 Poster: A snowHead
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flangesax, couldn't agree more with your food assessment. In Austria, eat the local specialties and they are tasty, filling and usually about 8-10 euros. Some soups are wonderful and incredibly cheap. It's bargain stuff - limited, but a a bargain. And different. Must confess most of these are not vege friendly, but we always found at least a couple of fishy options too. Going to Austria and eating pizza and burgers and chips seems rather odd to me 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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From what I saw, all the local specialities contained meat and I did not find a fishy option soup. One night I had to have a baked potatoe with sour cream as my main meal as that's all they could offer me - spinach pizza was what I was forced to eat on two other nights as the only veggy option - pizza is not something I ever eat at home as they are nil in nutrition so gortonatot, not odd just all that was on offer - a vegan would have starved.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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flangesax I think it is more than obvious what side of the fence I sit on |
No it's not; otherwise I would not have asked.
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| - are you suggesting that being a Catholic I should not be dissapointed that supermarkets in a ski resort which gets its main living from tourists like myself do not cater for them in what must be one of the busiest weeks in the season by staying open a little later so we can stock up before they rightly close to celebrate Christmas as every other resort we have visited does? |
After writing
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We are a Catholic family and go away at Christmas to get away from the commercial crap we call Christmas in the UK and bet we were the only Brits in the resort at that time to go to the 11pm Mass on Christmas Eve
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Then I don't think I suggested it - it seems that you did - so yes!
.....I think that the contradictions have been a little heavy, 4* restaurants, choice of food, use of religion as an argument, being
along with many other rather sweeping statements.... so I say that my job here is done! I don't have to try to post to discredit your OP - you seem to being a good job of it yourself!
It sounds like Austria is not the country for you 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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hopingforsnow, Hate people that hate, glad you hate austria, means I will not have to see you anytime soon.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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waynos - you obviously haven't read the thread before posting because if you had you would know that I do not hate Austria just Mayrhofen.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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hopingforsnow, I agree, it all comes down to the circumstances on the day. We had the most magnificent Easter in La ROsiere last year with big snowfalls every night and pretty good weather in the day. The following week was cloudy and warm - we were lucky.
I hated Kaprun, but agaiun that was a mixture of many factors that conspired to cloud my opinions.
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Frosty the Snowman, Looking forward to seeing you guys.... hopefully i won't have screwed myself up by then!
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Mon 5-01-09 12:11; edited 1 time in total
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easiski,
hi easiski
what's the night life like in LDA - and how cheap/expensive is the beer?
i take it that goos skiing is pretty much a given from what i have read
cheers
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hello I am a newbie on here just joined as I have been watching this thread with interest as I am going to Mayrhofen in March and am outraged at the treatment of poor Hopingforsnow. She gave an opinion based on her visit and asked if others had felt the same after going there themselves yet the majority of those posting replies have had nothing to say about Mayrhofentbut but have just been making personal attacks at Hopingforsnow - you should all be ashamed! WAYNOS you say you hate people that hate yet your post was full of it! FLANGESAX Hopingforsnow is not using religion as an argument as I can see that she was trying to make a point to NOTNATURALBLONDE that she knows exactly what Christmas is all about and hadnt forgotten anything. HOPINGFORSNOW you have a right to your opinion but this lot dont seem to think you have! Dont let them grind you down with their comments 
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| flangesax wrote: |
| Frosty the Snowman, Looking forward to seeing you guys.... hopefully i won't have screwed myself up by then! |
Yup, very excited to be returning to Radstadt. The ski Amade area was a massive find for us, vastly outweighing our expectations 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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bobthebuilder, welcome to Snowheads.
That's an interesting first post - bravely done.
The issue here is that this forum regularly appears on Google searches for ski resort reviews, so when someone posts something negative about a place, many are reluctant to let that stand unchallenged, especially if they disagree with the original post's views. In this case, the original post was highly contentious, in that:
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1. The ski area was 'messy' - no really good links to runs without a lot of work and walking - horribly laid out
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I disagree - every run has a lift at the top and bottom, and there are very few places in the whole valley where it is necessary to walk. I find it hard to believe that there is anywhere in the world which doesn't have similar areas where the bottom of one run is marginally below a lift for a different run, unless you go in for wholesale bulldozing of the mountain to make everything perfect. Austria doesn't work like that, thank God.
They went over Christmas - what exactly did they expect, an empty mountain? I'm sure every major resort in Europe was crowded as well, and from my experiences, Mayrhofen seems to cope with it well. Two of our trips have been over New Year, and one in half term, so I've seen it at its busiest.
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3. full of inconsiderate boarders
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(easy target alert...  ) Welcome to the real world...
