Trip report - Bad Hofgastein (GLA-SLZ)

Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Having pre-booked with "Direct Parking", £16 for a week, I headed
straight there and arrived in Paisley about 1hr15 later. Admin was
quick and we were in the airport queue in good time. The flight left on
time (A thomsonFly 757) and apart from a run-in with the manager of
Harry Ramsden's at the airport I can only say good things about the
experience.

We found the Crystal rep at Salzburg (SLZ) and were directed to the bus.
We waited on the bus for an our for a delayed LGW flight to arrive.
Annoying but not unusual for package holidays. The journey to Bad
Hofgastein was about 1hr30 and was as quick as it was uneventful.

Hotel Rauscher in Bad Hofgastein was great value. We only booked 8
weeks ago and got the package for about £420 pp. The hotel's advertised
room rate was about that alone so either they or Crystal or both were
taking a hit. Food was superb - quality stuff not chips with
everything. At £420 pp hb for Christmas week and from a Scottish
airport is as good as it gets.

The slopes at Bad Hofgastein were good enough. There was soft snow if
you knew where to look - generally the longer red runs and in particular
the very long run from the top of Hohe Scharte down the north side of
the mountain. Other runs were getting icy. After all, the last snow
was 2 weeks previous and every day we had hot sunshine. The lower
slopes were closed before Christmas but with snow-cannon treatment, red
runs to Bad Hofgastein and to Angertal opened mid-week. We spent one
day at Dorfgastein/Grossarl, which is covered by the lift pass. Snow
was slightly better, especially on the Grossarl side, which faces NE.
Lower runs to Grossarl appeared to be closed, however. We didn't
venture to the other Gastein slopes. Anecdotally Stubnerkogel and
Graukogel were not worth it. I don't know about Sportgastein.

The return journey was not so pleasurable. The return flight was
delayed 3 hours. Apparently someone hit the plane with a catering van
at GLA. Thomsonfly, however, managed to press a 762 into service and it
arrived at SLZ 3 hours late. Whereas everything else about Austria
comes highly recommended, T2 at SLZ does not. A structure reminiscent
of a B&Q store consisting of check-in desks, a duty free and a fast food
joint was a big disappointment. The message seemed to be "that's all
you Brits are worth". (It was only British and Irish charters using
T2). Spare a thought for the flight to DUB which was delayed and then
the outgoing diverted to MUC. They had to get a bus there at 9pm. I
think under the circumstances, Thomsonfly did the best they could and I
wondered whether their predecessor, Britannia, would have been as
capable of organising a replacement plane - and allocating seats to its
pattern - so quickly. I have long legs and the extra 4" seat pitch was
welcome!

Arrival at GLA was perfect. Bags arrived after 10 minutes and the
Direct Parking bus was waiting outside. We were in our car quicker than
if we were walking to the multi-storey.

Would we do the same again? I think I'd prefer a slightly larger resort
like Zell am See and beginners may find the nursery slopes a bit lacking
but otherwise for a family, Bad Hofgastein is worth considering and
semeingly a better option than smaller resorts nearby, like Rauris.
Good for large families is that you only need pay for a 2+2 family lift
pass. 3rd and subsequent children ride free. The thermal baths there
have the same deal.

Mister Niceguy wrote:
Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Having pre-booked with "Direct Parking", £16 for a week, I headed
straight there and arrived in Paisley about 1hr15 later. Admin was
quick and we were in the airport queue in good time. The flight left on
time (A thomsonFly 757) and apart from a run-in with the manager of
Harry Ramsden's at the airport I can only say good things about the
experience.

We found the Crystal rep at Salzburg (SLZ) and were directed to the bus.
We waited on the bus for an our for a delayed LGW flight to arrive.
Annoying but not unusual for package holidays. The journey to Bad
Hofgastein was about 1hr30 and was as quick as it was uneventful.

Hotel Rauscher in Bad Hofgastein was great value. We only booked 8
weeks ago and got the package for about £420 pp. The hotel's advertised
room rate was about that alone so either they or Crystal or both were
taking a hit. Food was superb - quality stuff not chips with
everything. At £420 pp hb for Christmas week and from a Scottish
airport is as good as it gets.

