Zurs

The chosen resort of the rich and fashionable on this side of the Arlberg, Zürs is little more than a collection of large and seriously plush hotels. Perched at 5,600 feet, it's strictly a winter-sports community; when the season is over, the hotels close. But Zürs is more exclusive than nearby Lech and even more fabulous, in an ultradiscreet fashion, than Gstaad or St. Moritz in Switzerland. Royalty and celebrities don't come here to promenade or to be seen. They come to enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle behind the often anodyne facade of their five-star hotel, and to ski on perfectly groomed slopes, anonymous in helmets and sunglasses. Full board is required in most hotels, so there are relatively few "public" restaurants in town and little chance to dine around. But the hotel dining rooms are elegant; in some, jacket and tie are required in the evening. High standards were always part of the history of Zürs—the hotel Zürserhof was built by the aristocratic hotelier Count Tattenbach in the 1920s, and the first ski lift in Austria was constructed here in 1937.