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4. far too many louts
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Subjective, your honour - I've never seen anything other than high spirited people having a good time, but all of these could be louts by your definition. France is known for extended lunches with lots of wine and a big bill followed by trying to get down the mountain while pissed, while Austria is known for dancing on tables in ski boots once the hill has closed (and then in a few cases trying to get down the hill while pissed - but since most Austrian resorts have the apres at the bottom, that's very limited).
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5. Food costs were an absolute joke - 96 euro for 4 pizzas, baked potatoes and drinks and 140 euro for steak and fish dishes for four people
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No-one posting in reply has ever seen prices like that. If they included a bottle of wine or two, it could conceivably end up in that range in the most expensive places, but both food on the hill and in town is nowhere near that. I'm used to paying about €25 per head for a damn fine 2 course evening meal with a bottle of wine between 3 or 4, so maybe the OP was naive in their choice of eatery (as has been pointed out, several of those listed are 4* hotel restaurants), or failed to check the menu prices before ordering and eating the food.
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6. the standard was poor everywhere and portions small
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The standard of everything I've ever eaten in Austria was exceptionally high - venison, steaks, pork, turkey, grillwurstl, strudel, kaiserschmarren, pizzas, pasta or whatever. The range of food may be limited in places, but that's called being in a different culture, and one where the local cuisine still exists, unlike at home where chicken tikka massala is allegedly the nation's favourite dish, and restaurants aren't classified by name or price range, but as Italian, Mexican, Chinese, etc. As for the portion size, I'm definitely not a nouvelle cuisine sort of person, and I've never managed to finish everything I've been offered in Austria. Portion sizes are almost always generous, especially on desserts.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| bobthebuilder wrote: |
| Hello I am a newbie on here just joined as I have been watching this thread with interest as I am going to Mayrhofen in March and am outraged at the treatment of poor Hopingforsnow. She gave an opinion based on her visit and asked if others had felt the same after going there themselves yet the majority of those posting replies have had nothing to say about Mayrhofentbut but have just been making personal attacks at Hopingforsnow |
I disagree.
One or two posters have been doing so, particularly flangesax, but most of us have been replying to the substantive points.
Most of the replies have disagreed with her, but that isn't the same as personal attacks.
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bobthebuilder, I disagree if you look at the first two pages of post everyone seems to be asking why and giving their experience of Mayrhofen
hopingforsnow, had dinner in 2 4 * hotels and a massive tourist trap pun and complained about the price there are tons of options to eat in Mayrhofen for little or nothing you can have a 5 course meal in the Neahaous in Mayrhofen for €20 euro a head with all you can eat starters and desert
The ski area as noted by ousekjarr, is very well laid out with only 1 run (With some amazing off piste at the sides) I can think of in a dead end with one life out
Every where is busy at Christmas
We all have a boarder crash story no matter what resort
The only thing that has a leg to stand on is the louts it is a livley resort but louts might be a bit hard on those involved. It is a very high octaine resort popular with young people and free riders (Park rats, boarders, young learnears,stags and group ski holidays)
I hope you enjoy your holiday there conditions where amazing when we where in the ziller last March
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You know it makes sense.
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| hopingforsnow wrote: |
| From what I saw, all the local specialities contained meat and I did not find a fishy option soup. a vegan would have starved. |
meatiness is most certainly an attribute of many Austrian local dishes, but I eat more fish than meat, and never struggle in Austria. And being a vegan must be tough in most ski areas - all lifestyle choices have trade-offs.
We went to the Zillertal last year and deliberately stayed between Mayrhofen and Hintertux to avoids crowds/fish and chips/burgers/hoards of Brits. . Only had a couple of beers in Mayrhofen, so can't comment on prices there, but where we stayed it was nowhere near the prices you quote.
On skiing, did you try any of the areas up or down the Valley? There's some exceptional fun to be had - if you didn't care for Mayrhofen area, there's a heap more to explore on your pass, and buses/trains are free and convenient. Just wondering .... Hintertux, Zell am Ziller and Hochzillertal were all great fun when we were there. And not crowded at all.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
hopingforsnow, I agree, it all comes down to the circumstances on the day. We had the most magnificent Easter in La ROsiere last year with big snowfalls every night and pretty good weather in the day. The following week was cloudy and warm - we were lucky.
I hated Kaprun, but agaiun that was a mixture of many factors that conspired to cloud my opinions. |
get up to do a lap of obertauern one day 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Off to Mayhofen for the third or fourth time in 3 weeks. Can't wait. They must have rearranged the lift system since 2007 if it is now rubbish
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Wow, what a thread!
FWIW, I didn't adore Mayrhofen, because for us it was a bit too touristy and full of Brits and slightly rowdy, but we knew that before we went, as I would assume would anybody who had read even the shortest review of the place. If you ask anyone to name three resorts known for nightlife (ergo, can get rowdy) in Austria Mayrhofen would usually be on the list. We didn't mind on that occasion, because, ironically, it was very cheap!
