Exploring the ski resort loved by Austrians – and alpacas

I’m not surprised when I’m reminded Lech is where Princess Diana skied. And I’m not allowed to name the quintessentially British film star who stayed recently, but it’s easy to imagine him being perfectly at home here. Being neither megastar nor megabucks, I find myself suffering a little from imposter syndrome in such environments, but once the goggles are on and you take to the slopes, we’re all equal according to our ability; and Lech definitely has something to appeal to all those abilities, from baby slopes to heliskiing.

The resort also receives more snow than St Anton – a fact underlined by the torrential rain as we drive through it, which turned to a blizzard only when we climbed the road towards Lech. Getting there generally is a cinch; a 90-minute flight to Innsbruck and then, thanks to an extensive tunnel system bored through the Alps, another 90 minutes by car on fast roads. Lech is an extensive town, but its nightlife is mostly restricted to restaurants and hotels – a relief for anyone who’s grown out of dancing on tables at St Anton’s Krazy Kanguruh.

Most of Lech’s pistes are intermediate grade, with a preponderance of blues and reds, although some blue runs into the village are steep and not for the nervous. Lech is part of the linked Ski Arlberg system, whose pass (€75 a day) covers a vast area. On a previous trip, I’d skied the 22km White Ring trail, which takes in the neighbouring resorts of Zurs and Zug and is easily achievable by an intermediate skier.

When I visit in January, I find metres of snow, in some places as light as icing sugar, while in shadier spots it’s heavier and tests my carving skills as we zip through a landscape dotted with Christmas trees. Our guide Horst tells us how the resort has changed, with more visitors from Korea, the Middle East and South America seeking it out but staying shorter durations than the Brits, who still outnumber every other nationality. His colleague was due to coach a Belgian princess the week after we left, Horst tells me. Even Lech, though, has acknowledged skiing is not cheap and recently ran a day offering €25 tickets for families.

My accommodation for the trip, Chalet Mimi, is just above Oberlech, which itself stares aloofly down on Lech 200 metres below and is a lot quieter. You simply open the chalet’s garden gate and slip down a gentle gradient to a button lift.

The property is part of Pepper Collection – the clue is in the name – with the aforementioned Axel Pfefferkorn founding the brand after a regular guest at the Aurelio asked him to manage his own chalet in 2018. Now there are six chalets and three hotels; there are more queuing up, but he’s choosy.

“We get a lot of people approach us. [The property] should be among the best in its line; the best hotel, the best apartment, but first of all it’s about the owner,” he says.

If Pfefferkorn let his alpacas loose in Chalet Mimi, he’d struggle to round them up. It’s a vast 830 square metres over five floors sleeping eight adults and six children. We enter through a Bond-villain style sliding door that reveals a stable of vehicles including the Premier League footballers’ favourite, a Mercedes G Class, plus the chalet’s own snow plough.

We’re led along a grey concrete subterranean corridor into an industrial-sized lift. It opens and there’s an immediate contrast of homely light pine decor with the main south-facing lounge (one of several to choose from) flooded with light. Two young men, both disconcertedly called Mauritz, appear, who will be our butlers. It’s tempting to think they are AI-generated, but they turn out to be real.

My infrequent experience of butlers always puts me on edge, but to my relief, the gilet-wearing genial duo are most un-butler like and put us all at ease. They’re available 24/7 if needed, as is a driver, should we wish to relive those St Anton days. One of my fellow journalists is from Hello! Magazine, but exhausted from skiing, even they don’t fancy the idea of celeb and royal spotting out and about, and we prove low-maintenance, taking to bed early without demanding after-club snacks of venison stuffed with truffle at 4am.

We did venture out for a night to sample dinner at The Barn, the newest seven-bedroom chalet in the collection since launching in December. It is next to Chalet Mimi, and like the others, just a short drive from Aurelio. There’s almost no other reason to leave Chalet Mimi of an evening, particularly when you see its spa, where the 14-metre granite pool’s green lighting gives a grotto vibe. I soon settle into a post-ski sauna, steam room, shower and pool circuit before slipping into the outdoor hot tub; treatments can also be had using products from Pepper Collection’s new spa partner, Dreem Distillery.

Mimi is a half-board set-up, and the cuisine its crowning glory. Old Austrian staples of kaese spaetzle (German macaroni cheese) or wiener schnitzel are there, but it’s wise to let head chef Toni Urban rip, as he and his team love to do. Think many courses of fine dining small plates; with presentation and flavours that are simply breath-taking.

Chef Toni likes to collect his own fresh ingredients from the surrounding fields in summer, but if Pepper Collection told me they trained bears or wolves to forage for them, I would probably believe them. Given their amazing grazing skills and considerable patch, perhaps that’s what the alpacas are really there for.

How to book it

Rates at The Pepper Collection’s Hotel Aurelio start from €880 per night (half-board) and Chalet Mimi costs from €7,950 per night (half board).