A game of “either/or” I often play with a friend is: “Butler, chef or chauffeur?” (We’ve moved on from the crushes of our teenage years.) With busy lives and a fair few children between us, the fantasy of outsourcing any part of our lives — especially the mental load — is a thrilling one. So when an email landed in my inbox asking if I wanted to visit The Arula Chalets in Austria with all three, the only question to flash through my mind was: how fast I could get out there?
The two ski-in, ski-out private Arula Chalets are nestled in the Austrian Arlberg Mountain range, in Lech, a two-hour drive from Zurich Airport — with a heliport close by. The Austrian Alps are famous for their snowy slopes but they’re now drawing year-round visitors; last year, 47 million people came to ski, but also for summer hikes, swimming in crystalline lakes and rafting through mountain rivers.
As my driver wound higher into the mountains after a turbulent plane ride, I was hit with a hefty dose of Heidi-nostalgia. My nervous system started to soften. Pulling into a hidden underground car park I was led to the chalets themselves, which have been beautifully realised by London-based 2AM designs.
Along with the 24/7 hospitality and twice-daily housekeeping, the chalets come with their own ski rooms, a private ice rink, cinema rooms, saunas, outdoor hot tubs and swimming pool, as well as a spa therapist. My en suite opened out into the most majestic Alpine panorama; lush, green mountains, sprinkled with wildflowers.
After a gourmet welcome Austrian-style supper cooked by Viola the Chef, which was delivered to me by an unassuming yet handsome butler, I retired to my room. I was just beginning to unwind when I realised I’d left my plug adapter at home. Cue, internal panic. My mobile had a perilously low battery. What about the children back in London? What if there was a crisis? The precious calm that had flooded over me since my arrival started to seep away, until my gaze landed on a sign with the number of the 24/7 concierge. I duly typed up a WhatsApp peppered with the requisite apologies, shut my eyes and pressed send.
“Sure. I’ll be there in a second,” came the instant response from Patrick, the chalet’s sommelier and service manager. And so he was, with a reassuring smile on his face. When I realised Patrick had everything in hand including said adapter, I allowed myself, finally, to breathe deeply.
What followed was the most magical few days at Arula Chalets, where everything unfolded effortlessly. “I’m like a ghost. Everywhere but not seen,” Patrick laughed, and this also went for the 18-strong team behind the scenes.
My days were spent on gentle, wholesome activities; morning yoga, a class on how to make soothing ointments with Alpine-foraged plants and herbs, and watching 1990s throwback films.
One afternoon, I ventured out of Arula to hike around Lake Formarinsee, which was once voted the most beautiful place in Austria. The air was refreshingly clear. Overladen with the rhythmic chime of cowbells, it was a total mental recalibration, and it was only later I realised not a soul I’d passed, young or old, had their mobile phones out. Apart from, well, me (note to self…).
Back at the chalet, the activity of the day was tempered by a soothing massage in one of the Arula spa rooms followed by a sauna, after which I found myself by the pool, where even the water felt like velvet. Later, I ask Patrick which celebrities have visited the chalets.
“People don’t come here to be seen,” he smiles discreetly. “But they do come to feel safe, at home and comfortable.” He looks down at my feet. “See?” he nods at the slippers I’m wearing and the deliciously cosy dressing gown. “Just like home,” he says. My mind flickers back to the towers of laundry and empty freezer back in London. Well, um, not quite. But I get his drift.
By the time I left The Arula Chalets, I’d had a complete reset — a tailored detox from the frazzle of urban living without so much as a vitamin IV drip in sight. As for butler, chef or chauffeur? Turns out the real luxury was never having to choose.
Price available on request. thearulachalets.com
