 Poster: A snowHead
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assuming snow ok
looking to go to mayrhofen for a change in jan (2012)
have noticed crystal and the like have mayrhofen ski area guest houses..
anyone been in themif so what constitutes "area"/ dont fancy being out in the wilds
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I've been looking at these too! If anyone has any idea it would be much appreciated!!
Cheers!
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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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From what I've read into it, Mayrhofen Ski Area is anywhere between Mayrhofen and Hintertux, with the guest houses being no more than a 10 minute walk from the resort centre? Seems too good to be true though, with it costing me £450 for 7 nights, B+B, Lift Pass and Carrage from my local airport? what's the catch?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It is too good to be true - the guest houses are commissioned direct from the tourist office and standards are variable to say the least (I wouldn't even expect the resort manager knows where most of them are let alone has visited them to assess their suitability) - nuff said - I've already had a rant about Crystal this week so will just say - check the use by date on everything they feed you at breakfast OR spend a bit more and go to a recommended hotel OR go independently, you'll probably be able to book a better guest house in advance for less money by going through the tourist office yourself.
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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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Never booked through the TO but "pensions" or guest houses are as common as hotels but at a cheap alternative. I myself never find any shortcoming with the Austrian pensions which I rate better than many French hotel.
Austrian accommodations and skiing resorts are often based on visitors with own cars and scatter around. Zillertal Valley has 6 to 7 unlinked skiing resorts in which Mayrhofen is the largest. Mayrhofen is linked from different areas by cable cars/gondola at Horbergbahn, Penkenbahn, Finkenberg, Rastkogelbahn and Eggalmbahn each is served by a number of car parks. Last time I skied there any ski pass over 4 day bought at any resort would enable the holder to ski all the resorts within the Zillertal Valley which has a long resort Zillertal Arena similar in size to Mayrholfen and the snow-sure Hintertux glacier at the dead end of the valley.
Don't miss out Harakiri run in Mayrhofen. It is the steepest "groomed" piste in Austria.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I stayed in the 'Mayrhofen Snowhouses" two years ago.
Accomodation was in a medium/small three star guesthouse (guess at about 20 double rooms) called the Hotel Garni Almhof. Situated about a four minute walk from the edge of Mayrhoffen (heading north on the road towards Laubischl) it suited fine, it was about a ten to twelve minute walk to the penken gondola, but more importantly for me only a six or seven minute walk to the bus/train station. The rooms were clean, if a little dated, renovated bathrooms, fresh linen and towels every other day, breakfast was basic continental, cereal fruit, yoghurt, meats cheese and bread, but all seemed fresh and served with a smile.
I had no problem with it, booked via Crystal last minute deal in Jan for about €330 as a package I've no complaints, and would have no problems booking there again. The only thing I would avoid are the Reps recommendations as far as restaurants go - I made a real rookie mistake there 
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I thought about this for this year (but actually booked something else)
You need to be aware that there are 2 offerings - "Mayrhofen" guest houses and "Mayrhofen ski area" guest houses.
Here's the description for the latter
"The Mayrhofen Ski Area Guesthouses are located in various 'chalets' in Ramsau. They are offered on a bed and breakfast basis"
and "up to 15 minutes bus ride to nearest lift "
Ramsau its a significant distance from Mayrhofen.
http://www.crystalski.co.uk/ski-resorts/austria-ski-holidays/mayrhofen-ski-area/mayrhofen-ski-area-guesthouses/
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Have booked this for mid Jan....feedback will follow....hopefully positive.
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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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I am staying in these guesthouses over new year, 31st-7th, very keen and cannot wait! 
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We stayed last year in Landhaus Gasser www.landhausgasser.com, good, clean facilities right next to the Penken lift in Mayrhofen, would recommend to a friend. Very good location, central but away from the noise of after ski. Would recommend own car to other Zillertal resorts, of which Hintertux is best and Gerlos other good. We did not like Mayrhofen that much, Harakiri was fun to watch from the lift above as lot of people fell in the slope and slided down  As long as you don't stop in there it is not difficult, requires some nerves though as usually very icy. Hintertux slopes however by far the best in the area.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Looks like even if your staying in Ramsau, the Horbergbahn lift is only like 5 mins walk which goes upto Penken, this will also avoid the queues in Mayrhofen. I might be wrong but thats what it looks like on google earth!
