideally a single suitcase

This near-monastic plainness makes the Kammerl a fitting retreat for anyone seeking a break from digital noise. As in our huts and towers, there is deliberately no Wi-Fi and no television, keeping everyday overstimulation outside. The simplicity of the room works well with our health programmes, whether a conscious break or the choice of room for a fasting week at the Tannerhof. Anyone who settles into these eleven square metres soon finds that the gain lies not in floor area but in inner space.

Baumallee, Alm, Berge und Seen: the classics with character

While the Hüttentürme and Lufthütten stand alone on the slope, the historic buildings of the Tannerhof hold a different, more familiar kind of shelter. These rooms are not standardised units but spaces that have grown over time, each with its own history – a filling station for city dwellers running on empty. Staying here, you feel the meeting of old building fabric and careful modern craft. Above the treetops of the Orangerie, for instance, are the Baumallee rooms. Their west-facing balconies look far across the quiet Leitzach valley and carry a fine retro feeling. Desks by Roche Bobois and soft Missoni textiles connect yesterday with today.

The Alte Tann offers something else entirely. Where farm life once went on, the Alm rooms now invite a slower pace. Wide reclaimed-wood floorboards, heavy linen curtains and cool stoneware tiles set the tone. The Mariandlalm variant in particular draws the light of the Bavarian foothills straight to the bed through its generous glass front. A few steps on, in the Neue Tann built around the turn of the century, the Berge-&-Seen rooms breathe the air of the classic summer retreat. With oak parquet, Bolich lamps and historic farmhouse furniture, they show how well good design ages.

• The Baumallee rooms: elegant retro style with a large west-facing balcony over the Leitzach valley, made for the long evening view.
• The Alm rooms: rustic comfort with reclaimed-wood floors and traditional gallery balconies in the historic farmhouse.
• The Berge-&-Seen rooms: classic summer retreat with restored farmhouse furniture and warm oak parquet in the turn-of-the-century house.

Each of these classics follows its own logic of retreat. Without giving up the reduction of the huts, they offer a calm base for a health-focused stay, with room for the mind to settle.