Our Story

Anne & Bob Smith Build Pension Anna

Anne and Bob Smith design and build Pension Anna from the ground up. Their model isn't invented, it's lived. They traveled extensively through Bavaria and Tirol, spending time in the region — including living there part time — studying the architecture, the hospitality, and the details of daily alpine life firsthand. The direct inspiration for Pension Anna was Pension Elisabeth, a small guesthouse in the village of Stumm in the Zillertal Valley of Tirol, Austria. They brought that model back with them, as faithfully as it could be transplanted to the Cascades. Bob goes on to serve on the city's Design Review Board, helping ensure the town maintains its genuine Alpine character. Anne and Bob are now happily retired and still living in Leavenworth. If you're lucky, you may find them at breakfast at Pension Anna. The antique Alpine furnishings they brought back — the Truhen, the carved pieces, the painted chests — set a standard that has only deepened since. See the collection.

The Alte Kapelle Arrives

Three years after opening, Bob and Anne add a second building to the property in the most unusual way: a 1910 Catholic church, physically moved by flatbed truck through downtown Leavenworth and set beside the hotel. The vaulted ceiling, the gothic windows, and the timber frame came with it. Converted into two rooms, it became the Alte Kapelle.

The original church was built in May 1910 — the Leavenworth Echo reported the contract let to J.J. Albeck of Quincy for lot 7, block 5, Leavenworth Gardens. 26x38 feet, vestibule and tower, completed in two months for around $2,000.

Leavenworth Echo, May 20, 1910. The original contract announcement.

The 2019 Remodel

Less than a year into ownership, Erika and Martin undertake a significant remodel of Pension Anna. The centerpiece: authentic Bavarian carpets imported directly from Germany, the same patterns used for generations in small hotels and pensions across Bavaria. Not reproductions. The real thing, bringing a layer of genuine Alpine character that few hotels outside Europe can claim.

They also retiled the bathrooms throughout, added heated floors, replaced the roof on the Alte Kapelle, and installed new jacuzzi tubs in the Pension Anna suites. All of this while caring for their newborn daughter Anna, who was about two months old when the work began.

Landhaus Erika Opens

Erika and Martin open Landhaus Erika on the adjacent property: an adults-only Tirolean chalet with five seasonal suites and exclusive sauna access. Each suite is named for a season and furnished with authentic Alpine antiques.