The Alpina Gstaad Hotel

Switzerland

Nestled unobtrusively between snow-capped Swiss mountains, you’ll be hard-pressed to find Gstaad’s youngest high-altitude escape between its grand dame hotels. Blending into the chocolate-box streets with an ostensibly traditional exterior, the understated luxury is revealed when you drive into the cavernous basement lobby that’s more Bond-lair than die Berge. Popular with well-heeled Genevans – and ski spot du jour for discreet European one-per-centers – this slick hotel disguises 56 suites behind geranium-laden balconies. A gallery’s worth of modern art hangs on walls hewn from local stone, while suites are furnished with folk art and regional antiques, plus beds the size of cow troughs. There’s a Six Senses Spa and two Michelin-starred restaurants, too. Days start with the delicate chimes of cow bells and, depending on the season, are spent skiing over the 60 nearby slopes or hiking through meadows. Don’t worry if you didn’t pack snow shoes: snuggling beside your own glass-fronted fire is the closest most get to the slopes.

Words by Lucy Kehoe.

Doubles from £665. thealpinagstaad.ch