Edelweiss Lodge and Resort is a

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

owned recreation

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Located in the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n Alps near the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n border, the facility opened in September 2004 at a cost of $80 million. Due to international agreements, the use of the Commissary, Community Bank and PX/BX are limited to personnel assigned to US Forces in Europe and NATO ID card holders who have this privilege. This includes rationed items such as gas coupons. Gas prices are considerably higher compared to US standards. Military Post Offices may be used only by retirees who reside in Germany for over 30 days and who have Box R privileges with restrictions. Alpine Adventures is located in Edelweiss Lodge and Resort and has an array of Bavarian items, t-shirts and other souvenirs.

History

Edelweiss Lodge and Resort was built to replace a series of older

Armed Forces Recreation Center Armed Forces Recreation Centers (AFRCs) are a chain of Joint Service Facility resorts hotels owned by the United States Department of Defense to provide rest and relaxation in the form of lodging and outdoor recreation for United States military s ...

(AFRC) hotels (General Patton Hotel and General Von Steuben in Garmisch-Partenkirchen). Other hotels throughout the AFRC Resort history included the now-demolished General Walker Hotel in

Obersalzberg Obersalzberg is a mountainside retreat situated above the market town of Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, Germany. Located about south-east of Munich, close to the border with Austria, it is best known as the site of Adolf Hitler's former mountain resi ...

. Following the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe, a number of formerly

German military The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

hotels and resort complexes were taken over by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

approved plans to construct a modern resort hotel in the

n resort town of

. Upon completion of the new hotel, AFRC-Europe closed AFRC-Chiemsee (Seehotel was a former Reichsautobahn

Rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway servi ...

"Rasthaus am Chiemsee" from Nazi times ) and the General Patton Hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and consolidated the remaining AFRC facilities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen under the new Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort was featured in the 2016 movie Eddie the Eagle. Scenes were filmed in the lobby one of the restaurants and the entrance to the conference room.

Facilities

The hotel features 254 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 operates the Hausberg Sport 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 operates the Edelweiss Vacation Village and Campground, located in the western part of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, on the nearby Artillery Kaserne. These facilities feature rustic cabins and a campground in the Loisach River Valley. On a daily basis they offer guided tours to

Dachau Concentration Camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

Neuschwanstein Castle Neuschwanstein Castle (german: Schloss Neuschwanstein, , Southern Bavarian: ''Schloss Neischwanstoa'') is a 19th-century historicist palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The pa ...

Partnach Gorge The Partnach Gorge (german: Partnachklamm) is a deep gorge that has been incised by a mountain stream, the Partnach, in the Reintal valley near the south German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The gorge is long and, in places, over deep. It ...

Ettal Abbey Ettal Abbey (german: Kloster Ettal) is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ettal close to Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. With a community (as of 2005) of more than 50 monks, with another five at Wechselburg, th ...

and more.

References

External links

Edelweiss Lodge and ResortMilitary in Germany
Travel Blog about Edelweiss Lodge and Resort
Armed Forces Recreation Center Resorts
{{Armed Forces Recreation Centers Hotels in Germany Buildings and structures in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district) Armed Forces Recreation Centers Hotel buildings completed in 2004 Hotels established in 2004 2004 establishments in Germany American companies established in 2004