Please tell me about Serfaus!

A snowHead

@sah,earlier is better especially as the bottom of the home run gets quite chopped up by the end of day.

A snowHead

The Serfaus tube is a cool novelty that keeps the traffic levels down a bit.

Some of my fondest memories of pre covid holidays there are finishing a long day on the mountain, having a few drinks in the Patschi and then walking back to the hotel down the buzzing, vibrant main street as it's just getting dark.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Gaz_H, The Ski school times are not ideal if you want to ski with the kids. What I did was put them in the Snowstars progamme for 3 days and then I got the rest of the week with them. I think there is an 09.30 start option so obviously they get out earlier and you get ski time with them. We always met them for lunch. If there is a flipside which ironically is one of the reasons we go to Serfaus, is that it's very unlikely they'll be other British kids in the classes - it's never happened in the whole team we've been going. My kids are pretty relaxed about it but equally it won't be fun for some if they haven't got anyone to talk to all day (although it's a good excuse to practice German). The level of instruction is very good. My son's group just skied powder all week and he let them do some decent rock drops so he was in his element. I think on the third day they lose their skis and all go out on snowbikes which is carnage. They also test them on things like piste signs and etiquette.

There is definitely only one ski school in Serfaus. A few years ago there was an old boy who was a one man ski school but he didn't speak a word of English. I think he was related to someone in the village so they just let him get on with it!

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@sah, the Patschi is definitely open this season (at the moment) but is table service only. I expect the other bars, shops and restaurants on the main street will be open too.

Hope you like it.

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@sah, spend time exploring pistes around Fiss towards Ladis, especially in good snow conditions, as they are quieter as the crowd does seem to migrate towards the higher slopes or Serfaus above the tree line. So head to the right of the piste map.

After all it is free

@Ozboy, agree. After a nice dump of snow that whole section above the Zirbenhutte is great. Loads of scope for easily accessible unpisted snow.

@Ozboy, Yes I agree. Fiss 'Northside' is a great area with some decent black pistes (Alderpiste & Zwolfer) and a great timed race-course.

And then come home via the epic Frommesabfahrt (sp) all the way down to Ladis

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@red 27, Is the Frommesabfahrt the very long run that starts above the tree line and has a great “western”(?) themed restaurant to the left 2/3 down? It’s up there as one of my favourite runs. We stopped going to SFL as discovered Madesimo in Italy before buying a place in PDS. Hope to go back one day away from school holidays for a long weekend.

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@Ozboy, I haven't been to that restaurant but yes I think that's the run. It starts on a wide ridge with fantastic views, very open and a nice easy (red) gradient and then eventually drops off to the right. Ladis is then a left turn (if open)

It starts from the top of the Scheonjochbahn (sp) which is the long red 2-stage bubble out of Fiss

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@red 27, yup that’s the one - a real thigh burner!

@Ozboy, is that the place that has the goats. If so it's a nice place on a sunny afternoon.

You know it makes sense.

Yup that’s indeed the one

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Whats the Apres like? Or bars in general?

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@Sarny, pre covid there were limited options for apres in Serfaus. But to some extent this helped as it made for good atmosphere in the apres bars that were there.

We would usually have a couple of beers at the Umbrella bar at the top of the Komperdellbahn then board down to the Patschi.
The Patschi is (was) the sort of apres bar you get in Ischgl, Solden etc. Rammed full inside with loads of people dancing on tables to the usual Austrian tunes, with an outside space which is a bit less chaotic. They also sold food such as ribs outside.

There is an umbrella bar at the bottom of run 90 that was also good. But it is small and probably not open this year.

The other option for madder apres is the George pub. Near the Zentrum tube stop, run by a Dutch guy. We had a week there during Karnival and it was crazy busy. With all staff in fancy dress.
We usually spent the apres hours at the Patschi and go to the George later.

There are other bars on the main road for a quieter drink. If I want a break from the Patschi at the end of the day, I like sitting outside the Fauser-Stadl watching the world go by.

There is a large Hexenalm in Fiss that we didn't make it to for apres yet on our trips, but I expect that would be good. We have been in during our day on the mountain.

A snowHead

Made it to Serfaus, and it’s everything we hoped for for a family trip. Thanks again to everyone who offered advice Smile

one more question for those in the know, is there a good boot fitter in the town? We’ll probably just head in to the big Patscheider at the bottom of the lift, but if anyone has a top tip please share!

