Edelweiss Lodge and Resort

Infobox hotel
hotel_name = Edelweiss Lodge and Resort


image_width =
caption =
location = Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
coordinates =
opening_date = September 2004
stars =
diamonds =
closing_date =
developer =
architect =
operator = United States Department of Defense
owner =
number_of_restaurants = 3
number_of_rooms = 330
number_of_suites =
floor_area =
floors =
parking =
website =
footnotes =

Edelweiss Lodge and Resort is a U.S. Department of Defense - owned luxury hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Located in the Bavarian Alps near the Austrian border, the facility opened in September 2004 at a cost of $80 million.Edelweiss Lodge and Resort was built to replace a series of other, older Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC) hotels (such as the now-demolished General Walker Hotel in nearby Berchtesgaden). The hotel and its facilities are only open to Defense Department employees and family members, and offers special discounts to troops who have served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their family members.

History

Following the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe, a number of formerly Nazi hotels and resort complexes were taken over by the United States Army and put into use as R&R centers for the benefit of the soldiers stationed there. While these older hotels served this purpose well for many years, they also became expensive to continue to maintain. In the spring of 2000, the U.S. Army and members of the United States Congress approved plans to construct a modern resort hotel in the Bavarian resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Upon completion of the new hotel, AFRC-Europe closed AFRC-Chiemsee and the General Patton Hotel in Garmisch, and consolidated the remaining AFRC facilities in Garmisch under the new Edelweiss Lodge and Resort.

Facilities

The hotel features 330 rooms and suites, a conference center, three restaurants with a variety of American and German dishes, and a fitness center including sauna and pool. The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort also owns the Hausberg Lodge, a ski rental facility and ski school located next to the cable car station at the base of the Hausberg mountain.

The Edelweiss Lodge also manages the Edelweiss Vacation Village and Campground, located in the southern part of Garmisch on Artillery Kaserne. These facilities feature rustic cabins, a campground in the Loisach River Valley, and a 9-hole golf course.

Edelweiss Lodge and Resort also has a Vacation Village and Campground that offers a variety of accommodations for those that like to sleep in the great outdoors. Wood cabins with a variety of amenities and a campground nestled in the Loisach river valley, offer towering views of Alpine peaks. On a daily basis the Edelweiss lodge organizes a multitude of excursions, from the Dachau Concentration Camp outside of Munich to Vipiteno, Italy.

taff

The hotel and Hausberg Lodge employ US citizens for their hospitality staff. Jobs at the Edelweiss Resort range from housekeeping and custodial jobs to ski instructors and outdoor guides.

External links

* [http://www.edelweisslodgeandresort.com Edelweiss Lodge and Resort]
* [http://www.letsgo-europe.com/Germany/military/garmisch_job.html AFRC Garmisch Staff]
* [http://www.letsgo-europe.com/Germany/garmisch/ Edelweiss Vacation Village and Campground Photos]