Hotel Castle Seefels, Carinthia

Location: Wörthersee
Water temperature: 23 to 25 °C in summer

© Hotel Schloss Seefels/Daniel Waschnig Photography

Hoteliére Helena Ramsbacher has created an extraordinary place with Hotel Schloss Seefels. Because here 120 employees take care of just as many guests. So it's clear that the service is impeccable. What's more, all the rooms and suites exude their own unique style. With precious fabrics and carefully selected designer pieces, they enchant guests. The Seefels spa pampers on all levels. Those who like can swim in the clear waters of Lake Wörthersee or go to the lakeside pool. It's heated and can be used all year round. The hotel also features numerous works of art. And the cuisine? It's simply divine! One of the chicest hotels with lake access in the country.

Hotel Schloss Seefels
Töschling 1, 9212 Techelsberg near Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Carinthia, Austria
Tel: +43 4272 2377
Web: seefels.at
Price: Doubles from € 330

Seehotel am Kaiserstrand, Vorarlberg

Location: Lake Constance
Water temperature: 25 °C in summer

© Seehotel on the Kaiserstrand

The Seehotel am Kaiserstrand scores not only as a hotel with lake access, but also with new management and acomplete facelift: one year lasted the conversion phase for the house with the iconic facade. Behind the castle-like battlements, bay windows and gables now hide a spa with a variety of wellness offers, gym, saunas and a heated pool. The 102 rooms have beautiful views of Lake Constance. From the bathhouse you can jump directly into its waters. And if you want to go to the Bregenz Festival, you can use the hotel's own motorboat.

Seehotel am Kaiserstrand
Am Kaiserstrand 1, 6911 Lochau, Vorarlberg, Austria
Tel: +43 5574 58111
Web: kaiserstrand.at
Price: Doubles from € 315

Hotel Hochschober, Carinthia

Location: Turracher See
Water temperature: 21 °C

© Hotel Hochschober/Lukas Ilgner

If you long for the original literal sense of summer retreat, then the Hotel Hochschober on the Turracher Höhe is the right place for you. Because high mountains tower around the modern wellness hotel. Clear air flows into the lungs. Lake Turrach refreshes even in high summer. A few degrees warmer you swim in the See-Bad, the pool in the lake. A 5,000 square meters large wellness area including Hamam, finest Alpe-Adria cuisine and many opportunities to get active are convincing. Also top: The peace and quiet!

Hotel Hochschober
Turracherhöhe 5, 9565 Turracherhöhe, Carinthia, Austria
Tel: +43 4275 8213
Web: hochschober.com
Price: Doubles from € 415

Hotel Post am See, Upper Austria

Location: Traunsee
Water temperature: 20 °C in summer

© traunseehotels.at/Christof Wagner

The beautiful and traditional hotel of the Gröller family is on a peninsula jutting out into the Traunsee, right in the heart of the legendary Salzkammergut. For three generations, the Gröllers have taken care of their patrons with a lot of heart and soul. Their attic lofts and suites as well as their rooftop sauna are considered highlights. They almost outshine the sparkle of the crystal-clear lake. The leisure options around Lake Traunsee are also impressive. Even so, be sure to be back at the hotel by dinner time at the Poststube 1327 - a modern Austrian tavern with a leafy garden!

Hotel Post am See
Ortsplatz 5, 4801 Traunkirchen, Upper Austria, Austria
Tel.: +43 7617 2307
Web: hotel-post-traunkirchen.at
Price: double room from approx. € 229,- per night

NILS on the lake, Burgenland

Location: Lake Neusiedl
Water temperature: 27 °C

© Alex Lang/ alexlangphoto.com

Lake Neusiedl, the (tropical) Sea of the Viennese, stretches from the easternmost province of Austria to Hungary. It's famous for its unusually rich flora and fauna. And its location in one of the best wine-growing regions of the country. What could be more fitting than to treat it to a chic new boutique hotel? The NILS am See is one of those lake-access hotels that combines tranquility, design and indulgence with almost mediterranean dolce vita. 65 rooms, a heated pool, extremely friendly concept and top location (only 50 minutes from Vienna!) convince you to enjoy your stay.

NILS on the lake
Seepark vacation village, 1, 7121 municipality of Weiden am See
Web: nilsamsee.at
Tel: +43 2167 434340
Price: Doubles from € 195