OK, it is true that this hotel isn't right on the slopes but how many people get to say they have skied in Slovakia? That has to be worth a one upmanship point or two over the dinner party table; if not for the standard of the slopes you skied, then for sheer originality. It helps that the first luxurious Kempinski property in Slovakia just happens to have opened in the beautiful surroundings of the High Tatras, 1.351 metres above sea level. The High Tatras form the loftiest section of the Carpathian mountain range, which separates Poland from Slovakia. Stay in the old part of the lakeside hotel for romantic turrets and latticed windows. The hotel offers skiing with all the trimmings including starting your trip with a limousine transfer or helicopter from nearby airports such as Bratislava or Krakow. Go in February and you can watch the annual Polo on Snow competition played on the frozen lake.