Luxury ski chalets: The Chic Chalet Guide to luxury Chalet Aurelio, Lech, Austria

Chalet Aurelio
Lech, Austria
Sleeps - 20

From £57,400 exclusive chalet per week

Deluxe club-style chalet
owned by Russian billionaire

usp
Chalet Aurelio is part of a completely new beautifully chic ski and spa lodge built in Lech. It stands separately from the lodge but is linked via a subterranean tunnel, guaranteeing total privacy while at the same time easy access to the main hotel’s facilities. Perfect for corporates or big family gatherings.

location
Aurelio is right in the heart of Lech but set back above the main road, with a fabulous terrace and balconies affording views down across the village. It is also completely ski-in ski-out, located just beside the Schlegelkopf home run down into town.

style
The chalet feels very much like a rich man’s mountain pad, which is effectively what it is. Russian aluminium billionaire Oleg Deripaska wanted a base in Lech but was restricted from building or buying anything private by local laws, so saw a way round them by erecting a small hotel. The attached chalet is basically his own private chalet but is let out when available, and it is supremely stylish and opulent. The look is hugely tasteful modern mountain chic, with everything on a vast scale – enormous living room with giant overstuffed sofas, an immense chandelier, dining area with endless table and lots of space and a library. ^

rooms
There are six individually designed double bedrooms, two junior suites and one master suite, providing space for up to 20 people in total. Each is quite different but all are immaculately appointed and interior designed, with specially commissioned art, antique pieces mingling with super-modern pieces, spacious balconies with breathtaking views, wifi and multimedia entertainment centre. The feel is modern chic bright and light, with bleached wooden walls, and pure white, cream and beige colour schemes. Some of the bathrooms have a cool alpine feel, incorporating light coloured tiling and wall-covering mirrors, and others have a warmer, cabin feel, with wooden walls and marble finishes. ^

food & drink
The food at Aurelio is exquisite. Chalet guests can dine in the main hotel’s fine dining restaurant, which offers a full à la carte menu of traditional and modern Austrian specialities as well as international dishes, or else have their own dedicated in-chalet chef. Meals can be literally anything – the guests simply name what they would like, and it will appear. ^

The drink is top drawer too; the hotel has an exclusive wine list that offers several rare and vintage labels, and the house champagne is Laurent Perrier, while the cellar is also home to an excellent range of aged brandies and Armagnacs, some more than 100 years old. ^

service
Service is lavish at Aurelio. The hotel itself only sleeps 20 people, and the staff to guest ratio is extremely high, meaning that you feel pampered and fully attended to at every turn. ^

spa facilities
This is a world class, 5 star property, and the spa is out of this world. Chalet guests can use the main hotel spa with its 23m pool with light and sound therapy, herbal bionic sauna, whirlpool, aroma steam room, extensive thermal suite and tranquil meditation centre in front of an open fire. But the chalet also has its very own private Club spa too, consisting of a beautiful, 18m long indoor pool, a Finnish sauna, a steam bath, a Jacuzzi, a diving pond, two treatment rooms and a relaxation area. The products used in the wide range of treatments on offer in both include exquisite Ligne St Barth and Valmont. ^

children
Despite being an extremely smart property, the chalet could happily accommodate children as easily as business folk on a corporate trip. It may be a little grand, but it offers early dinners and special kids’ menus, as well as dedicated kids’ playroom with their very own home cinema. ^

extras
There is a library that holds an impressive collection of more than 1,000 international books and illustrations. Each bedroom has its own flatscreen TV and newest technology entertainment centres, while the bathrooms are designer and award winning. ^

for skiers
The chalet and hotel work with all the ski schools in Lech, Oberlech and Zurs. The hotel’s front office team choose the appropriate ski guide or instructor for each guest, finding the right person for each age group, ability or language. ^

for non skiers
The hotel can help guests with any other activity besides skiing, from snowshoeing to cross country skiing, tobogganing, ice skating, and tennis. Personalised fitness training can be arranged too, as well as horse drawn sleigh rides. ^

best thing
The spa and the ski-in ski-out location. ^

worst thing
The perfection – you feel you can’t really mess anywhere up. ^

getting there
The nearest airport is Innsbruck, which is two hours away, while Zurich is probably the second best, at two hours 30 minutes. The chalet can arrange transfers, either via the handy Arlberg Express coach service or private helicopter. ^

bottom line
The chalet can be booked for private rental, starting at £57,400, or can be booked on a room by room basis if it has not been booked exclusively and if the hotel is full. The price is inclusive of breakfast, tea-time and a 5 course dinner menu, butler-service, plus free access to the private Club spa although no treatments are included. ^

bookings & enquiries
If you would like to make an enquiry or a booking, please email enquiries at chicchaletguide.co.uk. Remember, we have visited all the chalets we feature so can give you totally unbiased, independent advice on all of them. The prices we quote are also the list prices quoted by the chalets themselves, so there is no advantage in going to the chalets direct.

Scores out
of ten

Chalet - 10
Service - 10
Room - 10
Food & Drink - 9
Luxury - 10