Dear Holiday Diary ... Chiara Tells of Her Holiday at the Nature Hotel Puradies in Austria

The backstory: Chiara, 36, from Mannheim, loves swimming and espresso martinis. She had been following the Puradies on Instagram for some time. In 2023, we opened the new family wellness area with two pools, and Chiara's husband Luis discovered that our espresso martini is not to be sniffed at. The rest is history ... Chiara lifts the lid on her holiday diary.

Day 1. The sun is blazing. Lea (4) and Marvin (5) are already buckled up. All the luggage is stowed away. I swear it's not my fault that we can't set off yet. My dear husband is still looking for his favourite sunglasses. Ah, here he comes. Off we go. The tablets are charged, the snack box is filled, the air conditioning is running.

I don't care exactly when we arrive at our hotel in Leogang. I can always switch off straight away. Now it's holiday time. We're lucky and there are no traffic jams. I suggested to Luis that we stop at the Dinzler coffee roastery on the Irschenberg again. No persuasion was needed at all. Luis loves good coffee just as much as I do. And the kids are always happy when we take a break anyway.

Just one more minute to the Puradies. Down by the bridge, the flags are flying. The kids squeal when they spot them. They want to go straight to the animals on the farm. We take the last bend and a wooden sign shows us the way. I immediately like the simplicity, the purism. Perhaps that's where the Puradies gets its name.

At reception, we get chatting with Mrs Madreiter Senior. A wonderful woman, and the kids are already fans! Why? Because she let them know that her husband is in the barn right now mucking out and feeding the animals. We just about manage to take the luggage up to the room and then give in to the kids' begging. But it really is too cute in the barn! Everything is clean, and you can see how well the animals are looked after. The gates are designed so that the children can see the animals well and also visit them.

Off to dinner. We're hungry! I'm so glad we chose a 4-star superior hotel as our accommodation in Leogang, because I really wouldn't have felt like cooking now.

Last night, after everyone was happy and full, we took a stroll through the hotel and the resort and had a look at everything. I'm a real water baby and wanted to know where the pool is. So this morning I go for a swim before breakfast. Luis and the kids check whether the goats, pigs and chickens are still doing well (they are) and try out the adventure playground (great!).

A word about breakfast: breakfast at the hotel is served as a buffet. There's plenty of everything you need. Good cheese and a juicer for me, scrambled eggs and sausages for Luis, and fruit salad and yoghurt for the kids. We're not big breakfast eaters, but it's simply lovely to sit together for a few minutes longer than in everyday life.

We're lucky with the weather and make the most of it straight away. At check-in, we received the Saalfelden Leogang Card, which lets us ride the mountain lifts for free every day (even twice a day). The kids love it! We drive over to the Asitzbahn (3 minutes) and glide up. It's amazing! Up there is a kind of plateau that only rises quite gently, so we go for a little hike with the kids. On the way back, we get off at the middle station (thanks for the tip, Mrs Madreiter!) and stay at the water playground for an hour and a half. Only the prospect of the swimming pool at the hotel can lure the kids away again ;)

Our kids love going to childcare. We agree with them that we'll split up in the morning and do something together again in the afternoon. That works perfectly! Marvin and Lea also have lunch with their children's group, so my husband and I can go for a lovely mountain bike ride. We rented the bikes at the Puradies Hotel. We hadn't planned this in advance and only found out on site that there was a bike rental. Great, because the bike trails in Leogang are really fantastic!

Because the weather is still glorious, we want to laze around in the afternoon. We find a nice spot to lie down on the meadow. The kids jump straight into the natural swimming pond. Luis and I take turns keeping an eye on them or joining in the fun. In between, I pop over to the sauna house, which is reserved for adults only. I'm overwhelmed by the design; it really touches me. I have the feeling that the windowpanes were designed like picture frames, so that I can perceive the Steinberge and the nature around me even more intensely. I wouldn't have thought that this one hour here would do me so much good. I must talk to Luis, he'll like it too.

Sorry, I'm slacking off, okay? I want to savour every minute in paradise, as we now call the Puradies! In the evenings, when the kids are in bed, I've discovered the Bar Freiraum for myself. And the espresso martini they mix here ... not to be sniffed at!

I'll keep it short. We were thrilled with the Puradies. It really is a world of its own here in Leogang. No cars, no traffic, peace and quiet. The kids can run around as they please and roam across meadows and through forests. The real farming of the Madreiter family. Warm-hearted people, attentive hosts. The design – I just couldn't stop taking photos! The food, with ingredients from, among others, the hotel's own Embachhof organic farm and selected regional partner businesses, down-to-earth with that certain twist we like to treat ourselves to on holiday.

For me as a water baby (and my little water babies): the swimming pool, the children's pool and the natural swimming pond. Everything was simply right on our family holiday in Leogang. We really rarely say that, but that's how it was. Right, and now we're off to visit my sister in the Allgäu. It's lovely there too, but I'm sure I'll miss our paradise Puradies! A small consolation: this route also takes us over the Irschenberg, and I'll get my dose of caffeine ;)