Video: Steve Keenan's stays 2,880m up in the Italian Alps

SWITZERLAND

Klein Matterhorn, Zermatt
(planned to be 4,000m)

It’s not yet built but the Swiss resort of Zermatt has plans for Europe’s highest hotel on top of the Klein Matterhorn. The plan is to build a pyramid of glass and steel at an altitude of 4,000 metres. The peak is so exposed that it will have to use reinforced glass and be pressurized on the interior.

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Will it get built? There are enormous technical challenges and the environmentalists may well scupper it. If it does go ahead, the views will be unparalleled.

Riffelalp Resort, Zermatt
2,222m

Zermatt is crammed full of swish hotels with spectacular views but few have such a privileged location as the Riffelalp. This very traditional five-star property has recently rebranded itself as the Riffelalp Resort 2,222m to cash in on its lofty altitude.

Many Zermatt skiers know it as a prime spot for a sunny lunch but those wanting high mountain seclusion stay here overnight too. The hotel, which has unobstructed views of the Matterhorn from most rooms, is linked to Zermatt village by the Gornergrat railway, which runs through the night.

Double rooms start at £292 (CHF630) a night.

AUSTRIA

Top Hotel, Hochgurgl, Austria
2,150m

Hochgurgl might sound like a noise you make to clear your throat but it’s actually the highest part of Austria’s Obergurgl ski region, one of the country’s most snowsure resorts.

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