A draught was finding its way into my sleeping bag. I wriggled down and pulled the neck cord tighter, eventually identifying the culprit, a Velcro fastening that had slipped, creating a hole. Inside the heavy-duty bag, I was encased in thermals, a woollen polo neck and winter pyjamas. I needed the lot, because it was 23F (-5C) in my room, an icy cave in Austria's highest hotel, an igloo at 2,700m (9,000 ft) in the Tyrolean Alps.The Schneedorf ("snow village"), above the resort of Sölden, is one of a handful of igloo hotels built each year in the Alps, along similar lines to the Icehotel in Lapland. Last season, the UK tour operator Crystal started offering a night in the Schneedorf to clients staying in Sölden. And one night, I found, is enough (no guest has yet returned for a second).Sölden's attractive ski area incorporates two main mountains, seamlessly interlinked with two glaciers, at the foot of one of which – the Rettenbach – sits the Schneedorf. From outside, our accommodation looked unimpressive – snowy humps, dark doorways, a wooden cabin (the sauna) and a couple of metal sheds (the kitchen) – although from February it also has a lively outdoor ice-bar.We arrived on skis, with a rucksack of extra layers, dry socks and outdoor shoes, having completed our last run at 3.30pm. You can take a shuttle bus from the village, but half the Schneedorf's allure is skiing to its door and starting the next day high on the slopes.Inside, it is magical, with candlelight dancing on the domed ceiling of the "lounge" and beautiful, slightly risqué sculptures carved on the walls. Furniture is limited to stools of upturned tree trunks and ice-benches, both covered with sheepskin, plus an ice-bar and wooden tables. A candlelit corridor leads to the bedrooms, eight doubles and eight four-person rooms with two double beds. Beds are built of packed snow, with sheepskin-covered air mattresses, and decoration includes erotic carvings and ice-encased roses.
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