With age-old alpine villages, lively après ski and value for money, Austria remains a favourite for Irish skiers. Here are Deirdre Mullins top three ski resorts to visit in the Austrian Alps.
1. St. Anton
'Ski hard, party hard' is the motto of St. Anton. Its après ski is renowned and for that reason, it mostly attracts groups of friends rather than families; groups of males to be more specific.
If you find yourself in St. Anton as a single woman, you will understand why the resort is nicknamed Manton.
The bars have a ratio of at least double the men to women and is one of the only places I’ve seen long queues for the men's toilets rather than the women's.
St. Anton’s après ski has a well-earned reputation with famous bars such as Krazy Kangaruh and Mooserwirt. These bars have large outdoor terraces and are located opposite one another, up the side of a mountain. By 4pm they are packed with people stomping in their ski boots and swilling beers*.
The Mooserwirt has a more German-speaking clientele with its music being a mix of Euro-pop and Austrian folk songs. It’s said to sell more beer per square foot than any other bar in Austria which is not hard to believe.
At about 8pm the crowd thins for what has to be one of the most dangerous of closing down times. Hundreds of drunken skiers boot up and wobble down in the dark for the final run of the day. It’s messy, to say the least.
The village itself is pretty and has a traditional Tyrolean feel. Its main street is pedestrianised and lined with wooden chalets, shops and restaurants.
The skiing is excellent, with ninety-seven cable car systems, 350 kilometres of runs and 200 kilometres of backcountry terrain.
The lift pass in St Anton gives access to the whole Arlberg area, including Stuben, Zurs and Lech. Off-ski activities are plenty with a wellness centre and a climbing wall in the centre of the town.
For Michelin star class gastronomy and top class pampering, visit the stunning five-star superior Hotel Tannenhof. An overnight there is very pricey but you can taste a bit of luxury with the day rate at the spa for a €100. It’s a divine place to soak the legs after a day on the mountain.
There are plenty of mountain huts to take a break from skiing and enjoy the sunshine on the terrace or snuggle up indoors by the fire. Ulmer Hütte is situated at the top of the Arlenmähder chairlift and a Wiener Schnitzel will set you back about €13.
Slazburg is the nearest airport but unless you’re going on a charter flight there are no direct flights there from Ireland. So your best bet is to fly direct with Aer Lingus to Zurich and from there it’s a two hour transfer time. For more information on skiing in St.Anton click here.
2. Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein is a historic spa town set within a glacial valley an hour-and-a-half south of Salzburg. The Gastein Valley includes the resorts of Bad Gastein, Bad Hofgastein, Dorfgastein and Sportgastein. Bad Gastein is the busiest and prettiest of these resorts.
For hundreds of years, its healing caves and hot springs have been attracting visitors making it a great resort for a spa/ski holiday.
The town is beautifully set into the side of a mountain and old multi-storey hotels are erected on the slopes. In the 19th century, Bad Gastein was a fashionable resort for monarchs and the wealthy of Austria. These affluent visitors left their mark on its architecture with large stately homes, built in Habsburg-style, lining its streets.
The old street lamps and the big waterfall in the centre of the town give it a romantic feel, distinctive from any other ski resort I've been to.
While the ski area is suitable for all levels, Bad Hofgastein is favoured by families and is better for beginners, whereas Bad Gastein has a younger demographic and is suited to a more intermediate to advanced level.
Bad Gastein has the best après ski of the Gastein Valley and there are plenty of restaurants and bars to keep you busy until the wee hours. If you like old world charm visit the vintage grandeur of the Bad Gastein's Casino which wouldn't look out of place on the set of a classic James Bond movie.
Family activities include walking across the 140-metre long suspension footbridge that hangs over a twenty-eight-meter chasm, 2,400 metres above sea level. It's the highest such bridge in Europe.
Other non-ski family activities include sledging, biathlon, snowshoeing and ice climbing. A good tip is to get a Gastein Card which gives discounts or free entry to over 50 attractions. It's available free of charge when you check into your accommodation.
Aer Lingus fly from Dublin to Munich and the transfer time is about two and half hours. For more information on Bad Gastein click here.
3. Söll
Söll is a typical Austrian ski resort with snow-covered alpine wooden houses and pedestrianised streets. There’s a great range of blue, red, black and forest runs. They don't do green in Austria, but they have nursery slopes for beginners. For intermediate level, there are many wide blues and reds. Advanced skiers will be happy with the good range of black runs. The more adventurous can challenge themselves to complete the Ski Welt Challenge, the aim of which is to ski the 279km of piste that connects the seven resorts of Brixen, Hopfgarten, Söll, Scheffau, Ellmau, Going and Westendorf. The Ski Welt region is the largest interconnected ski area in Austria.
For night time entertainment you can hire a toboggan (€5) and enjoy the downhill ride after dinner in one of the mountaintop restaurants. For a village of its small size, Söll's après ski is surprisingly lively, with over thirty bars and five nightclubs.
Ski Welt has 13km of night skiing which is lit by floodlights and accessible by lifts until 3am each night. So if you want to party all night and sleep in, there is still plenty of ski time.
History buffs can enjoy a number of historic sites such as lunch in Hotel Postwirt, where the German forces in Austria surrendered to the Allies on 8th of May 1945.
Söll is a good resort for families as it has nursery slopes and supervised areas for small kids. Non-ski family activities include tobogganing, snow tubing, dog sledge ride and torch lit night walks. Söll has a great range of simple guest houses, self-catering chalets and hotels although most of the accommodation is around the village which is a 15-minute walk or a bus ride (free) to the lifts.
The slopes have many atmospheric huts to dine in such as Hohe Salve (1,829m). Located at the top of the gondola and had a big revolving terrace with excellent 360° views. Aer Lingus fly to Munich which is an hour and a half airport transfer. Alternatively, you can hop on two trains and a bus but this will take at least 2 and a half hours depending on departure times. For more information on Söll click here.
Deirdre travelled with Sunway and Mark Warner to St Anton. Sunway offer 7 nights on a half board basis to St. Anton with flights starting from €1,098 per person. Sunway also offer ski holidays to France, Italy and Switzerland. Call 01-2366800 or visit www.sunway.ie to find out more. For more information about holidaying in Austria click here