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@sah, try inter sport on the right upstairs just before you head down to Patscheider

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@sah, my wife had boots successfully fitted from the bug store in Feb left as you approach the lift before the ramp in the road. You have to go upstairs and normally a long wait at the end of day. Might be better to make an appointment during the ski day.

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thanks @Guernseyfreerider, and @Ozboy, We actually got boots at the store at the top of the lift, we popped in at lunchtime, no one else there, my wife tried on a couple of pairs and found a pair she liked. The guy was very helpful, and they suggested that she ski them for a few hours and come back for any adjustments. She did that but found nothing needed changing, apart from fiddling with buckles a bit. We'll be back there next year, so if there are any issues we can get them looked at at the same place Smile

Serfaus was amazing, exactly as described by everyone here. I really don't have any new info to add, other than to point out the obvious, it is very busy in Dutch half term. It looks like our calendar next year doesn't match the Dutch one, so we're hoping it will be a bit quieter.

The crowds were not a big problem, the lift from the valley was quick, we waited about 5 minutes each morning at rush hour. The only real big queue was on the Planseggbahn, that seemed to be very busy all week, and the ski school use it for snow bikes, which means the lift can stop a lot when they're loading and unloading. Once we got to know our way around it was less of an issue. The slopes away from the main base were much quieter, Masner was great and the area above Fiss was fine too.

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Had a great week in Serfaus last week. It was wall to wall sun for the whole week. Managed to get a few untracked turns on the North facing slopes in the Masner area at the beginning of the week.
On the whole it was a piste week and the cold weather meant that many of the higher runs didn't soften up much throughout the day.
Had a lovely slushy run into Ladis on one of the warmer days.

I stick to my comments on the other recent Serfaus thread, it's not a resort for people who get nervous on red runs. There are large parts of the area that are red and black only.

Last week was the second time I've been to Serfaus during Fasching week and it seemed much busier this year. Not great for lift queues but the main street was buzzing during the evening. I will definitely look at alternate weeks the next time I go.

The Masner sector had the best snow all week, I wish there were more hutte options over in that direction. There really isn't much choice.

And a mention for the Zum Wohl restaurant, great burgers and ribs.

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@omas brumm,
@sah,
Hi, hope it's OK to hop onto this old post.
Can I ask you both about Bertas in Fiss in case you know the answers to my questions? I'm about to book my two children in there for the pre Christmas week, but I'm a little confused. It seems like the 3 year-old will only start on Monday (and we can take her on the nursery slope ourselves at 10:30). So I'm not sure now if I should book the older one 7 in from Sunday or Monday. Also, does this mean no skiing for us on the Sunday?

After all it is free

Don't put her on skis. Definitely don't.....

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Jumping on this thread for some info. Looking at Fiss/Serfaus/ladies for week 14th Jan 2023 before heading to Arlberg. 4 skiers and snowboard ranging from 33-75. Reds/blues ideal for whole group. Blacks okay but elderly don’t like them too much. Where is best place to base ourselves? Any hotel recommendations. Half-board is perfect as parents are older and don’t like to leave hotel in evening. They love being close to lifts. Apres not important. It might be me but really struggling to find half-board hotels. I haven’t skied in the area much so might be me.

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as much as i know, Serfaus & Fiss have more appartments than hotels with HB
in generall i think serfaus i more expensive and if you want near the lifts the prices will reach the Arlberg niveau

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@Ldj226, I think Serfaus would suit you better, there’s good ski and boot storage right under the main lift station and the little tram that runs the length of the village makes it really easy to get to the lifts from most of the hotels. The underground tram runs along under the Main Street, Dorfbahnstrasse, so any hotels on or near that street will be a minute or two away from a station. Can’t remember the name of the hotel but I’ve stayed on one at the far end of the village from the lifts and it was fine, just walked across the road and into the tram in the morning.

Fiss on the other hand has no tram but some quite steep streets so a bit less convenient.

There are a few properly steep blacks in the area but you don’t need to ski them, there’s always alternative routes.

Since you mentioned "Elderly", here's another vote vote for Serfaus and its subway, a really nice, unusual feature that can save a ton of walking. Half-board isn't their sweet spot so maybe some flex on that is warranted. I stayed at the Das Köhle, right across from the Kirche (subway) Station. Nice rooftop pool as well. When I return to the Alps, Serfaus will be among the destinations.

You know it makes sense.

@Ldj226, Fiss is best IMV

I stay here which is very excellent. Ski in - ski out and has its own equipment hire shop too

You parents won't want to leave in the evening or at all in fact...

https://www.schlosshotel-fiss.com/en/

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Please tell me about Serfaus!

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