There is something special about the Burg. We discovered it three years ago and have managed to sneak a family ski break there each year since.
This is not the cheapest place in the Arlberg - particularly if you have the misfortune to be stretching your Brexit pound - but there’s a reason: you will struggle to stay anywhere more authentic and convenient for top-class skiing: it is literally on the piste, in the car-free hamlet of Oberlech. An ingenious tunnel system keeps the usual clutter of vehicles and servicing entirely hidden. The hotel sits with a few others in a peaceful alpine idyll above Lech. A dedicated gondola service silently glides to and from the valley below.
The Burg has a luxurious hunting lodge style to it. It has all the requisite, in a slightly quirky alpine decor; design hotel this is not. But that’s the point: it’s all very Austrian. They have a wide choice of room layouts, many being suites, which suit different family sizes. And it is something of a Tardis, each time we have stayed we have found new bits.
The Lucian family are always visible managing their hotel, and this rubs off on the staff who are all friendly and really care. On our latest trip, our daughter left her washbag behind. We assumed it lost until, a week after we returned, it arrived, unsolicited, in the post. Superb service.
A particular highlight is the open-air mirrorball-equipped bar out front, run by Head Barman Oliver Kaiser, who, with Tyrolean hat and bottoms-up whistle, is a legend. Of course, you don’t need to stay at the hotel to make use of the bar. But there is something quite special about enjoying an hour or two of Burgbar après - your eyes will quickly be out on stalks people watching in Lech - before slipping back inside to the tranquillity and comforts of the Burg proper.