The food prices I don't understand. I have never paid anything like that much in Austria, but have also never eaten anything like that much. Portions on the whole are huge, almost overwhelmingly so in a lot of places (including the ones we had in Mayrhofen), and so how anyone can have pizza and jacket potato for lunch (that's two lunches to me?) or even sausage & chips plus apple strudel (a meal in itself), I don't quite understand. Normally we would have something like a bowl of (very filling) gulasch soup plus either a salad or Tirolergroestl, or sausage and chips or a pasta dish, and share both items (i.e. one soup and one 'main') between us because we literally wouldn't be able to walk otherwise let alone ski. Lunch on the mountain for us is usually about E3 for soup, E8 for main course, plus a large beer and a large coke, usually comes in under E20 for two people, and always good quality. Evening meal we would normally have two courses each plus wine and water and spend about E20-E25 each which I think is very reasonable (OK so it used to be £12 -£18 and now it is £20-£25 but that is again not a surprise). Obviously 4* hotels are expensive, but that is not specific to Mayrhofen.
The skiing I found fine, links all good and very efficient lift system on the whole. I don't remember having to walk anywhere, and am not sure what piste doesn't have a lift going up from it, but as others have said, sometimes it's about the geography of a place (and presumably the piste map showed it, it' only not clear right above Rastalm IMO). The queue to get down the Penken at 4pm is a pain though, I would rather ski to resort.
With regards to shops being shut, I think this is as others have said ski resorts also being 'normal' towns in Austria with lives outside tourism. That's the time shops close in Austria. They're also closed at Christmas. Again, a very little research would have ascertained this, and you can buy takeaway beers from most bars. We have also quite often bought a litre of milk at a hotel restaurant a few times when we have arrived very late. People are usually very helpful if you ask. I don't expect the supermarkets to stay open for me though.
I'm sorry the OP had a bad holiday, and it probably feels worse than it would with other holidays because it was Christmas and most people are feeling the pinch financially. I am quite baffled though by some of the assertions and like others, felt moved to reply with my own take on it.
D
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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hopingforsnow, sorry to hear you had a bad trip. I visited Mayrhofen 4 years ago and we found prices on the mountain to be reasonable and usually paid around £10 per head for a good lunch and drinks. We always go 4* half board to Austria as it usually works out cheaper than B&B. Plus you often get 4 courses so you don't need a big lunch. They also cater much better for vegetarians this way and my friend who is a vegetarian has had some good meals. She normally tells them she is a vegetarian in German/Austrian which breaks the ice and they usually look afer her. So if you return to Austria some day, then go half board, and for good food go 4*.
We stayed in the Neuhaus and the vegetarian food was really good.
For those visiting Mayrhofen this season, to avoid the queues down from the Penken in the afternoon you can ski down to Finkenberg and get the bus back to Mayrhofen (it's only 2km). Or, we skiied down to the Hippach gondola and a taxi cost about €10 between 4 of us.
Kaltenbach ski area is excellent.
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I was in Mayrhofen last week and found the food prices reasonable when compared to Tignes, where I was for the week before Christmas. My usual lunch on the mountain was 8 - 10 Euros in Mayrhofen but about 10 -15 Euros in Tignes. I'm a vegetarian and ate dinner in Manni's quite a few times and my usual starter, main course and quarter litre of red wine usually came to between 20 - 25 Euros, quite reasonable, I thought. I'd then often pop around to 'Scotland Yard' before it got too busy for a couple of large Zillertal beers at 3.40 Euros each; was often paying 6 Euros for the same in Tignes. Didn't have a problem pulling out vegetarian options from the menu, some of the local dishes e.g. Kasespatzl (sp?) are vegetarian anyway. I found some of the mountain restaurants at each of the different ski areas to be excellent for lunch. The queues around the Penken area can be a pain at busy times but the 'Green Line' bus service to the other ski areas is quite good, although, I thought that scheduling the last bus from Hintertux to Mayrhofen at 5PM was a bit early. I don't really understand the issue about the lift system, although, I did have a couple of issues with the piste map, some links between lifts that weren't shown on the map were actually there and this could be figured out pretty quickly, I thought. The slopes around the Penken area were sometimes very busy and there were some inconsiderate nutters about but it was the week over new year. There is some good off-piste around at each of the areas and I often found this the best option but I realise it's not an option for everyone.
Just my tuppence worth.
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| flangesax wrote: |
alex_heney, I really don't think that I have amde any personal attacks at all. Please could you quote them up if I have offended you. that way I can see what I have done and correct my evil ways!...
