Interview with the Spögler Brothers from vegan hotel Paradiso Pure.Living on the Alpe di Siusi

Veganism Runs in the Family

Green Pearls®: Hi and nice to meet you both. We’re going to start with a question that I think everyone asks when they hear that you run a vegan hotel. Are you vegan yourself?

Maximilian Spögler: Yes, almost our entire family is vegan. Our youngest sister has been the longest, then our mother went completely vegan, then Alex, and then me.

Alexander Spögler: Except for one brother who is not quite there yet. *laughs* I became a vegetarian in 2017, mainly for ethical reasons, and then over the years I completely gave up animal products because they were no longer justifiable for me.

Green Pearls®: Was there a defining moment that made you make the shift?

Maximilian: On a personal level, it was when my mother was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease. She then decided to change her diet and became vegan overnight. And I think she’s now fitter than any of us! When you see the effect of diet on health firsthand, there must be something to it.

Alexander: It was the same for me. Our mother solved almost all her problems with this shift. For me, the ethical aspect also came into play. I think for most vegans, ethics, health, and the environment are the three pillars. For the two of us, and for most of our staff, it is all three.

Maximilian: I was surprised by the „Chicken of the Woods”. It is a mushroom that grows on the bark of trees. In Italy, it is only found in Sicily and our chef imports it through her connections. The mushroom tastes similar to chicken and it is simply brilliant.

Alexander: My favorite dish is also „Chicken of the Woods” – it was a real surprise. Great texture and taste. I’m a big mushroom fan anyway, always have been – and even more so as a vegan.

Green Pearls®: How did the two of you get involved in the hotel business?

Maximilian: We were born into it. *laughs* Well, we’ve always lived in hotels. It’s in our blood.

Green Pearls®: So, it was clear from the beginning that you were going to continue and take it over?

Alexander: Yes, I guess so. Although our parents always gave us the freedom to do what we wanted. I think when you grow up in a hotel, you make up your mind pretty quickly. Either you quit right away or you stick with it.

«Working in a hotel requires commitment and sacrifice. So, you either do it with passion – or you do something else. You can’t do it halfway.»

Alexander Spögler

Maximilian: It’s not a nine-to-five job. But we know that and we are used to it. And I prefer it to sitting in an office from 9 to 5. I couldn’t do that.

From Classic to Vegan Hotel

Green Pearls®: Could you give us a brief history of how the current Paradiso Pure.Living Vegan Hotel came to be?

Maximilian: The Paradiso has existed as such since 1962/63. Our parents took it over in 1994. The first major renovation took place in 2005. Since then, we have expanded quantitatively with a large extension to the left and right, an additional floor, and a wellness area. At that time, however, it was still a traditional mountain hotel with pork knuckles and Kaiserschmarrn, which you can find everywhere up here. The turning point came in 2019.

Alexander: We started planning the whole thing in 2018, and by the 2018-19 season, we already had a vegan chef who was also the executive chef at our mother’s LA VIMEA. [Editor’s note: LA VIMEA was the first 100% vegan hotel in Italy.] She developed a vegetarian/vegan menu for us. We also started informing our regular guests that as of next year – in the course of a major renovation – the hotel will be completely vegetarian. With this first menu, we gave a taste, but at that time guests could still order fish and meat.

In 2019, we refined the whole concept with the renovation, paying attention to sustainable materials in the design and a certain energy consumption in the background, and generally adapting the modus operandi. And then in 2019, we went completely vegetarian.

Actually, we wanted to go vegan right away, since our mother’s LA VIMEA and our sister’s Agrivilla I Pini are completely vegan. But the Alpe di Siusi is a bit more difficult. Even going vegetarian was a very drastic step. We marketed it as vegetarian, but it was always 80 percent vegan. From then on, every year we made it more and more vegan and less and less vegetarian. Last year (2024) we went completely vegan, as we originally intended.

Alexander: It was already there, but we did something new here. We did not have a benchmark except for the LA VIMEA and the Agrivilla I Pini. We had to reinvent a lot of things, and of course, we made mistakes. It’s a learning process.

In terms of sustainability, we have implemented everything we aimed for. But we want to do more. For example, we are working on a 100 % zero waste policy. It is a challenge in such a large hotel and at this height. But we are on the right track and trying to improve in all aspects every day.

Green Pearls®: What makes Paradiso Pure.Living unique to you?

Maximilian: First, the location. It is surrounded by the Dolomites, the most beautiful mountain range in the world. Then the sustainability and all the art we exhibit here. It is part of Paradiso. And, of course, it’s also our guests and staff that make the hotel unique. The overall concept of Paradiso attracts a clientele that thinks a little differently.

«When these components come together, the whole becomes more than just a hotel, more than just a place to sleep and eat. 

It is a place where like-minded people come together and share ideas. And in the process, something unique and beautiful is created.»