Domaine de la Klauss expands with a lavish Spa, pastry innovations, and new Vosges estate

Domaine de la Klauss, a five-star hotel and spa located at the crossroads of Luxembourg, France, and Germany in Montenach, is embarking on a major expansion project. This ambitious extension, announced after the hotel's gourmet restaurant earned its first Michelin star earlier this year, is set to be completed by 2027.

According to manager Alexandre Keff, the hotel attracts around 40% of its clientele from Luxembourg. The extension comes alongside the opening of a new establishment in the Vosges region, at Ventron, scheduled for January 2025.

Keff noted the project's scope, saying, "We wanted to make it simpler, but we realised that we are simply not able to."

He added that the new location will feature an even more luxurious spa, which he believes will appeal to the same clientele from Luxembourg who frequent the Montenach location.

The estate also revealed a high-profile collaboration with Angelo Musa, a renowned pastry chef from Lorraine. Musa, who was awarded the title of World Pastry Champion in 2003 and Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2007, will oversee the dessert menu at the gourmet restaurant Le K. His creations will debut in September 2025, marking a significant step for the property.

A new collaboration with a pastry legend

Musa's involvement adds to the prestige of Domaine de la Klauss. Since 2016, he has served as the executive pastry chef at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris, one of France's most luxurious palace hotels. Back in 2016, the head chef of Hôtel Plaza Athénée was no other than Alain Ducasse, the world's most Michelin-starred chef. Musa's culinary roots trace back to Metz, where he trained under Claude Bourguignon, and his career began at Luxembourg's Oberweis bakery nearly 20 years ago.

As part of their new collaboration, Angelo Musa and the teams at Domaine de la Klauss will soon be releasing this Yule log, limited to 200 pieces. / © Domaine de la Klauss

Angelo Musa's arrival at Domaine de la Klauss marks a significant change for the hotel's culinary offerings. Nearly all the desserts served in the restaurant and patisserie are now crafted by the world-renowned pastry chef, with the help of the estate's dedicated team. His first creation, a limited-edition Yule log, will be available for sale soon at €70 for 200 units. Additionally, his jams, which he exports to Dubai, have been introduced as part of the breakfast service.

The collaboration between Musa and Domaine de la Klauss began through an unexpected connection. Alexandre Keff, the estate's manager, who also works as a Luxair airline pilot, met Musa not through the culinary world but through aviation and a mutual friend, the head pastry chef in Luxair's catering department.

"I didn't think Angelo could work with other hotels or restaurants," Keff recalled, "but I learned just a week ago that it was possible, and it all happened very quickly." Musa will visit Montenach monthly, and his team will produce 60 to 80 of his pastries every day.

From left to right, the chef of the Domaine de la Klauss gourmet restaurant, Benoit Potdevin, pastry chef Angelo Musa, and manager Alexandre Keff. / © Domaine de la Klauss

A Spa with an underwater bar, ten additional suites

In addition to the new culinary developments, Domaine de la Klauss is also undergoing a major expansion. Work on the extension began three weeks ago, with completion expected in 2027.

The project includes a significant enlargement of the Spa, which will span 3,500 square metres, making it one of the largest hotel spas ever seen. The Spa will feature a bar submerged in the pool, "something which doesn't exist in French spas," along with a grotto, plant area, multi-sensory zone, treatment rooms, and even an aesthetic clinic, "something that doesn't exist in luxury hotels today either," in collaboration with Asklepios clinics in Germany.

"We want to make a big impact on an international level, while retaining our family DNA," Keff said.

The project will also include an additional ten suites and a tea room with a 100 m² pastry shop, where Musa's creations will be showcased. The space will be open to the public with no need for hotel accommodations to access it. This extension will be completed by September 2025, with the overall project costing €10 million.

A new pâtisserie will be built at Domaine de la Klauss by September 2025. / © Domaine de la Klauss

A new estate in the Vosges

Alexandre Keff's ambitious project in the Vosges is soon to be realised, as the new estate in Ventron, near La Bresse, prepares to open on 15 January. This second estate, developed in partnership with Pierre Singer, former director of the Sainte-Croix animal park, will be a four-star hotel-restaurant.

Initially planned to be more modest than the Montenach location, Keff said the project grew into something truly unique for the Vosges region. "We don't know how to make things simple, so I think we've done something that didn't exist before in the Vosges," he explained.

The hotel will feature 28 rooms, including a panoramic suite, and a gourmet restaurant named "Le M," with a menu designed by Benoit Potdevin, the chef from Montenach's "Le K." As at the Montenach property, guests can opt for a more casual dining experience at "Le comptoir de montagne" for lunch.

Despite the ongoing inflation crisis, Keff remains optimistic about the future. "The harder times get, the more oppressive the climate, the better we perform because we are responding to this desire to completely disconnect from the world and enjoy ourselves," he said. "We've never had such a good year at Montenach." According to Keff, Domaine de la Klauss is on track for an occupancy rate of around 98% in 2024.

In addition to the Michelin star awarded to the restaurant "Le K" last March, the hotel also received a Michelin key this year, further cementing its reputation for excellence.