The Place
A century ago, travellers agreed that if you stop in Liechtenstein, you have to stay at the Lowen. Thanks to careful and expensive restoration, that advice holds true again. This is, perhaps, the oldest inn in the country, having stood on the main road between Germany and Italy since medieval days. Now it is almost a living museum. ‘The poet, Goethe, ate badly here but we have changed the chef’, quipped Fritz Gantenbein as he pointed out the 400-year-old fresco in the dining room, the intricately-painted ceiling that renovations uncovered in the elegant Johannes-Stube, and the tale of the Niebelungen carved into the panelling of the Lucretia-Stube.
White walls and parquet floors provide a simple backdrop for antiques and oriental carpets. On one floor, bedrooms are named after women, on another for men; many have matching massive carved wooden beds and armoires.
Bathrooms are magnificently modern with plush towels, white-marble and excellent lighting. Rooms overlooking the road can be noisy in summer with the windows open; those at the back face the garden and vineyards.