The slopes at Bad Hofgastein were good enough. There was soft snow if
you knew where to look - generally the longer red runs and in particular
the very long run from the top of Hohe Scharte down the north side of
the mountain. Other runs were getting icy. After all, the last snow
was 2 weeks previous and every day we had hot sunshine. The lower
slopes were closed before Christmas but with snow-cannon treatment, red
runs to Bad Hofgastein and to Angertal opened mid-week. We spent one
day at Dorfgastein/Grossarl, which is covered by the lift pass. Snow
was slightly better, especially on the Grossarl side, which faces NE.
Lower runs to Grossarl appeared to be closed, however. We didn't
venture to the other Gastein slopes. Anecdotally Stubnerkogel and
Graukogel were not worth it. I don't know about Sportgastein.

The return journey was not so pleasurable. The return flight was
delayed 3 hours. Apparently someone hit the plane with a catering van
at GLA. Thomsonfly, however, managed to press a 762 into service and it
arrived at SLZ 3 hours late. Whereas everything else about Austria
comes highly recommended, T2 at SLZ does not. A structure reminiscent
of a B&Q store consisting of check-in desks, a duty free and a fast food
joint was a big disappointment. The message seemed to be "that's all
you Brits are worth". (It was only British and Irish charters using
T2). Spare a thought for the flight to DUB which was delayed and then
the outgoing diverted to MUC. They had to get a bus there at 9pm. I
think under the circumstances, Thomsonfly did the best they could and I
wondered whether their predecessor, Britannia, would have been as
capable of organising a replacement plane - and allocating seats to its
pattern - so quickly. I have long legs and the extra 4" seat pitch was
welcome!

Arrival at GLA was perfect. Bags arrived after 10 minutes and the
Direct Parking bus was waiting outside. We were in our car quicker than
if we were walking to the multi-storey.

Would we do the same again? I think I'd prefer a slightly larger resort
like Zell am See and beginners may find the nursery slopes a bit lacking
but otherwise for a family, Bad Hofgastein is worth considering and
semeingly a better option than smaller resorts nearby, like Rauris.
Good for large families is that you only need pay for a 2+2 family lift
pass. 3rd and subsequent children ride free. The thermal baths there
have the same deal.

Isn't Salzburg SZG?

"Zippy" wrote in news:1167568464.805064.46350@
42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com:


Mister Niceguy wrote:
Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Having pre-booked with "Direct Parking", £16 for a week, I headed
straight there and arrived in Paisley about 1hr15 later. Admin was
quick and we were in the airport queue in good time. The flight left
on
time (A thomsonFly 757) and apart from a run-in with the manager of
Harry Ramsden's at the airport I can only say good things about the
experience.

We found the Crystal rep at Salzburg (SLZ) and were directed to the
bus.
We waited on the bus for an our for a delayed LGW flight to arrive.
Annoying but not unusual for package holidays. The journey to Bad
Hofgastein was about 1hr30 and was as quick as it was uneventful.

Hotel Rauscher in Bad Hofgastein was great value. We only booked 8
weeks ago and got the package for about £420 pp. The hotel's
advertised
room rate was about that alone so either they or Crystal or both were
taking a hit. Food was superb - quality stuff not chips with
everything. At £420 pp hb for Christmas week and from a Scottish
airport is as good as it gets.

The slopes at Bad Hofgastein were good enough. There was soft snow
if
you knew where to look - generally the longer red runs and in
particular
the very long run from the top of Hohe Scharte down the north side of
the mountain. Other runs were getting icy. After all, the last snow
was 2 weeks previous and every day we had hot sunshine. The lower
slopes were closed before Christmas but with snow-cannon treatment,
red
runs to Bad Hofgastein and to Angertal opened mid-week. We spent one
day at Dorfgastein/Grossarl, which is covered by the lift pass. Snow
was slightly better, especially on the Grossarl side, which faces NE.
Lower runs to Grossarl appeared to be closed, however. We didn't
venture to the other Gastein slopes. Anecdotally Stubnerkogel and
Graukogel were not worth it. I don't know about Sportgastein.