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You didn't offend me, but I don't see how "I don't have to try to post to discredit your OP - you seem to being a good job of it yourself!" can be regarded as anything other than a personal attack, and for me the tone of that whole post was rather personal, in taht you were accusing her (unreasonably in my view) of being inconsistent just because she wanted a supermarket (to get supplies) but was saying she didn't go for shopping or want the over-commercialised Christmas.
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| Hayls wrote: |
For those visiting Mayrhofen this season, to avoid the queues down from the Penken in the afternoon you can ski down to Finkenberg and get the bus back to Mayrhofen (it's only 2km). Or, we skiied down to the Hippach gondola and a taxi cost about €10 between 4 of us.
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Or again, you can get a bus from there (may need bus/train, I'm not sure there are direct buses from the Hippach gondola to Mayrhofen, not having tried)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| easiski wrote: |
| [b]nick0861[/b As a veggie I would always prefer self catering, but that's hard to find in Austria. |
Surely not! Contact any tourist information centre or browse the resort website and they have stacks of self-catering apartments on offer. I've been to Solden 3 times, Stubai once and going to Mayrhofen in February - all in self-catering accom.
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Tirol, agreed, our own apartment aside, we always stay s/c and almost always have done. It's just that it kind of doesn't look like it's s/c, as it's usually in smaller chalet style houses of 5 or 6 apartments rather than hundreds in one building. S/c is the main way to go for most German/Dutch guests who drive down.
D
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I know this is an old post but for what it's worth, I rated Mayrhofen, thought it was pretty cheap for what you get and had an awesome time on the slopes.... Went 2017 in January, had amazing snow cover, bluebird days every day, got drunk for nowt and nearly got snogged by an old German bird (in front of my missus). Maybe thats what swayed it for me:P
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Interesting 8-year thread bump! I went to Mayrhofen a few years back and certainly didn't hate it, but then I do love Austria. A few things weren't ideal (Penkenbahn queue [there's now a new gondola], no runs to resort except from Ahorn, bus ride to lift) but overall we had a good week. I certainly don't remember it being expensive for food and drink, but we were half board anyway.
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the prices in the first post were BS. as were the prices in the French comparison. especially the beer prices for both, if comparing like with like.
thread bump and 3/4 though
queues are history. mayrhofen, zell am ziller and kaltenbach have all had huge uplift and base station upgrades since this thread was started. and big lift upgrades on the mountain too. all part of the heated 8er chairs as the new default standard.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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He has maintained an amazing level of boorish nobbishness for a decade!
Have been to Mayrhofen and although not your typical charming Austrian resort surrounded by snow is a good place for a holiday. Easy enough access for the glacier and zillertal/kaltenbach. Not too much queuing and the prices are reasonable.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| full of inconsiderate boarders, and far too many louts. |
I love seeing the effects of positive bias......sees a boarder being inconsiderate, all boarders are inconsiderate, sees a skier being inconsiderate, didn't see a thing!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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so can any one suggest a 4 day variation for a group of lazy but good snowboarders in the hoff for a 4 day break , ive done it before and really liked the single seater chair lift at Hippach and most days we got the train but cant rememebr where .
4 days four different areas , where would you suggest ?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Didn’t like mayrhoffen personally. Got to agree with op on some points.
Only a couple of years ago when we went and disliked the queues up the penkenbarn in the morning and down in evenings (far from a peak week). Also felt the area was quite disparate, with buses / trains between resorts.
Just talking about it with mates at weekend and we were in firm agreement we’re in no rush to go back. Each to their own.
No issues with prices, quality of food or Austria in general though
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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love <3 Mayrhofen therefore all arguments against it are invalid. goodbai
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Only a couple of years ago when we went and disliked the queues up the penkenbarn
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completely renewed in the last 2 years
Mayrhofen will never shake off that image of queues, even if it installs a million person gondola
my longest queue in the last decade there has been waiting for the 2nd gondola cabin, because it would be rude to barge in on a family going in the first cabin.
Zell am Ziller and Kaltenbach were renewed a while back, and both have double gondola to access the mountain
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| gwatts10 wrote: |
so can any one suggest a 4 day variation for a group of lazy but good snowboarders in the hoff for a 4 day break , ive done it before and really liked the single seater chair lift at Hippach and most days we got the train but cant rememebr where .
4 days four different areas , where would you suggest ? |
Day One Mayrhofen Day Two Kaltenbach Day Three Zillertaler Arena Day Four Hintertux. Plenty to do for a week, let alone 4 days 
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FAQ
) also I don't drink much so can't help on the beer front - a large white coffee is between €2 and €3.50 depending on where you buy it if that's any help. British bars are more expensive than local bars of course.
France and the French get a lot of stick - much of it rather unfair IMO - at least we're open for our visitors. 
