Rote Wand

Class: First

Style: Modern design

Rooms: 12

Tucked away high in the mountain state of Vorarlberg, Austria’s westernmost state, is the resort village of Lech am Arlberg, which is that most unusual variety of ski town: it’s actually a proper town, founded not during the 20th-century ski boom but by Swiss migrants during the 14th century. And here you’ll find a most unusual resort inn, the Gasthof Rote Wand — a classic centuries-old Alpine inn, which beneath its absolutely traditional surface has been cleverly modernized, renovated in a light, contemporary style. Instead of heavy timbers the rooms are minimalist, in white Austrian maple, simply furnished and well-lit by the sun. The 1,500-square-meter spa is a new addition, offering a Finnish-style outdoor sauna, a steam grotto, and an indoor-outdoor pool — even in winter the water is warm enough for an outdoor swim. There’s a fitness center, to suit the Rote Wand’s active clientele, and massage, just the thing to recover from a day on the slopes. The restaurant, open during the winter, serves a fresh and modern Austrian cuisine. Along with its sister resort of Zürs, Lech offers some of the finest skiing in Europe — and in the summer this bucolic landscape, dotted with grazing cows, is about as picturesque as it gets.