The return journey was not so pleasurable. The return flight was
delayed 3 hours. Apparently someone hit the plane with a catering
van
at GLA. Thomsonfly, however, managed to press a 762 into service and
it
arrived at SLZ 3 hours late. Whereas everything else about Austria
comes highly recommended, T2 at SLZ does not. A structure
reminiscent
of a B&Q store consisting of check-in desks, a duty free and a fast
food
joint was a big disappointment. The message seemed to be "that's all
you Brits are worth". (It was only British and Irish charters using
T2). Spare a thought for the flight to DUB which was delayed and
then
the outgoing diverted to MUC. They had to get a bus there at 9pm. I
think under the circumstances, Thomsonfly did the best they could and
I
wondered whether their predecessor, Britannia, would have been as
capable of organising a replacement plane - and allocating seats to
its
pattern - so quickly. I have long legs and the extra 4" seat pitch
was
welcome!

Arrival at GLA was perfect. Bags arrived after 10 minutes and the
Direct Parking bus was waiting outside. We were in our car quicker
than
if we were walking to the multi-storey.

Would we do the same again? I think I'd prefer a slightly larger
resort
like Zell am See and beginners may find the nursery slopes a bit
lacking
but otherwise for a family, Bad Hofgastein is worth considering and
semeingly a better option than smaller resorts nearby, like Rauris.
Good for large families is that you only need pay for a 2+2 family
lift
pass. 3rd and subsequent children ride free. The thermal baths
there
have the same deal.

Isn't Salzburg SZG?



Probably. I've thrown away the boarding passes now. Hope it didn't
spoil the TR for you :-)

Mister Niceguy wrote:

Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Having pre-booked with "Direct Parking", £16 for a week, I headed
straight there and arrived in Paisley about 1hr15 later. Admin was
quick and we were in the airport queue in good time. The flight left on
time (A thomsonFly 757) and apart from a run-in with the manager of
Harry Ramsden's at the airport I can only say good things about the
experience.

We found the Crystal rep at Salzburg (SLZ) and were directed to the bus.
We waited on the bus for an our for a delayed LGW flight to arrive.
Annoying but not unusual for package holidays. The journey to Bad
Hofgastein was about 1hr30 and was as quick as it was uneventful.

Hotel Rauscher in Bad Hofgastein was great value. We only booked 8
weeks ago and got the package for about £420 pp. The hotel's advertised
room rate was about that alone so either they or Crystal or both were
taking a hit. Food was superb - quality stuff not chips with
everything. At £420 pp hb for Christmas week and from a Scottish
airport is as good as it gets.

The slopes at Bad Hofgastein were good enough. There was soft snow if
you knew where to look - generally the longer red runs and in particular
the very long run from the top of Hohe Scharte down the north side of
the mountain. Other runs were getting icy. After all, the last snow
was 2 weeks previous and every day we had hot sunshine. The lower
slopes were closed before Christmas but with snow-cannon treatment, red
runs to Bad Hofgastein and to Angertal opened mid-week. We spent one
day at Dorfgastein/Grossarl, which is covered by the lift pass. Snow
was slightly better, especially on the Grossarl side, which faces NE.
Lower runs to Grossarl appeared to be closed, however. We didn't
venture to the other Gastein slopes. Anecdotally Stubnerkogel and
Graukogel were not worth it. I don't know about Sportgastein.

The return journey was not so pleasurable. The return flight was
delayed 3 hours. Apparently someone hit the plane with a catering van
at GLA. Thomsonfly, however, managed to press a 762 into service and it
arrived at SLZ 3 hours late. Whereas everything else about Austria
comes highly recommended, T2 at SLZ does not. A structure reminiscent
of a B&Q store consisting of check-in desks, a duty free and a fast food
joint was a big disappointment. The message seemed to be "that's all
you Brits are worth". (It was only British and Irish charters using
T2). Spare a thought for the flight to DUB which was delayed and then
the outgoing diverted to MUC. They had to get a bus there at 9pm. I
think under the circumstances, Thomsonfly did the best they could and I
wondered whether their predecessor, Britannia, would have been as
capable of organising a replacement plane - and allocating seats to its
pattern - so quickly. I have long legs and the extra 4" seat pitch was
welcome!

