Lech in late March

A snowHead

A group of us are thinking about heading to Lech late March and i’m just wondering a few things about the place if anyone who’s been there could help.

I know the place is considered expensive, if we can manage reasonably priced accommodation in the place how expensive is the place to eat and have a few beers? I know there’ll be plenty of places there that I won’t be eating in but is there a decent few places there where we could get a bite to eat and a few beers for a reasonable price on and off the mountain?

I get the impression that it’s reasonably well connected and getting across to St Anton and other areas in the Arlberg should be easily manageable in a day at that part of the season?

Heard the skiing is good, do ye like it as a base?

Know the apres won’t be mad but assume it’s decent anyway?
Thanks

A snowHead

Others who know Lech better than I will soon chime in, but the three times I've been there have all been in late March. Wining and dining are not cheap there; nothing really is. There are ways to make it work, though. And its a great base, and yes you can get around to St. Anton as you suspect (and though you'll want to check it out, I've found it much more crowded than any of the other Arlberg areas that time of year). There is next to zero night life; the two main bars in the center of town shut at 8 I believe. Its mostly classy, pretty, authentic and quiet and I like that.

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I cannot comment on the evening dining experience in Lech, as we stay in St Anton. The on-mountain lunch/dining varies considerably in price. We really only eat at the restaurant at the top of Ruffikopfbahn. The food there is good, reasonably priced, and friendly service. The Ambrosius Stube in the main street is also quite reasonable. Balmalp has nice food, prices not too bad, fantastic views, but the staff all think they are too cool for school.

It is easy to get to St Anton. Either ski over to Zürs via Ruffikopfbahn, or catch the free Blue Bus, to the Trittkopfbahn/Flexenbahn, and then you will be at the edge of the StA ski area, ie Alpe Rauz. You could also catch the Post Bus (fee) direct to StA. The Flexenbahn also connects you to Stuben via the Albonabahn.

The Auenfeldjet will connect you directly to the Warth / Schröcken ski area.

The skiing is not good. It is fantastic.

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@colly10, Lech is indeedy expensive! The hotels still charge top-dollar up to the end of season, many of them are dinner/B&B. Not that many restaurants in town, a couple of decent pizza places, expect 15 Euro upwards for pizza, bottles of wine are silly prices. However, if you can find SC accommodation in Lech, still hefty prices, but the local supermarkets are good value in comparison. Lech is a great base for that end of the Arlberg, you can get to the skiing in Zurs very quickly, best snow should be found Tritkopf, Muggengrat, and Madloch first thing. In Lech you are also close to Auenfeldjet into Warth/Schrocken which opens up some very nice skiing that can be mostly uncrowded. Lech has been my go to ski base late season for 10+ years, not just for the skiing. For price comparisons also look for accommodations in Stuben or Zug. Slightly out of Lech but access to Lech's skiing is well quick, and staying that side of the Arlberg means you are ahead of the day-trippers from St Anton racing across to Lech/Zurs. Apres ski is nothing like the KK/Mooserwirt, but the Kone von Lech has ski bar with live music, lots of Aperol Spritz's, decent beer, PepperKorns roadside bar is okay, but night life is dormant to say the least. Got to say I really like Lech, but I'm way past my youth, travel with partner who is great skier, but likes her luxuries, good food on mountain, very good access to some great skiing, pretty efficient and modern ski lifts, no noisy blokes filled with testosterone beef as you can get in St Manton! All being well I'm out there late March early April 2021.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Some great restaurants and plenty to keep heartily fed for a week, eg Hus8 and Schneggerei. We go every year, mid January never stayed in Lech as late as end March, by then much of the south facing stuff in Lech, and definitely in Warth will be pretty brown and trashed i'd suggest, normally by early March this is getting past it beyond mid morning ime and icy before that, earlier season much better quality snow but obviously more terraces and cruisy skiing later in the season if that is preferable, both options infinitely better than being stuck in UK which is where sadly I reckon we'll all be. Supposed to be there mid January for 2 weeks, plenty of restaurants, they tend to be expensive as mentioned above but high quality and quite small so i'm unsure how that will work with cv-19 distancing, we are likely cancelling our trip, can't see how the lifts and restaurants are going to operate in a safe manner tbph, Kurz suggestion that people will need to queue observing social distancing isn't realistic and a full (or even half full) Rufikopfbahn isn't a prospect that i'd relish right now. Also lunch stops will be a pita if all need to be booked.......think we're likely swerving 20/21 and see how it pans out - it'll be a hassle imv and can't be faffed queueing and messing about pre-booking etc, plus with Brexit travel hassle, and likely loss of EHIC it needs thinking about regards risk too i'd suggest.

