Hotel Madlein

Hotel description

Hard to believe, but once upon a time the Alps were considered an eyesore, a terrifying no-man's land populated with dragons, forming an impenetrable barrier between the north of Italy and the rest of the continent. But all that had changed by the time a visiting Norwegian brought his skis to Davos, then a haven for recovering consumptives. It didn't take long for skiing to catch on among the wealthy vacationers - and so the modern Alps were born.

The resort of Ischgl is the largest in the Silveretta mountains, in the Austrian Tirol. The Silverettas are a bit of a “best-kept secret,” not well-known outside of Europe, and thus the area feels all the more authentically Austrian. But there is nothing traditional about Hotel Madlein, unless there is a long-standing Austrian Zen Buddhist tradition that we are not aware of.

This is no quaint, old-fashioned ski lodge. It is, in fact, a shockingly modern hotel, comparable in style and atmosphere to any European capital's most fashionable little boutique. It just happens to be halfway up a mountain, and a mere hundred meters from the ski slopes. It does, in fact have a Zen Garden, complete with raked pebbles and miniature trees; it also has what is purported to be the Alps' hottest nightspot, Pacha, featuring entertainment on par with that in any club in Vienna or Berlin.

The guest rooms vary from the slightly Spartan standard rooms, to the more traditional Luxury rooms, to the Designer rooms, the picture perfect Zen-minimal modern hotel rooms, with contemporary artworks and the inevitable Philippe Starck bathrooms, fully visible from the bed. Public spaces include the Fire Room, where guests sit on the cushioned floor and enjoy the silence, and the Wunder Bar, where it is possible to have a drink without venturing into the disco.

And did we mention there is skiing? The hotel, naturally, is a bit more densely populated during the ski season, and the constant physical exertion coupled with the heightened effects of alcohol in the thin mountain air can induce the most conservative guests to forget themselves amid the hedonism of Pacha.

But as anyone from the mountain country will tell you, there is plenty to do in the off-season, when the slopes are green. Prices come down (though this is not an expensive hotel at the height of winter) and the bright Alpine sun turns the valleys into a summer wonderland. Come in the winter to ski, to be sure; but come back in the summer, as you just might have the run of the place.