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Byline: GAYLE RITCHIE Floating past the walkers from the elevated position of a horse-drawn carriage, I felt the urge to tip my hat, blow a kiss or wave in a regal fashion. As the solo passenger in this drive through the stunning Austrian Alps, you can be sure I was lapping up every second. This fantastic little jaunt was included in my five-day break to the Bad Gastein region, an area renowned for its restorative waters and peppered with spas, thermal pools and, of course, great skiing territory. With the promise of fine food, spectacular scenery and great hospitality, the place oozes appeal. I stayed at the family-run Gruner Baum Hotel, at the edge of Hohe Tauern National Park. As a member of the revered Small Luxury Hotels of the World, it offers a superb hideaway location and boasts a thermal indoor pool, sauna and steam bath, plus a Shiseido Spa with dozens of therapeutic and pampering treatments. It's a favourite with celebs, including Cold Mountain star Jude Law. The hunk has enjoyed many relaxing breaks with his kids, away from the glare of the paparazzi, and hotel staff even allocated his family a special drawer to fill with memoirs and Austrian souvenirs. The hotel, managed by the fourth generation of the Blumschein family, comprises five traditional Austrian houses on the edge of a protected national park, a hiker's paradise. Day one of our stay began with a champagne breakfast and boy, did it set us up for the day. The buffet was loaded with delicacies of all kinds...from hams, cheeses and heavenscented breads to cakes, croissants and even good old sausage, bacon and eggs. We filled our faces and then, to assuage the guilt, went for a sweaty hike up the nearest mountain, the Poserhohe. The views from the top are magnificent and the fresh alpine air guarantees a good night's sleep. We saw snow-capped peaks stretching as far as the eye could see, deep green forests and quaint wooden houses dotting the landscape. Massage was next on the menu and we were spoiled with a mind-bending array of treatments courtesy of the hotel, all of which were absolute bliss. Much of our break was spent submerging our peely wally bodies in thermal pools, steam baths and bubbling jacuzzis and stripping off in naked saunas. We spent several glorious hours at the Felsentherme in Bad Gastein, a centre almost solely dedicated to sweating out toxins. It boasts rocky grottos, adventure pools, a fitness zone, an open-air spa and a number of saunas. We also visited the amazing Gastein Healing Caves, reached only by a train which plunders its way 2.5km into the mountain. Not for the faint-hearted, or those with claustrophobia! There are five caves within, with varying levels of heat beating out from the rock that retains radon gas. The gas is renowned for its healing properties and tales abound of people who have been cured of all sorts of ailments. Several miles out of Bad Gastein is the fantastic ski and sports centre, Sportgastein. Served by a shiny, fast, gondola which peaks at 2,686ft, there's ample opportunity for hiking plus lots of off-piste skiing. Another highlight was a trip to Salzburg. It boasts style and grace aplenty and we lapped up the city's culture along with our many
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