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The luxury hotel to know about in the European ski resort loved by royals
A discreet and flashy resort may be an oxymoron, but that’s exactly what Lech is to skiers. The traditional Austrian town is where to head for some serious ski action, brilliant food and staggering alpine scenery. It’s less about the après and all about the piste – and with runs this good, you’ll be happy to leave the partying in ski boots to Val d’Isère. Famously, Lech was Princess Diana’s ski destination of choice.
The finest ski hotel in town is undoubtedly Severin’s, a boutique retreat with just nine bedrooms, plus a four-bedroom chalet. Unsurprisingly, since Lech gets serious about food, it also has an excellent fine-dining restaurant and a wine cellar.
And you don’t have to be a skier to enjoy Lech. Famous ski boutique Strolz (captured in the second Bridget Jones film) can equip you with snow-shoes just as easily as it can skis and snowboards. The timeless village has a church that was founded in 1350 at its heart, and the River Lech flowing through it.
First impressions
Lech is around an hour and a half by car from Innsbruck, and the drive gets steadily more scenic as you ascend into the Alberg ski area in the states of Vorarlberg and Tyrol. After passing other Austrian resorts such as St Anton, you’ll arrive in Lech – and Severin’s is just on the edge of town. It’s the picture of chalet perfection and inside, it just keeps on getting cosier.
Checking in
With such a small amount of rooms, the hotel inevitably has an intimate, personal feel. The suites are classic chalets, but with every modern convenience you could wish for, from illuminating mirrors in the concrete bathrooms to a sleek glass-fronted fireplace, velvet sofas, shiny pendant lights and Bluetooth connectivity for the speakers. The rooms lead out to (most likely snowy) terraces for a prime view of the mountains over a bracing drink from your free minibar.
The spa
Down in the basement, the swimming pool is precisely where you’ll want to find yourself after a tiring day on the slopes. Also ready to rescue ski-boot-weary limbs are various types of sauna, an experience shower and a steam room.
The dining
The cosy restaurant may look like a simple chalet space, but the plates it puts out are pristine and almost too pretty to eat. Expect to try locally sourced trout, classics such as steak tartare and elevated takes on typical Austrian cuisine. The lounge is the perfect place to enjoy pre-dinner drinks beside the fire; and the wine cellar does a great job of championing Austrian wine – riesling fans should definitely book a tasting with the sommelier.
The extras
For an unforgettable Alpine experience – where, whatever the temperature, the waiters will serve you in lederhosen – meet the communal snowmobile (or horse-drawn carriage) and journey up through the frozen, pine-lined pathways (Elsa would love it here) to Gasthaus Älpele in the Zug Valley, where you’ll immediately be furnished with some warming gluhwein. You’ll soon be ushered inside the 300-year-old guesthouse, where things get even more toasty over fondue. The Austrian version is slightly less full-on than the French one (though you can order a rich cheese one if you wish), more like a hot-pot that simmers away on your table as you cook morsels of meat on colour-coded skewers. Surprisingly for such a remote, traditional restaurant (but perhaps not, since Lech prides itself on its gastronomy), vegans are well-catered to, as well.
Piste-side pitstops for unapologetically calorific lunches (since you’ll be burning it all off anyway) include Burg and Murmeli. At both, you’ll be able to try the iconic wiener schnitzel; and be sure to save space for some deconstructed (read: deliberately smashed up – there’s nothing pretentious here) cherry pancakes, AKA kaiserschmarrn.
Severin’s Lech, from £610 for a junior suite B&B.
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