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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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Ramsau connects in one direction to Mayrhofen by either bus or the train, and then you can connect up to Hintertux and in the other direction you can get to Zell am Ziller on the train then bus to the lifts. All included on the area ski pass, it's not neccesarily the most convenient location but you have options for quite a few different days of skiing. Bus and train timetables should be on the Mayrhofen website or the Zillertalbahn website and I'm sure the guesthouses will have transport details too. Look for the Ramsberg ski bus timetable for a link to the Horbergbahn.
There is a small ski area above Ramsau at Gerlosstein/Hainzenberg, single chair up from Ramsau, a cable car from Hainzenberg and a few other lifts with a good long toboggan run too, toboggans can be hired at Hainzenberg. I love this little area as it's so quiet and there are a few atmospheric cafes.
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You know it makes sense.
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After looking at my paperwork I have noticed that we're in Mayrhofen guesthouses not "area" so will be interesting to see how close/ how nice the digs are.
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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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solstice21, see my post above - we stayed in small guessthouse/hotel about 5mins walk from teh edge of Mayrhofen. Just enough to warm up ijn the morning, and develop a thirst in the evening.
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Poster: A snowHead
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rogg, Cheers, now lets hope all this mild weather at the mo leads to shedloads of snow for everyone come Jan (but that's another thread )!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
breakfast was basic continental, cereal fruit, yoghurt, meats cheese and bread
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that sounds like a pretty complete breakfast to me, rather than basic !
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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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solstice21,
If you go the the Google map and type in the address of your accommodation you can see how close it is to the gondola. The Penkenbahn of Mayrhofen is ivisble from the Google map.
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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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solstice21, hope you're right, but if not you always have the option of heading up to the Hintertux Glacier. It's included on the main pass. Also worth poking around some of the smaller resorts up and down the valley. They're a bit quieter so it seems you can usually find a bit of untracked fresh here and there. I really quite liked Zell am Ziller, when i was there it had the best 'lower level' snow of the resorts i tried, and was quite a nice 'cruisey' sort of area.
@Pam - as always illuminating and helpful. Next time i have a query about what constitutes a basic breakfast I'll know who to contact.
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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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Stay near the main lift in the centre of town. We stayed at hotel Gasthof brucke - booked direct with hotel. 2-3 min walk to the lift.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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saikee, No address for digs until you get there, we may not even all be in the same guesthouse. It just states - no more than 10 mins walk for everything.
rogg, Yes, I've been checking out piste maps, resort maps etc. Should be plenty to keep us amused even if there's only snow "up top"!
....I'm getting excited like a little kid already and it's 2 months away!!!
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rogg, basic is a third-rate croissant, a bread roll, a horrid little pack of butter and a horrider little pot of runny jam.
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| saikee wrote: |
solstice21,
If you go the the Google map and type in the address of your accommodation you can see how close it is to the gondola. The Penkenbahn of Mayrhofen is ivisble from the Google map. |
And beware of 'right next to the lift' claims that turn out to be technically true, althoug right next to the Ahornbahn instead. It's quite a long walk to the Penkenbahn from over there, I can tell you.
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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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paulio,
Last time I booked accommodation in Mayrhofen there were a few choices. After checking Ahornbahn and Penkenbahn locations I chose a pension right at the middle with about 6 to 7 minutes walking distance either way. It was 22 Euro/head/night B&B. SH here are worrying there may be a catch for the low cost skiing Mayrhofen. I use the same strategy in booking all my accommodations but I do take the car along for added flexibility.
I don't know about others but I always check the piste map before choosing the accommodations and drive to the chairlifts most of the time. Penkenbahn is possibly the few I didn't drive but I did access Mayrhofen from every other chairlift by driving to there. With driving I could go to the mountain at the quietest lift with the least people. Penkenbahn was the busiest but the queue was moving fast that we could walk slowly non stop until reaching the gondola.
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solstice21, Don't worry distance to the lift too much , you've always got the option of leaving boots and skis at the depot at the bottom of either of the lifts in town for a couple of euros/night and then its a gentle stroll. And if you don't mind an early start, lifts in Mayrhofen open at 8am rather 9 , do this and you'll get the pistes almost to yourself for quite a while.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Ave booked one of the guesthouse and I'm not worried at all where it is , giv me a warm room and a bed happy days, breakfast at the butchers bottom of the penken, enough said
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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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I think there is a run down to village level down that way tough. Beats queing for the penken. Same to finkenberg on other side of the valley if memory serves me right.
