Q! Hotel Maria Theresia

The Austrians aren’t about to throw out centuries of Alpine-lodge expertise just because the world’s gone nuts for high-design boutique hotels. Much better simply to subtly modernize the typical old lodges — in the case of Q! Hotel Maria Theresia, right in the heart of the village of Kitzbühel, this means injecting a bit of dramatic, dark-toned contemporary cool, while retaining just enough classic Alpine kitsch to keep the place from losing touch with its personality.

It’s the sister hotel to the Q! Resort Health & Spa, and it’s very much the boutique sister to the Resort’s, well, resort — here the nightlife is emphasized at the expense of the whole wellness vibe, and if the crowd skews just a touch younger it’s no great surprise. The rooms are a bit closer to their original state than the lobby is, more dolled-up lodge than design-temple boutique; they’re charming, and not unstylish either.

The location, too, is perhaps better for nightlife than the Health & Spa, right in the middle of the village as it is. And needless to say you’re ideally placed to ski either Kitzbühler Horn or Hahnenkamm, as the mood strikes you; the latter is a World Cup site, featuring some extremely famous terrain.