Severins The Alpine Retreat

The smoke filled our room repeatedly, and the staff’s response made a terrible Christmas stay even worse. On the afternoon after we arrived, I noticed a strong smell. We were trying to nap, but we both started coughing and our eyes streamed. The manager came down and kept saying he couldn’t smell anything, without apologising. I had to go out onto the freezing balcony in my robe to show him the smell was coming from outside. We left the windows open for dinner and slept with them open too. The next afternoon it happened again. I called Mark, the manager, and got the same response. We were annoyed that they hadn’t moved us to another room. We slept with the windows open again, and the following morning my husband woke up sick from the cold. On day three, smoke came into the room once more. I found it was coming from the large fireplace in the library and asked them not to light it, but they ignored me and kept it going. By the next days I was sick too, and the smoke was so bad that the cleaning lady said she couldn’t stay in the room for more than five minutes. Only after she said that did they believe us and offer a new room. By then our clothes stank of smoke and we were both ill and furious. We chose this hotel for Christmas because we know Lech well and love the resort. We arrived on the 20th, and all week breakfast and dinner were either just us or us and one other family. The place seemed empty and lifeless during what should have been a busy time. It felt unloved, badly managed, and wildly overpriced, with no one seeming to be in charge. The inexperienced staff chatted among themselves. Any four-star hotel in Lech has more to offer. Avoid this place. They ruined our Christmas.

The restaurant was good and the food excellent, but for 1700 euros a night the value was nowhere near what we expected. Wine and champagne bottles were priced at around three times their real value. This is a tiny hotel, not a nightclub. Our room was far too warm and had no temperature control. Cleanliness also fell short for the price, with dust on the headboard and what looked like a gym floor cleaned only once a month. The staff seemed stressed and couldn’t fix basic problems with the speakers or Netflix, both advertised amenities. Neither worked at all. Within half a minute of entering, we found what looked like an ecstasy pill on the floor, which was alarming. Five days later, staff told us it was actually a sleeping pill, but that was still unacceptable for a hotel of this standard. The location is lovely, but compared with other luxury hotels we’ve stayed in, this was poor value. We wouldn’t return.

It’s a traditionally built alpine chalet with modern furnishings, and the three-course dinner for two was beautifully presented, with modern dishes. The place felt a little empty and soulless. At about €100 per person, it’s not a value pick, but could suit someone after a high-end meal a little outside town.

The service is breathtaking, and the hotel is among the very best I’ve experienced. It’s rare to find somewhere so thoughtful, refined, and well designed.