Arrival at GLA was perfect. Bags arrived after 10 minutes and the
Direct Parking bus was waiting outside. We were in our car quicker than
if we were walking to the multi-storey.

Would we do the same again? I think I'd prefer a slightly larger resort
like Zell am See and beginners may find the nursery slopes a bit lacking
but otherwise for a family, Bad Hofgastein is worth considering and
semeingly a better option than smaller resorts nearby, like Rauris.
Good for large families is that you only need pay for a 2+2 family lift
pass. 3rd and subsequent children ride free. The thermal baths there
have the same deal.


Nice trip report. Thanks.

Matt

Mister Niceguy wrote:
"Zippy" wrote in news:1167568464.805064.46350@
42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com:


Mister Niceguy wrote:
Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Having pre-booked with "Direct Parking", £16 for a week, I headed
straight there and arrived in Paisley about 1hr15 later. Admin was
quick and we were in the airport queue in good time. The flight left
on
time (A thomsonFly 757) and apart from a run-in with the manager of
Harry Ramsden's at the airport I can only say good things about the
experience.

We found the Crystal rep at Salzburg (SLZ) and were directed to the
bus.
We waited on the bus for an our for a delayed LGW flight to arrive.
Annoying but not unusual for package holidays. The journey to Bad
Hofgastein was about 1hr30 and was as quick as it was uneventful.

Hotel Rauscher in Bad Hofgastein was great value. We only booked 8
weeks ago and got the package for about £420 pp. The hotel's
advertised
room rate was about that alone so either they or Crystal or both were
taking a hit. Food was superb - quality stuff not chips with
everything. At £420 pp hb for Christmas week and from a Scottish
airport is as good as it gets.

The slopes at Bad Hofgastein were good enough. There was soft snow
if
you knew where to look - generally the longer red runs and in
particular
the very long run from the top of Hohe Scharte down the north side of
the mountain. Other runs were getting icy. After all, the last snow
was 2 weeks previous and every day we had hot sunshine. The lower
slopes were closed before Christmas but with snow-cannon treatment,
red
runs to Bad Hofgastein and to Angertal opened mid-week. We spent one
day at Dorfgastein/Grossarl, which is covered by the lift pass. Snow
was slightly better, especially on the Grossarl side, which faces NE.
Lower runs to Grossarl appeared to be closed, however. We didn't
venture to the other Gastein slopes. Anecdotally Stubnerkogel and
Graukogel were not worth it. I don't know about Sportgastein.

The return journey was not so pleasurable. The return flight was
delayed 3 hours. Apparently someone hit the plane with a catering
van
at GLA. Thomsonfly, however, managed to press a 762 into service and
it
arrived at SLZ 3 hours late. Whereas everything else about Austria
comes highly recommended, T2 at SLZ does not. A structure
reminiscent
of a B&Q store consisting of check-in desks, a duty free and a fast
food
joint was a big disappointment. The message seemed to be "that's all
you Brits are worth". (It was only British and Irish charters using
T2). Spare a thought for the flight to DUB which was delayed and
then
the outgoing diverted to MUC. They had to get a bus there at 9pm. I
think under the circumstances, Thomsonfly did the best they could and
I
wondered whether their predecessor, Britannia, would have been as
capable of organising a replacement plane - and allocating seats to
its
pattern - so quickly. I have long legs and the extra 4" seat pitch
was
welcome!

Arrival at GLA was perfect. Bags arrived after 10 minutes and the
Direct Parking bus was waiting outside. We were in our car quicker
than
if we were walking to the multi-storey.

Would we do the same again? I think I'd prefer a slightly larger
resort
like Zell am See and beginners may find the nursery slopes a bit
lacking
but otherwise for a family, Bad Hofgastein is worth considering and
semeingly a better option than smaller resorts nearby, like Rauris.
Good for large families is that you only need pay for a 2+2 family
lift
pass. 3rd and subsequent children ride free. The thermal baths
there
have the same deal.

Isn't Salzburg SZG?



