The Best Hotels Near RAU nature based cuisine, by the Record
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Lunz am See holds a minor meteorological distinction as the coldest spot in central Europe, which makes the case for a boutique hotel with working fireplaces and a heated outdoor pool rather compelling. Refugium Lunz sits on the church square in a house with vaulted stone archways and wood-beamed ceilings, kept by Vienna architects who clearly couldn't help themselves. The open kitchen bakes bread daily, bicycles and hiking gear are on hand, and the rooms are calm enough that doing nothing feels like a plan.
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A family-run hotel on a slender peninsula poking into Lake Traunsee, where some rooms let you step directly into the alpine water, which is either your idea of heaven or a very cold mistake. The Bootshaus restaurant handles Upper Austrian cuisine with floor-to-ceiling lake views doing most of the decorating. A panorama sauna overlooks the same water, and private lake access runs around the clock for those who treat swimming as a lifestyle.
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The glass-bottomed sky pool, hanging above the garden with underwater views down to the lawn, tells you everything about Hotel FREIGOLD's ambitions. This sleek boutique hotel in quiet Freistadt goes hard on contemporary design, warm wood rooms, metal-framed furniture, and a wellness area with a noticeably athletic edge. It holds a Michelin Key. Not the obvious choice for the region, which seems to be rather the point.