Edelweiss Lodge and Resort is a U.S. Department of Defense owned recreation 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 older Armed Forces Recreation Center hotels. All content within the referenced regulation and this website is based on Commanding General, United States Army, Europe authority. For a complete eligibility listing, see AE Regulation 600-700. The AE Regulation 600-700 takes precedence in an event there is a conflict with this listing.
Persons attending a U.S. military academy while assigned to perform duty in Germany.
Family members of AD U.S. military personnel
DOD appropriated fund/non-appropriated fund civilian employees
U.S. military personnel and DOD APF/NAF civilian employees
U.S. RC personnel assigned or attached to a troop program unit in Germany when performing battle assemblies, rescheduled training, or equivalent training while in individual mobilization augmentation status or any other duty status under Title 10 of the United States Code.
DOD contractor personnel that have been accredited with SOFA status as TE/AS/TC or TC-IT personnel as specified in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 7, Section I.
U.S. and other NATO-country citizens employed exclusively by military banking and educational institutions with limited SOFA status who are compensated in U.S. dollars and not ordinarily resident in the host nation as specified in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 7, Section III, and their accompanying Family members.
Members of Household of authorized personnel, as defined in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 8.
American Red Cross personnel who are stationed in Germany, as specified in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 9.
United Service Organization and United Seamen’s Service personnel who are stationed in Germany, as specified in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 10.
Unaccompanied Family members who reside in Germany and either possess a DOD identification card that authorize them to receive individual logistical support in Germany or a Zollbescheinigung that authorize them to use U.S. Forces sales facilities in Germany, as specified in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 11.
Retired U.S. military personnel, and veterans who are 100 percent disabled, and their accompanying eligible Family members who either reside in Germany or who visit Germany for more than thirty consecutive days and who have obtained a Zollbescheinigung from a German Customs office.
NATO military and civilian personnel assigned to NATO International Military Headquarters and their eligible Family members, as specified in AE Regulation 600-700, Chapter 17.
Bona Fide guests who are invited by and accompany an authorized patron.
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. Be aware that 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 excellent array of Bavarian items, t-shirts and other souvenirs.
History
Following the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe, a number of formerly German military 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-Partenkirchen, and consolidated the remaining AFRC facilities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen under the new Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. The new lodge was where the British winter Olympic team stayed in Calgary 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 246 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 ranging from the Dachau Concentration Camp, Oberammergau, Salzburg and many more.
Staff
The Edelweiss Lodge and Resort employs US citizen and local national hospitality staff. Positions at the Edelweiss Resort range from housekeeping and custodial jobs to ski instructors and tour guides. The staff of Edelweiss Lodge is employed by United States Department of Defense, which operates the lodge. US employees are typically American civilians who are recruited from the United States by the hotel's director of operations. US employees receive free airfare between America and Germany, provided that they fulfill the terms of their contracts, which are valid for a period of fifteen to eighteen months. The American employees live in dorm-style housing in the main Edelweiss Lodge and Resort building. After employees have worked a contract at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, they are sometimes given the option to extend their contract.