Probably. Hope it didn't
spoil the TR for you :-)

Lol I was thinking that too.

An excellent report Mister Niceguy. 10 minutes for International
baggage reclaim at GLA!? Must be a new record.

Gaz

"Mister Niceguy" wrote in message
9...
"Zippy" wrote in news:1167568464.805064.46350@
42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com:


Mister Niceguy wrote:
Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Having pre-booked with "Direct Parking", £16 for a week, I headed
straight there and arrived in Paisley about 1hr15 later. Admin was
quick and we were in the airport queue in good time. The flight left
on
time (A thomsonFly 757) and apart from a run-in with the manager of
Harry Ramsden's at the airport I can only say good things about the
experience.

We found the Crystal rep at Salzburg (SLZ) and were directed to the
bus.
We waited on the bus for an our for a delayed LGW flight to arrive.
Annoying but not unusual for package holidays. The journey to Bad
Hofgastein was about 1hr30 and was as quick as it was uneventful.

Hotel Rauscher in Bad Hofgastein was great value. We only booked 8
weeks ago and got the package for about £420 pp. The hotel's
advertised
room rate was about that alone so either they or Crystal or both were
taking a hit. Food was superb - quality stuff not chips with
everything. At £420 pp hb for Christmas week and from a Scottish
airport is as good as it gets.

The slopes at Bad Hofgastein were good enough. There was soft snow
if
you knew where to look - generally the longer red runs and in
particular
the very long run from the top of Hohe Scharte down the north side of
the mountain. Other runs were getting icy. After all, the last snow
was 2 weeks previous and every day we had hot sunshine. The lower
slopes were closed before Christmas but with snow-cannon treatment,
red
runs to Bad Hofgastein and to Angertal opened mid-week. We spent one
day at Dorfgastein/Grossarl, which is covered by the lift pass. Snow
was slightly better, especially on the Grossarl side, which faces NE.
Lower runs to Grossarl appeared to be closed, however. We didn't
venture to the other Gastein slopes. Anecdotally Stubnerkogel and
Graukogel were not worth it. I don't know about Sportgastein.

The return journey was not so pleasurable. The return flight was
delayed 3 hours. Apparently someone hit the plane with a catering
van
at GLA. Thomsonfly, however, managed to press a 762 into service and
it
arrived at SLZ 3 hours late. Whereas everything else about Austria
comes highly recommended, T2 at SLZ does not. A structure
reminiscent
of a B&Q store consisting of check-in desks, a duty free and a fast
food
joint was a big disappointment. The message seemed to be "that's all
you Brits are worth". (It was only British and Irish charters using
T2). Spare a thought for the flight to DUB which was delayed and
then
the outgoing diverted to MUC. They had to get a bus there at 9pm. I
think under the circumstances, Thomsonfly did the best they could and
I
wondered whether their predecessor, Britannia, would have been as
capable of organising a replacement plane - and allocating seats to
its
pattern - so quickly. I have long legs and the extra 4" seat pitch
was
welcome!

Arrival at GLA was perfect. Bags arrived after 10 minutes and the
Direct Parking bus was waiting outside. We were in our car quicker
than
if we were walking to the multi-storey.

Would we do the same again? I think I'd prefer a slightly larger
resort
like Zell am See and beginners may find the nursery slopes a bit
lacking
but otherwise for a family, Bad Hofgastein is worth considering and
semeingly a better option than smaller resorts nearby, like Rauris.
Good for large families is that you only need pay for a 2+2 family
lift
pass. 3rd and subsequent children ride free. The thermal baths
there
have the same deal.

Isn't Salzburg SZG?



Probably. I've thrown away the boarding passes now. Hope it didn't
spoil the TR for you :-)

Good report Mr N, when I used GLA at the begining of the year the luggage
came through a lot quicker than it did in March, funny how things like that
matter!!

Happy New Year MrN

Robert


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"Mister Niceguy" wrote in message
...
Living in Edinburgh and flying from Glasgow I took expert advice and
allowed 2 hours for the journey :-)

Thanks for the report. Glad you had a good time. So what was the total
surface travel cost including wear and tear on your vehicle lol ;-)