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I really like Lech for late season, I've twice been there for the end of season week and both times had great snow. The two pizza places by the bottom of the Obergurgl Gondola are decent value, food on the mountain is quite variable in cost but it's easy to work out which places are going to charge more just by looking at the decor. The huts over in the Warth area are generally cheaper and really good value. St Anton has more nightlife if that's what you want but Lech is a better base for skiing the Arlberg.

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@Valkyrie, I think you probably mean Oberlechbahn or maybe Ruffikopfbahn; the Obergurgl Gondola (if there is one) is a fair way from Lech.

The restaurants over in Warth/Schröcken were a good deal cheaper in the first year of the Auenfeldjet connection, but the prices have crept up significantly. That said, we love S1, at the bottom of the Saloberjet. Great food, especially the Käsespätzle, and friendly service.

After all it is free

We have stayed in Lech late March/early April a few times to coincide with my wife’s birthday, it is a fabulous time to go.
It most certainly has awesome skiing (in every direction) and heading over to StA for the day is very doable but best suited to faster, stronger skiers.
Lech is marketed as having some of the best gastronomy in the Alps- so the food standard is high and priced accordingly, however here are some less expensive suggestions
Lech-
Don Enzo pizza (15-20€ For great pizzas)
Cafe Olympia (Italian pasta dishes)
Hagen’s Dorfmetzgerei (excellent deli with a restaurant in the back but last food orders @ 5pm)
Haus Nr 8 (traditional Austrian food but it is very cozy and may not suit the Covid-wary)
Stubenbach-
Zit lo (traditional good value Austrian)
Zug-
Alpenblick ( my personal favourite, a little more pricey, but worth it)
Zurs-
Nowhere is cheap in Zurs!
I hope this is helpful to you.

Otherwise many of the hotels do offer evening bar food.

Apres ski is quite subdued but can be found at the Burg hotel in Oberlech, Schneggarei, the Krone, Tannbergerhof & Pfefferkorns hotels in Lech. Also Balmalp, if you are staying in Zug.

As for lunches on the hill, really too many to go through and depends where you are-but the choices are generally good value, even in Zurs.

@colly10, I would suggest that "apres" is pretty unlikely next season (unless the virus situation improves dramatically there wont be any), more eat in or a quiet drink and a meal, in any case Lech is not really a place for "apres" more pre dinner nibbles & sekt/prosecco/champagne.

I do wonder why you are thinking of Lech, the location is wonderful, the skiing is good even into April though the south facing slopes directly above the village can get pretty mushy (true for St Anton too) but it does not seem to fit in with your other requirements. There are some value for money places to stay and a few similar eating options but that really is not why you go to Lech. You are probably better looking at St Anton or nearby. Stuben is small but very well located for the whole area (good up until the end of the season). St Christoph is a bit isolated not much to do other than the hotels and not cheap to get into St Anton in the evenings (again good later in the season). St Anton does not appeal to everyone, accommodation is getting more expensive but there are lots of options in the evening. I tend to go to Pettneu these days, there are some quiet bars and restaurants, accommodation is cheaper than St Anton and access to the skiing is as easy as in much of St Anton itself, it is a long way from Lech though.

