Any busy automotive journalist with a much in-demand accelerator foot receiving an unexpected call from his editor shortly before Christmas, asking him to test a hotel near Gstaad in the Bern Mountains, will jump at the offer. "Yes," I thought, "a bit of deceleration will do very nicely, indeed!"

As I drive up to the hotel in the evening and see the candle-lit entrance, I can feel my mind switching down a gear or two. In the lobby, guests do not check in at the usual solid wood counters, but are welcomed at an intimate one-on-one at attractive tables.

The relaxed atmosphere continues as I wander through the hotel: the lobby leads into an open lounge, flanked by a well-stocked bar. The shelves of rare whiskies simply clamour to be enjoyed in front of the cosy open fire, the heat of the flames contrasting with the cool clink of ice cubes. For smokers there's an attractive Cigar Lounge right next door.

I was greatly taken by the eclectic mix of styles used in the lobby, ranging from Mediterranean to avant-garde, with touches of Alpine cow skin dotted here and there. While this perhaps sounds a bit wild, the result has been so cleverly and tastefully put together that the overall look is extremely pleasing. The unique charm of the former spa hotel has been lovingly incorporated and the over effect is very charming.

The original 350-year-old Spa Hotel Lenkerhof, which is located below the hotel's own mineral source, underwent a 2-year refurbishment and make-over, which extended the existing building to create the CHF 30 million Lenkerhof Alpine Resort.

Built in a south-facing location on the slopes of the mountain, the hotel is located above its wellness centre. A west wing was added to the hotel, thus creating a sense of privacy, with an attractive park-like garden surrounded by the wellness suite and an outdoor swimming pool. Directly opposite is the Wildstrubel massif; all the hotel's bedrooms offer magnificent views. The hotel can reached on skis.

The rooms follow the pattern set in the lobby: a highly individual mix of different styles and topics is the Lenkerhof's overall design recipe. The bedrooms span the bridge between tranquillity and cosy, warm avant-garde. They are the microcosm of the hotel's macrocosm, and each is a highly distinctive, very appealing environment.

What I liked particularly about my Junior Suite was the magnificent view from the bathroom window across to the rugged heights of the Wildstrubel. It's the little details like this that make the Lenkerhof Hotel so irresistibly charming.

The external charms are more than mirrored in the great service provided by the young team headed by director Daniel Borter and his charming wife, Daniela. Even in emergencies, i.e. when absent-minded guests - such as myself - depart, leaving their credit card in the drawer of their bedside table, the team is calm, collected and exceptionally helpful. In my case, the credit card was mailed to my home address that very day.

After the room check, the dinner check.

The hotel offer a choice between two in-house restaurants: Spettacolo and Oh de Vie.

Spettacolo is a la carte, with a daily menu, allowing guests to choose from a variety of delicacies to their heart's desire. The restaurant serves traditional Swiss cuisine with a French touch and interesting influences from exotic countries. Using locally grown and sourced produce, chef Jan Leimbach and his team conjure up mouth-watering dishes such as scampi in Parma ham served on a bed of pumpkin mousse, vegetable lasagne served with pepperoni-balsamic vinegar coulis or filet of veal poached in rose oil served on potato mousseline. The food is so light that you could indulge in up to 16 courses and still manage to float up to your bedroom. This haute cuisine is called Wellflavour Cuisine and was awarded 16 Gault Millau points.

The adjacent Oh de Vie serves a fine selection of traditional Mediterranean dishes. Baked feta on a bed of aubergines, Creole style crevettes or oven-roasted poussin with rosemary are only some of the delicious options available here. Oh de Vie is also a la carte, allowing you put together your own individual menu from the wide choice available.

Anyone staying at Lenkerhof should not miss out on the opportunity to visit the hotel's own wine cellars and vinotheque. Both are a stunning gastronomical and architectural experience. You can sample a wide selection of wines from young, as yet fairly unknown winemakers, a variety of oils and other treats, and should anything take your fancy, you can buy it there on the spot.

My stay at Switzerland's "youngest" 5-star hotel concluded the next morning with a visit to the 7 Sources Spa, a 2000 square metre wellness centre that is one of the largest in Switzerland.

The Spa offers the following:

- Outdoors sulphur pool with crystal-clear sulphur water from the Balsam Source, one of the strongest in Switzerland; the water is heated to 35°C for maximum well-being
- a sports pool
- the Royal Hydrobad and crystal pool
- a bio sauna with light therapy treatment
- a herbal sauna
- steam baths
- stone oil sauna
- a Finnish sauna
- a sulphur grotto
- an ice grotto
- ladies' steam bath
- ladies' sauna

The sauna centre, which offers a wide variety of different treatment options and is beautifully colour-coordinated throughout, is sheer bliss and is guaranteed to plunge you into complete relaxation. Given the shortness of my stay here, my absolute favourite was the outdoor sulphur bath with massage beds in the morning. Drifting through steamy sulphur bubbles, with the magnificent backdrop of the Wildstrubel before me, I felt like an astronaut. Floating high above the earth, and I suppose that what wellbeing is really about.

Mission accomplished! Ground control calling Major Tom!

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