Alps: hotels with stubbornness
"The Cube" in Savognin (Graubünden)
© Cube-Hotels.comMagic cube made of glass
Does a hotel in the mountains look like this? The hall is flooded with light and huge, in the middle are white cubes with low tables, on the walls hanging flat screens, on which clips of snowboarders flicker. Where is the reception? A young, blonde woman smiles behind a counter on the side of the hall: Welcome to a new dimension of winter sports!
"The Cube" in the Swiss ski resort of Savognin is the hippest mountain hotel far and wide. In the afternoon, pierced guests crawl in the sofas and armchairs. You can talk, read and hang around everywhere in the hotel. A middle-aged man stares at his laptop and does not let himself be bothered by the chatter of two guys, who are wrapped in thick down jackets by their mother. A concrete ramp connects all floors and 76 rooms. Very handy for mountain bikers pushing their bikes up and stowing them up in the showrooms. Showroom? This is the narrow space between the glass wall and the actual room door, where all hotel residents deposit their clothes and utensils that they can not place in their minibars. Total transparency.
"The Cube" is right next to the valley station of the cable car. Under the chairlift, daring "Cube" guests test bizarre winter sports equipment, which they borrowed from the so-called New Technology Center. They run downhill on balses on airboards and unsure snowbikes on snow hills. Who likes it quiet, is wrong in the "Cube". It really only starts here at night, when the hotel turns into a club. From the outside, colored spotlights illuminate the cube of glass and metal, while in the basement, DJs turn night into day. On the weekend, up to 700 guests are on their feet, from all over the Swiss youth pilgrims to dance here. On the Playstations cool boys and styled girls wait for a seat, crowd around pinball boxes or scramble up the climbing wall. How beautiful relaxing, then falling asleep finally just listen to the stream under the window splashing through the snow!
Cube Savognin, Valley station Savognin Bergbahnen, CH-7460 Savognin, Tel. 00 41/81/659 14 14, Fax 659 14 15, www.cube-hotels.com; 3 days with half board and ski pass from approx. 360 Euro / person in a double room (including fitness and wellness area as well as club). Ski Area: 80 kilometers of slopes, easy to difficult; 32 kilometers of trails. Winter activities: 45 kilometers of winter hiking trails, nine kilometers of toboggan run, natural ice rink for curling and ice skating. Info: Savognin Tourism in Surses, Stradung, Ch-7460 Savognin, Tel. 00 41/816/59 1616, Fax 59 16 17, www.savognin.ch
"Hotel Mavida" in Zell am See (Salzburg)
In balance
Clear lines instead of folkloristic flourishes, total relaxation instead of yodelling, fine, light cuisine instead of dumplings, roast and gravy on the plate - with the usual rustic Alpine romance, this design hotel really has nothing in common. Only a year ago it opened. Hardly any pictures hang on the earth-colored or dark-red walls. Nothing should distract the guests from finding peace and balance in the whole house - and not just in the spa area. The entire facility is made of natural materials - such as oiled slate walls in the bathroom, larch wood and virgin wool carpets on the floor. The "Mavida" is a house in balance.
Hotel Mavida, Kirchenweg 11, A-5700 Zell am See, Tel. 00 43/65 42/54 10, Fax 567 60, www.mavida.at; DZ / HB from 145 Euro / person for a stay of 6 days. Ski Area: 132 kilometers of pistes, easy to difficult; in the Zell am See region 40 kilometers of trails. Winter activities: 25 kilometers of winter hiking trails, night toboggan run. Info: Europa-Sportregion Marketing, Brucker Bundesstr. 1a, A-5700 Zell am See, Tel. 00 43/65 42/770, Fax 720 32, www.europasportregion.info
"Hotel Castell" in Zuoz (Engadin)
The house of modern art
Like a castle towers the Gründerzeithaus on a hill high above the beautiful village of Zuoz. But the hotel does not rely on good, old tradition - but on modern art. Works by renowned artists hang on the walls, the Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist and the architect Gabrielle Hächler have designed the "red bar" of the restaurant. It is not surprising that many day visitors come to the hotel to take a look around in a free exhibition. At least once a season, during the so-called "Art Weekends", can you also meet the exhibiting artists? and even book exclusive dinners with one of them.
But even those who do not want to occupy themselves so thoroughly with the omnipresent art, can recover here, on the sunny side of the Inn Valley, wonderful: in the hammam, for example, or in a rock pool under the open sky - of course, designed by an artist.
Hotel Castell, Castell Zuoz, CH-7524 Zuoz, Tel. 00 41/81/851 52 53, Fax 851 52 54, www.hotelcastell.ch; DZ / F from about 180 euros. Ski Area: 17 kilometers of pistes, easy to difficult; 190 kilometers of trails. Winter activities: Toboggan run. Info: Tourism Information Zuoz, Via Maistra, CH-7524 Zuoz, Tel. 00 41/81/854 1510, Fax 854 33 34, www.topengadin.ch
"Sporthotel Teresa" in Pedraces (South Tyrol)
Living with Arne Jacobsen
What do the famous designers Arne Jacobsen and Philippe Starck have in common with rustic, ornate rustic cabinets and wood-paneled walls? This hotel - because here, at the foot of the mountain Kreuzkofel, cozy country house atmosphere is combined with a cool, stylish ambience. The generously equipped rooms of the four-star hotel all have a balcony overlooking the dreamy winter landscape in the Dolomites. If you really want to relax, warm up right after skiing in the hotel's Turkish steam room or sauna, relax in the relaxation area - or take a few comfortable laps through the pool.
Sporthotel Teresa, Strada Damez 64, I-39036 Pedraces / Val Badia, Tel. 00 39/04 71/83 96 23, Fax 83 98 23, www.sporthotelteresa.com; DZ / HP from 95 Euro per person from a stay of 3 days. Ski Area: 130 kilometers of pistes, mostly medium to light; 30 kilometers of trails. Winter activities: three toboggan runs, sleigh rides, winter hiking, curling and ice skating on the lake. Info: Pedraces Tourist Office, Pedraces 40, I-39036 Pedraces, Tel. 00 39/04 71/83 96 95, Fax 83 95 73, www.altabadia.org
Hotel "Lux Alpinae" in St. Anton (Tyrol)
A crystal clear thing
"Lux" means light in Latin, and light is everywhere in this house. In all 26 rooms is the complete south wall made of glass. If you can tear yourself away from the twelve-square-meter monitor into nature, for example, you can go to the spa and be massaged or go to the restaurant, which is considered one of the best in the area - and from there, too, on all sides into the mountains. The Viennese star architect Georg Driendl has planned this unusual hotel for the operators Sabine and Alexander Kertess. The architecture combines glass, metal and exposed concrete with wooden elements. The house is just five minutes from the many great ski slopes around the town of St. Anton on a slope. The guests sleep in minimalist design, some walls are made of rock.
Lux Alpinae, Arlbergstrasse 41, A-6580 St. Anton, Tel./Fax 00 43/54 46/301 08, www.luxalpinae.at; Double room / half board from 135 Euro per person. Ski Area: 276 kilometers of pistes, easy to difficult; 65 kilometers of trails. Winter activities: a toboggan run, 70 kilometers of winter hiking trails. Info: St. Anton am Arlberg Tourist Office, Dorfstraße 8, A-6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Tel. 00 43/54 46/226 90, Fax 25 32, www.stantonamarlberg.com
