Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Luxury hotels

27th August 2009, by Chris Gill

This Zermatt hotel is pretty luxurious

Can you luxuriate in a room composed mainly of pale hardwood, slate, steel and glass? It’s a question we find ourselves asking with increasing frequency as we find ourselves billeted in what are called (in some parts of the Alps) design-hotels – probably better known in the English-speaking universe as hip hotels. The answer we find ourselves giving is generally ‘Yes’, and now that the breed is becoming more widespread we’re planning to take more of an interest in it – look out for developments in the book next year. For the moment, some pointers to notable places are included below.

One of the reasons stark, shiny surroundings can be luxurious is that a key component of luxury in lodgings is space, and cool design with minimal clutter tends to make the most of whatever space is available. Hotels in general are more spacious than chalets and apartments, giving them a head start in competition with those forms of lodging. Hotels may not offer the privacy of your own chalet or apartment, but in other respects – service, food, facilities – the best of the breed take some beating.

No one who has an appetite for luxurious ski hotels (and an inclination towards letting a tour operator make the arrangements) should fail to get hold of a copy of the Inghams Ski Luxury brochure, containing scores of difficult-to-resist places in North America and the Alps (plus a handful elsewhere – Andorra and Norway, for example).

If you like to be guided by star ratings when comparing hotels – and there is no doubt the system offers a useful short cut, whatever its imperfections – you’ll be pleased to hear that the French now do five stars, instead of topping off their range with the ‘4-star luxe’ category. In a coup that doubtless enraged top hotel managers elsewhere in France, Courchevel managed to get six of its top hotels included in the initial batch of a dozen 5-stars announced in June.

Hip hotels

The Madlein in Ischgl claims to have been the first ‘design-hotel’ in the Alps, and Austria does seem to be setting the pace. Last season we greatly enjoyed staying at the Sonne Lifestyle in Mellau (in the Vorarlberg-Bregenzerwald region) and at the Josl in Obergurgl – completely rebuilt in 2006, with modish glass walls to the bathrooms and so on. The top floor is given over to spa facilities including relaxing areas with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Spas are often a key feature of these cool new hotels, and nowhere more so than in the award-winning Mavida Balance hotel in Zell am See; in the same resort is another cool place, Living Hotel Max. It probably sounds better in German.

Zermatt in Switzerland is something of an Alpine design hot spot, partly due to the influence of artist/designer Heinz Julen. The glass-walled Matterhorn Focus is one of his projects. He also played a part in the precursor of the key hip hotel, the Omnia, perched on a rock above the village. At Laax, the resort formerly known as Flims, the big new Rocksresort development incorporates the very cool hotel Signina. In sleepy old Andermatt, the delectable Riverhouse has made great modern use of a substantial 18th century house. The 100-year old Belvedere in Grindelwald is not really cool, but has hip touches such as an outdoor salt-water hot tub, and a ‘pillow bar’ offering seven different types of pillow.

French resort hotels are not renowned for cutting-edge design. Two exceptions in Courchevel are the swanky Mélézin in 1850 and the much more modest but very stylish Seizena in 1650. In Tignes, the Ski d’Or is more than averagely cool.

We’ve spotted precious few hip places in Italy. One is the hotel Nives in Selva – this is a stylish offshoot of the very well run hotel Linder, so we have high expectations. On our next visit to Andorra we’ll be keen to check out the Palomé in Arinsal (of all places).

Personal favourites

Many of my favourite hotels are in Italy, where they manage to achieve a great blend of comfort and service with informality. The Rosa Alpina, in San Cassiano, in the Dolomites, offers a great combination of relaxed ambience, well-furnished rooms and superb food. At Champoluc in the Monterosa area, the Breithorn is a beautifully furnished, welcoming place – all wooden beams and panelling – with a choice of excellent restaurants. UK operator Ski 2 can fix a holiday in these and other compelling places.

In Switzerland, you can keep the glitz of St Moritz. I’ll settle for the Alpina in Klosters, or the peaceful Chalet d’Adrien in Verbier. In Zermatt, take me to the impeccable Riffelalp, up the mountain.

In Austria, luxury generally comes with a softening rustic edge. Lech and neighbouring Zürs are the leaders. They offer an exceptional six 5-star places – but there is also a handsome range of 4-star options, both in the main village and up at Oberlech – check out our Lech chapter (which covers Zürs). Over the hill in St Christoph are the very welcoming Maiensee and the historic Hospiz.

In France, Courchevel’s raft of 5-star places (explained above) leave me cold. Megève, where the old money still goes, excels in the rustic chic that seems to elude Courchevel – places like the Chalet du Mont d’Arbois, Fer à Cheval and Ferme Hôtel Duvillard come close to perfection. In Méribel, the Grand-Coeur, Altiport and three-star Allodis vie for editorial affections. In Val d’Isère the Barmes de l’Ours is very compelling, although the more central Christiania and Blizzard have attractions.

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