The Hotel Gotthard – Lech

Cheeky and I arrived late one evening at Zurich where we boarded our Mercedes carriage which proceeded to whisk us through the night, up to the Austrian Alps. As we neared our destination we could make out the towering peaks of the Arlberg mountains as the moon glistened softly off the snowy cloak of winter. We climbed and climbed, up through the winding Alpine roads until we reached the village of Zürs, where upon the road started to descend slowly to the little village of Lech am Arlberg. Not long after reaching the outskirts of Lech, our carriage pulled up outside the classically Austrian Hotel Gotthard. It was almost midnight and the village was at peace under its freshly laid blanket of snow; we were met by the night porter who lead us to our chamber and shortly after brought our travelling trunks. As late arrivals, some sustenance had been laid out in the form of cured meats, various local cheeses and wholesome home baked breads. We ate to satiate our hunger and laid our heads down to satiate our weariness, conceding to tiredness we let our minds drift off to dream of snowy peaks and pine clad slopes of the Arlberg.

The next morning we awoke, only leaving our snug bedchamber, for the promise of the generous breakfast, fit for Austrian royalty and the heavenly blue skies that awaited us outside. All that the heart might desire at this time of morning was catered for, with a plethora of breakfast baked goods to meats, cereals, juices and drinks to set one up for a day of Alpine antics whatever they were to be. The Gotthard Stube was a spacious and homely affair with warm timbers, cosy textiles and crisp white tablecloths. We started with good strong coffee to wake up the soul and bacon and eggs to strengthen the constitution. These were the perfect surroundings to start the day and bring oneself back from the land of nod; I do believe that the Gotthard has such a homely quality to it, due to the family that reside there and the history that they share with very building.