Cool openings

A FRESH CROP OF SUPER-STYLISH ALPINE HOTEL HAS SPRUNG UP, WITH SLICK BARS, GOURMET RESTAURANTS AND ACCESS TO THE VERY BEST SLOPES

Lockdown didn’t shut down hotel construction in the Alps; in most cases, it simply provided enough time and space to get on with it properly. Now, the result is a bevy of uber-stylish ski accommodation with bars and restaurants to match. Five-star M Lodge brings some buzz to St Martin de Belleville, a quiet satellite village to France’s Trois Vallees, the world’s biggest ski area. Opening in December 2022 with 25 rooms and a showstopping 50ft swimming pool set in a sleek spa, its Table du M Lodge restaurant promises to be a major attraction. Revier Mountain Lodge, in Austria’s Montafon, has a different vibe. Opened last season, the fifth in Revier’s fuss-free hotels franchise is set in St Gallenkirch’s new gondola base station. It’s a wonderland of stone and glass with a feet-on-sofa ambiance. Rooms range from Smart Cabins — little more than a bed, TV and huge window — to five-bed bunk Team Cabins.

With skiers once again planning long haul trips, Desolation Hotel, in California’s Lake Tahoe is a tempting new ‘micro-resort’ in timber. Set among the pines, it opened this summer, looking as if it had dropped in from pioneer-era Yellowstone National Park, while inside, the studios, town homes and suites are chic with Nordic and Japanese-tinged design. Named after nearby Desolation Wilderness, it’s a brief stroll from the gondola linking Tahoe with Heavenly Mountain Resort.

M Lodge: Doubles from €400 (£350) per night, B&B. mlodge.fr; The Revier Mountain Lodge: Smart Cabin from €99 (£84) per night, sleeping two, room only. montafon.revierhotels.com; Desolation Hotel: Doubles from $399 (£335), room only. desolationhotel.com

From top: M Lodge pool; Grand Hotel Cervino bar; Hotel Eringer twin room