Portions of the 100-room Hotel Klosterbräu date back more than 450 years to its former life as a monastery. A new five-star luxury hotel has been built within the grounds of the complex in a traditional Alpine style.

The town of Seefeld is one of Austria's most popular resorts, about a half-hour from the Innsbruck airport. The bucolic mountain setting gives the property a "Sound of Music" sensibility. The hotel can arrange tennis and golf outings at nearby venues, and for ski buffs, an adjacent ski resort is a five-minute walk away.

The newest part of the hotel is the 4,000-plus-square-meter Spiritual Spa, which takes cues from the site's history as a monastery and the rituals of the monks who once lived here.

The spa's themes are ruled by what the resort calls "10 pillars of contemplation" such as health through fire, which involves hot saunas and open fireplaces, or health through stone, using stones and crystals for massage therapy. Best of all is the Augustinian Beer Bath, where guests are doused in beer while drinking a glass.

Telephone: +43/5212-26210