Austria 28th Jan. 2006

Hi all,

With the first snow falling above 2400m in the French Alps overnight one
knows the ski season isn't far away !

I am looking to book a holiday for my parents from Sat. 28th Jan until Sat.
5th Feb. 2006. Austria is the preferred destination, but the resort I am not
so sure about. They both like the look of Soll and Mayrhofen. They are
comfortable green/blue skiers and occasional red, the latter being after a
couple of "vin chaud".

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a nice
hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids have
flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink late in
the evening.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Joe

Originally Posted by Joe Hunt

Hi all,

With the first snow falling above 2400m in the French Alps overnight one
knows the ski season isn't far away !

I am looking to book a holiday for my parents from Sat. 28th Jan until Sat.
5th Feb. 2006. Austria is the preferred destination, but the resort I am not
so sure about. They both like the look of Soll and Mayrhofen. They are
comfortable green/blue skiers and occasional red, the latter being after a
couple of "vin chaud".

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a nice
hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids have
flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink late in
the evening.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Joe

Hi Joe, I have been to both Mayrhofen & Soll many times. Now at Mayrhofen you can't ski back to the village you have to catch the penkan gondola down which is very busy at peak times. The skiing is more reds than blues and does get crowded, in the afternoon the shaded runs can get cold and hard packed making it a bit awkward for nervous skiers.
The village is very good for all ages, plenty to do and lots of shops, bars and restaurants. other sports like swimming and bowling etc.

Soll is a much smaller village but it has enough going on in the evening. The skiing is on the Ski Welt one of Austria's largest linked areas, I think this is much better area for all those who like the gentler runs, but the run into Soll is a red and hard packed and in the shade in the afternoon, so that last run down can be busy so catch the gondola.

Now have a look at Ellmau its on the Ski Welt area as well as Soll its just along the valley about 5 miles. The village has had a lot of new developments over the last few years. The runs to the village are easier and at village level it has 3 or 4 tee bar lifts so if you don't feel like going all the way into the main area you can have an hour or two in the village and call it a day an probably ski nearly back to your door, depending on were your door is.

Hope this helps

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a
nice hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids
have flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink
late in the evening.

Hi Joe,

Might I suggest you take a look at Serfaus. Been there several times now,
and will be going there next winter again.
The resort lies @ 1400 meters, so skiing back is always possible end Januar.
The run into the reort is quite easy (and very nice) apart from 1 or 2
places that are a bit steep, but they have a flat part after them (I hope
you understand what I mean).
Serfaus is linked with Fiss and Ladis, plenty blue and red runs.
http://www.bergfex.com/serfaus-fiss-ladis/?lang=en


Marinus

http://snow.jeuring.com

Firstly, "green" runs are not found in Austria.

For 15 years I lived 45mins drive away from Söll, and often went there for
day trips (well actually I usually headed for Scheffau in the middle of Ski
Welt. many people will respond that Austria is too low... What a load of
rubbish! The terrain in Austria generally means that they get less snow
than France but will still maintain good qualty open pistes. Don't get hung
up on altitudes and snow depths.

If they fancy Söll, then they wont be dissapointed. It's quite a pretty
village and you can ski back down into the valley - but not to the hotels
(in general). Söll area has a huge number of pistes, most of which are
fairly easy. They get incredibly busy at weekends with the influx of
daytrippers from Munich! I was never to keen on Mayrhofen though. I prefered
Zell am Ziller which is now quite extensive.

Another resort for good easy skiing - and snow sure - is Obertauern. It
always has loads of early snow! In my opinion, Ischgl is the best resort in
Austria.

Personally I favour Switzerland. I used to ski Austria on weekends and days
off. For weeks or long weekends I would always drive over to Switzerland.
Zermatt is the best in Europe: highest, most elegant, most scenic - in fact
any superlative that you care to image (it doesn't have to be the most
expensive). The Austrians have got greedy during the last few years and have
escalated the hotel prices to Swiss standard! No. Food in Swiss hotels is
excellent. Food in Austrian hotels is merely very good!

I have skied all the big French resorts (in my youger days) - they are just
so bland.

Let them consider Zermatt first. Loads of places to stroll in the evenings.
Lively bars, cheap English Pubs, elegant lounge bars... Good easy skiing,or
mega steep if you want it. Mountain restaurants where you can reserve
tables, instead of fighing!

Paul


"Joe Hunt" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

With the first snow falling above 2400m in the French Alps overnight one
knows the ski season isn't far away !

I am looking to book a holiday for my parents from Sat. 28th Jan until
Sat. 5th Feb. 2006. Austria is the preferred destination, but the resort I
am not so sure about. They both like the look of Soll and Mayrhofen. They
are comfortable green/blue skiers and occasional red, the latter being
after a couple of "vin chaud".