As Hamish said "mayrhofen guesthouses" and "mayrhofen AREA guesthouses" big difference. Inghams do the same but call them mayrhofen/area snowhouses. Area ones probably in ramsau (ramsau im zillertal. not other ramsau), schwendau, hippach, finkenberg.
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| Quote: |
| breakfast at the butchers bottom ... enough said |
More than enough!
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You know it makes sense.
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6 to 7 unlinked skiing resorts in which Mayrhofen is the largest
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Just noticed this thread is a bit stale although has resurrected, but I'll comment anyway, mayrhofen is no where near the largest area. Both Zell and Kaltenbach/hochfugen are bigger.
bergfex says:
mayrhofen 159 (including penken and ahorn, not linked really, so even smaller in reality)
hintertux 86
zell 169
kaltenbach/hochfugen 181
and a selection of others too small off the radar imho.
Neither Finkenberg nor horberg were skiable to the valley over christmas, although Kaltenbach was, and very nice it was to do it too. Ahorn was I think, but falls into the too small to be off the radar category.
A full report of "a francophiles view of austria" is in preparation after arriving back from mayrhofen on saturday.
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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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We booked the Mayrhofen guesthouses deal 3 years ago 7 were allocated the Sanna Guesthouse, which was really lovely & only a 5 min walk to the Penken Gondola from the other side of the river - breakfast was basic but varied daily & there was plenty of it.
My friend however, booked the same type of deal last year & theirs was located 2 miles out of Mayrhofen!!  They did lodge a complaint on return due to misdescription regarding distance of accommodation, but I can't recall the outcome. I think the only thing to surmise is it's a bit hit & miss!! If you're able to request a specific accommodation when booking then I'd recommend the Sanna for location & being basic but very pleasant.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
theirs was located 2 miles out of Mayrhofen
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I could cope with that if it was close to the Bichl train station, or any station on the line really, the skiing in Zell and hochfugen was much better imho.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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i booked mayrhofen area acom last year and ended up in hippach. nice little village 4k from mayrhofen. easy to get to the horberg lift or jump on the train elsewhere. it was a bit quiet at night but i was wife the wife so didn`t mind. only hotels to eat in , but there were a couple of nice bars.
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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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| Quote: |
only hotels to eat in
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same seems to be true of mayrhofen itself.
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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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We stayed in Hippach in January on cheap last minute deal. B&B in a snowhouse and took the TO package for dinner in local hotel which was excellent value. Bus stopped outside the accommodation and only a few minutes to lifts. Also good for buses and trains to all the rest of the Ziller valley so skied a different area each day. Very quiet at night but we were happy eating with others from the B&B then a few drinks in the bar.
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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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A few friends of mine stayed with crystal 'mayrhofen ski area' deal over new year (I had arranged it but couldnt go in the end).
They said the accomodation itself was lovely, basic, but lovely and clean in the Hippach area. Bus stopped outside for ski area and taxis were extremely efficient going in and out of mayrhofen in the evenings.
The only complaint they had was that crystal were AWFUL. They got moved from the guesthouse they were supposed to stay at to another and as a result the transfer bus didn't pick them up at the end of the holiday. I've read these kinds of complaints on a lot of review sites as well so the deal is a good one just try and go with inghams rather than crystal/thomson.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
| It is too good to be true - the guest houses are commissioned direct from the tourist office and standards are variable to say the least |
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| I myself never find any shortcoming with the Austrian pensions |
I'm with poster no. 2 on this. On around 30 visits to Austria I have yet to stay in a B&B/pension that wasn't spotless. About €20 a night will get you something basic and for €40 upwards you'll generally be getting something quite upmarket/more spacious.
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I am booked to stay in a "Mayrhofen ski area guesthouse" second week of Feb, I have stayed in Mayrhofen before so don't really mind where i stay as long as i can bet a bite to eat and a drink in the evenings. I am presuming its going to be a taxi ride out of town or a nice walk.
I will keep you all post to where i end up.
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Holy thread bump!
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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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Only 6 years between posts! Unbelievable Jeff
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But still interesting!!
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FAQ
