Although most of the guests here are likely to be Viennese on quick mountain breaks, this hotel is also something of an architectural pilgrimage site for those with a fascination for 20th-century design. It's a late work by Alfred Loos, a private country home that was completed in 1930. It's been a hotel and run by the same family since 1959.
While it's spotless and very well maintained, little has changed and herein lies the charm. It's a fabulous time capsule of early-Modernist design. Each room is different, but all feature beautiful built-in furniture and interesting use of colour. The front rooms have lovely views of the valley and to the Alps beyond, but you can't really go wrong here. You can eat hearty Austrian standards in the central double height dining room or out on the terrace in summer. It's a few minutes up the hill from Reichenau an der Rax.
