AUSTRIA
talent show and disco, which came complete with smoke machines and lasers. Special mention has to go to the Arula staff who not only welcomed us home with tea, cakes, champagne or whatever else our hearts desired, they also served dinners worth dressing up for in the magnificent dining room; made sure we took full advantage of the chalet’s quality wine cellar, and even paid attention to any special dietary requirements. It goes without saying that each chalet has its own hot tub on the deck with stunning views of the mountains all around. But Arula 1 goes quite a bit further with it’s SPA area which includes a 14m indoor pool and, not one, but two saunas (Finnish and Bio), as well as a steam bath, massage room and relaxing zone with salt stone walls and water beds: we particularly liked the latter. The food is sophisticated mountain style and the wine, generally Austrian but, as I mentioned, there’s a full cellar if you want to stretch your horizons. And the fun doesn’t stop once dinner is over. Obviously you can go straight to bed which, considering how cocoon-like the beds are, is not a bad option. However, most nights we chose to spin the evening out, spend time together or - equally possible in our enormous chalet - just do our own thing, and there are plenty of things to do, between the cinema room and the grand piano; mini-casino card tables and even shuffle board - an infuriating game in my opinion. The Arula Chalets are not cheap, but for a special occasion, or just the pleasure of spending time with your extended family, you could easily convince yourself it’s something you deserve. And since you’re paying for the combination of the spectacular Austrian alps in summer, as well as world class service and accommodation, I can’t help but agree.
Clockwise from top left: summer hiking; Forest Pool; The Arula Chalets
many hikers: Lech Zürs is also one of the most extensive hiking regions in the Alps. Naturally 350km of well marked trails attract some fairly serious types, and there’s no denying the potential to really stretch your legs. However, if you’re more of an amble and admire the meadows walker, there are plenty of shorter routes that work for kids, even without a marmot incentive. We found that one of the best ways to persuade the shorter legged of our family to stride out was a little light bribery in the form of a few of hours at the Forest Pool, just outside Lech village, where there’s a huge multi-lane slide, as well as kids’ pools, a beach volleyball court and ice cream sellers. If you’re less of a see-where-the-day-goes type of family, Arlberg Alpin in the centre of Lech will win you over with their bold, yet highly organised, adventures. My advice is start gentle with a spot of 3D archery - kids quickly get over how realistic the model deer look - and then progress to the likes of canyoning. Not as much of a leap as it sounds, five year olds rappel down waterfalls in Austria and live to tell the tale; we have seen them with our own eyes. One more unmissable, that’s made for older kids, is the walk-in Skyspace Lech installation, designed by James Turrell and opened in 2018. It’s just a short stroll from the village, and as otherworldly and contemplative as you’ve heard. If you haven’t heard that, go take a look. Although, no one would blame you if you never ventured much beyond Arula. We were guilty of that on more than one occasion, not that we were doing nothing. In fact wellness and fitness are a big deal at the chalets and all sorts of experiences can be arranged and personalised for you. Speaking of personalisation, Arula also teams up with the UK’s top family entertainers, Sharky & George, so kids have tailored activities too, only these ones make the most of Lech’s natural playground as well as all the chalet facilities. Chocolate making and treasure hunts were big hits with our children, and plenty good things were also said about the
the lowdown
HOW TO GET THERE Direct UK flights to Innsbruck from 1 hour, 55 minutes Innsbruck to Lech from 1 hour, 35 minutes WHERE TO STAY The Arula Chalets, Chalet 1 features 9 bedrooms and sleeps up to 22 guests Chalet 2 features 4 bedrooms and sleeps up to 8 guests thearulachalets.com GOOD TO KNOW lechzuers.com
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