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a
nice hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids
have flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink
late in the evening.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Joe

Joe,

Only been to Lech which is in the Arlberg. It's linked with Zuers and
by bus with St. Anton. As intermediates we loved Lech. It's a very
charming village, hotels are of very high quality, and the dining was
terrific. We'd definately like to return. We were considering a
return to Austria this year but have decided we can't make it this
year. Places we were looking at were Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Bad
Gastein/Bad Hofgastein. The Serfaus recommendation looks interesting;
from my digging I've found very little info on it. Seems neither the
Brits nor those from the U.S. know about it, yet everything I can find
suggests it would be an extremely charming village with good and
extensive slopes for intermediates. Zermat generally gets rave reviews
in almost every source. Here are a few links with useful information
on European ski resorts:

www.goski.com
www.skiclub.co.uk
www.ski-europe.com

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a
nice hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids
have flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink
late in the evening.

Konigsleiten. Nice resort, not so crowdy, but a large ski area, modern lifts
and always snow from the early saison till the end. It's a bit like Serfaus
and Fiss.

"PSmith" wrote in message
...

Personally I favour Switzerland. I used to ski Austria on weekends and
days
off. For weeks or long weekends I would always drive over to Switzerland.
Zermatt is the best in Europe: highest, most elegant, most scenic - in
fact any superlative that you care to image (it doesn't have to be the
most expensive). The Austrians have got greedy during the last few years
and have escalated the hotel prices to Swiss standard! No. Food in Swiss
hotels is excellent. Food in Austrian hotels is merely very good!

Thanks to everyone for the replies, it has opened several more avenues of
thought ! The wealth of information on this group never ceases to amaze me.

Paul, can you recommend anywhere in Zermatt ? They have skied in Tignes/Val
four times and in Whistler once, so I imagine they would be very impressed
with the elegance you describe Zermatt offering (Whistler was pretty by the
way). Scott Dunn seem to offer a few hotels/chalets but I am sure you have
several ideas.

Thanks, Joe

For ski convenience, I like the Hotel Perren. Its five minutes walk to the
Sunnega funicular. From Sunnega its an easy commute to Gornergrat and then
to Kl Matterhorn and then to Schwarzsee! Alternatively, the free ski bus
stops just outside: better option for the dirst Kl Matterhorn links -
especially if you want to ski over to Cervinia.

Paul

"Joe Hunt" wrote in message
...

"PSmith" wrote in message
...

Personally I favour Switzerland. I used to ski Austria on weekends and
days
off. For weeks or long weekends I would always drive over to Switzerland.
Zermatt is the best in Europe: highest, most elegant, most scenic - in
fact any superlative that you care to image (it doesn't have to be the
most expensive). The Austrians have got greedy during the last few years
and have escalated the hotel prices to Swiss standard! No. Food in Swiss
hotels is excellent. Food in Austrian hotels is merely very good!

Thanks to everyone for the replies, it has opened several more avenues of
thought ! The wealth of information on this group never ceases to amaze
me.

Paul, can you recommend anywhere in Zermatt ? They have skied in
Tignes/Val four times and in Whistler once, so I imagine they would be
very impressed with the elegance you describe Zermatt offering (Whistler
was pretty by the way). Scott Dunn seem to offer a few hotels/chalets but
I am sure you have several ideas.

Thanks, Joe

Just for the record:
Vin Chaud is a french fenomena (basicly just warm redwine with sugar, and a
orange slice at best), being the equevalent of the austrian Glühwein (warm
redwine and spices), and by the way the equevalent of the danish and swedish
Gløg (warm redwine, even more spices, rasins, allmonds, occasionally snaps,
and more).

"Joe Hunt" skrev i en meddelelse
...
Hi all,

With the first snow falling above 2400m in the French Alps overnight one
knows the ski season isn't far away !

I am looking to book a holiday for my parents from Sat. 28th Jan until
Sat. 5th Feb. 2006. Austria is the preferred destination, but the resort I
am not so sure about. They both like the look of Soll and Mayrhofen. They
are comfortable green/blue skiers and occasional red, the latter being
after a couple of "vin chaud".

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a
nice hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids
have flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink
late in the evening.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Joe

I would second Zermatt. They will love it up on the Rothorn area.
Stunning views of the Matterhorn and good restaurants for lunch. Book
a table.

The run back to the village is a road and at the "official" end of the
piste is the Hotel Alpen Royal. Stayed there three times now. It has
an indoor pool and the food is excellent. You have the use of the
elevator in the adjacent hotel which takes to down just next to the
Sunegga. Indeed, they're building an access elevator at the end of
the piste to the Sunnega train.

Stan





On Sun, 18 Sep 2005 10:55:07 +0100, "Joe Hunt"
wrote:

Hi all,

With the first snow falling above 2400m in the French Alps overnight one
knows the ski season isn't far away !

I am looking to book a holiday for my parents from Sat. 28th Jan until Sat.
5th Feb. 2006. Austria is the preferred destination, but the resort I am not
so sure about. They both like the look of Soll and Mayrhofen. They are
comfortable green/blue skiers and occasional red, the latter being after a
couple of "vin chaud".

Has anyone got experience of either resort, and maybe others in Austria I
have overlooked. They want somewhere with easy runs into the village, a nice
hotel (they can afford to treat themselves a little now us two kids have
flown the nest) and above all somewhere they can go for a walk/drink late in
the evening.

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Joe