Getting between Lech and St Anton is now straight forward, Rufikopfbahn from Lech then via Zürs to the Flexenbahn and onto St Anton - queues permitting this should take just over an hour (less if you are a fast skier) and can be done completely on blue pistes if that is a concern. The return is the same as far as Zürs where the return route to Lech goes via the Madloch ski route, sometimes this is not so easy in the afternoons (though it is north facing) and if this is an issue there are shuttle buses (every 10 minutes) from Zürs to Lech.

There are buses between St Anton and Lech (until around 20:00) so you can potentially have a couple of drinks in St Anton and get back to Lech however whether a couple of quiet post skiing beers are even going to be possible this year is open to question.

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Thanks for all the responses, some great info there.
It sounds like while dinner and drinks is generally expensive, there are still a decent few reasonable options.
The skiing sounds great and it's well connected, I did ask about getting across to St Anton and after more reading, it's manageable but there's plenty of great skiing around the area without it anyway.

Sounds like Lech is quieter apres wise than what we're used to (we've generally happy enough where we can get a quiet few till 11 or so once the place isn't dead) but as mentioned, hard to know what apres will be like anywhere this season anyway.
Thanks for your help Smile

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@colly10, getting across to St Anton is easier than the word “manageable” implies to me. If you are a competent Red piste skier, then it is a snack.

If you are not, you probably should not bother going to St Anton as your choices would be limited. That said, you could take the Post Bus (ticket needed), which terminates below the Rendlbahn. The Rendl ski area offers some reasonably interesting Blue piste choices. You could also do an out & back to Stuben, which has some cruisey Blues, but possibly not enough for a whole day.

The main issue would be crowds on the lifts at peak times. Once you learn how the crowds tend to flow, and the options for avoiding them, then life becomes much easier.

PS: For a different adventure, and seeing something new, you could catch the bus to Sonnenkopf. A fabulous not-so-little ski area that is mainly frequented by locals. Best enjoyed on a clear day, for the layout can be a bit confusing. Very laid-back. People still bring their lunches in backpacks, and leave the packs on hooks outside the main restaurant. I would not bother - there are some very good dining choices, at very reasonable prices.

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@ulmerhutte, booking a hotel in Lech to go skiing in Rendl, and getting there by bus? Seriously? There’s not exactly a lack of blue pistes in Lech-Oberlech-Warth...

@Langerzug,My thoughts exactly, based in Lech I don't see why OP needs to be chasing across to Rendl and Sonnenkopf looking for adventures re blues and reds.

You know it makes sense.

The OP does not have to do anything. I have merely provided some options/ideas if he wants to explore further afield.

Some people (many people?) will be happy to spend their entire holiday going no further than Lech/Zürs. Others might want to try a bit of everything the area offers, perhaps going somewhere different each day. Think of it as the difference between going to a restaurant and only ordering a main course versus a Dégustation meal. Whatever floats your boat.

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

@ulmerhutte, No worries, however if the OP is looking for tips on where to ski i'd personally not be suggesting spending 3/4 hour baking on a bus getting to the far reaches of a ski area when he's got such brilliant stuff on his doorstep, my suggestion would be skiing over via Trittkopfbahn and heading up Valfegehrbahn and down to Anton or simply down to Stuben and up Albona, or up high and south facing Lech/ Zurs pre-lunch and north facing stuff on his doorstep in Rufikopf and Zurs for after lunch. Warth Schroeken also pre-lunch taking in Salober and Jaegeralp, Korbersee and Steffisalp better options imv but like you say whatever floats your boat, or gondola.....

A snowHead

Topicstarter is new to Arlberg. Suggesting to go to Rendl by bus from Lech to look for blue pistes is not helpful, it's confusing.

A snowHead

Virus stress must be getting very bad if we are bickering about buses if and when skiing might be possible again Very Happy

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Help!!

Lech in late March

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