HOTEL AWARDS


REVAMPED HOTEL


These established beauties have been given a new lease of life thanks to recent works


Badeschloss Austria There was nothing particularly


wrong with this palatial 18th-century bathhouse, where German Emperor Wilhelm I used to enjoy the thermal waters of Bad Gastein. But its location at the base of Graukogel mountain in the Austrian Alps deserved to be maximised. A dynamic revamp by Viennese architects BWM has done the trick, transforming it into a red-hot retreat with an eyrie-like spa. Its 13-storey concrete addition has brought the room total to 102, and all are designed in candy colours with bathhouse accents like aqua tiling, pool ladders, private saunas and deep tubs you can practically swim in. The icing on this cake is the rooftop heated pool atop three floors of saunas and treatment rooms. Floating here with a direct sightline to Graukogel’s 8,200ft peak, backed by a sound- track from the frothy Gasteiner waterfall, is the region’s most satisfying year-round sport. From €182 (£155), B&B. travelcharme.com EH


Runners-up THE LAFAYETTE HOTEL & CLUB, US Maximalists rejoice — your spiritual home awaits at this San Diego establishment. Originally built in 1946, this grande dame was beloved by film stars during its mid-century heyday, hosting the likes of Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra. After a major revamp, its blockbuster vision of old-school glitz has been revived. Many of the 139 guest rooms now come with lavishly draped canopy beds, there’s a 1940s-style diner and a dark, moody Oaxacan-inspired restaurant, while down at the pool, guests can recline on leopard-print loungers under tasselled umbrellas. From $228 (£175). lafayettehotelsd.com ZG


HOTEL LAS BALSAS, ARGENTINA In a secluded spot enveloped by native Patagonian forest, Hotel Las Balsas’s 10 new ‘rustic luxury’ Lakeview Villas gaze across the glacial waters of Lago Nahuel Huapi to a precipitous Andean range. Raised on stilts, with wall-sized windows and private balconies, these eye-catching glass-and-wood structures immerse guests in the dramatic landscapes of the Argentine Lake District without stinting on comfort — as befitting a hotel with both B Corp certification and Relais & Châteaux membership. Villas from US$712 (£545); doubles from US$262 (£200), B&B. lasbalsas.com SM


172 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL


IMAGES: ARNE NAGEL; ANNA MALMBERG


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