Recommendations: Accommodation in Europe at the top of the mountain

A snowHead

Hi - help wanted please:

I am looking to plan a trip for next winter (Jan or March to be decided). Group of 4 or 5 men in late 40's who are experienced and capable skiers but not as fit or trim as they used to be!

We don't mind where we go in Europe provided:

- within 90 mins of an airport that is easily accessible from a London flight.

- enough challenging on-piste and side-piste skiing to keep us occupied for 3 or 4 days skiing

- Accommodation is at the top (or near the top) of the mountain - we think it will be fun to stay somewhere where you have to access via a ski lift/gondola and once you are in for the night, you are in! And you genuinely get first tracks down the whole mountain the next morning. We recognize that means staying on a half board basis but provided the food is hearty and the wine is plentiful, then we will be happy.

- We are probably looking for accommodation above a piste restaurant as opposed to a fancy hotel. I have stayed at the lovely Chetzeron (see https://chetzeron.ch/) in Crans Montana with wife/kids previously and while it was very nice, this is not at all what we are looking for for this trip. We don't mind if the accommodation is a bit "rustic".

Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.

A snowHead

If you are happy to go Luxury - this would be taking you very literally (though takes a little longer than 90 minutes): https://www.inthesnow.com/highest-hotel-in-france-opening-at-val-disere-this-winter/

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

https://www.scheidegg-hotels.ch/index_e.php

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Cabane Mont Fort? I think Monte Rosa has some refuges with decent food high up the mountain too?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

There is quite a lot in Austria and it can most easily be found on Google maps by finding an area you like the look of and panning around. Off the top of my head: Berghotel in Zell am See, Sonnalm - Zell am See, Panorama Alm - Jochberg/Pass Thurn and a bunch of them around the Skiwelt area at various heights.... Lot's of life on the mountain after the lifts close too because the bars are open for quite a while in the evenings for revellers to revel in, especially in March.

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Hochgurgl/Obergurgl, reachable from Innsbruck.
https://www.tophochgurgl.com/en/

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Laax - Riders Hotel

After all it is free

Stayed at "Le Viking" in Morzine last year which would seem to tick your boxes:

https://www.belambra.com/club-morzine-le-viking/winter

Certainly not luxurious but was half board with wine and available for irregular periods of time in the season (we went Weds-Sun) and there was plenty of food. Short transfer from Geneva and easy to get to the hotel. Room was fine for somewhere you don't spend long in and the inside/outside pool was a bit novel.

Here ya go -- Cervinia, up at Plan Maison..

https://skizoom.com/ski-holiday/hotel-lo-stambecco?departure_date=2021-12-26&adult=6&child=1&nights=5&board_basis=HALF_BOARD&child1age=16&apt=MAN,LPL,DSA,LBA,NCL

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http://www.schneekarhuette.at/en/rooms/ - Mayrhofen, Austria. Access from Innsbruck airport in 45 minutes, and perched on top of the building and almost on top of the mountain. Good skiing in the immediate area, plus lots of options in the rest of the Zillertal if you're prepared to ski down first thing and then travel to another area for a day trip. Getting back up in time might limit the options though.

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Better known as a restaurant, but also has overnight accommodation - Chalet Refuge de Lognan at Argentiere.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1234266-d11962720-Reviews-Refuge_de_Lognan-Argentiere_Chamonix_Haute_Savoie_Auvergne_Rhone_Alpes.html

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I didn't stay there myself but the hotel bellevue at kleine scheidegg in grindelwald looked rather nice.

I think a couple of the places already mentioned are a bit more than 90 minutes from an airport accessible from London? If the OP is willing to relax the 90 mins requirement then there's a couple I can think of in the Italian Dolomites, the Rifugio Averau at the top of Cinque Torri and the Rifugio Lagazuoi at the start of the Hidden Valley run.

You know it makes sense.

Try La Capannina, Sauze d'oulx.......

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

I really enjoyed my stay at Orso Bianco in Sauze, across the piste from La Capannina. Www.sportinia.it and an attached ski hire shop. Not sure they do short breaks, but really friendly so i imagine definitely possible dependent on the peak-ness of the request (given your suggested dates i would say no probs with an email). Also do a ski do trip down to and up from the village on request for a price

A snowHead

Slightly out of your transfer criteria but i have always fancied Chalet Hotel Serre Ratier above Serre Chevalier. Never been but the area would seem perfect and @Hells Bells @Weathercam or @KenX may be able to offer more info about the actual premises (local experts)

A snowHead

Piz Gloria. Good enough for Blofeld good enough for you....

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

The eponymous hütte in St Anton: https://www.ulmerhuette.at/cms/front_content.php?client=1&changelang=3&parent=13&subid=&idcat=23 Very Happy

There are also a heap of places in St Anton, like Mooserwirt, that are literally on the piste, but not at the top of the mountain.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You may hate the thought of Bulgaria but https://www.hotelyastrebets.bg/en

Cheap flights, 60 min transfer, situated up the piste for first tracks, next to a chair lift up the mountain for first lift and longer extensive first tracks back down.

You can get there by car though, so not totally cut off

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I've stayed here on a couple of boys and works trips, pretty special.

http://www.schneekarhuette.at/en/

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it's a funny request, but we stayed many times at the Guglielmina above Alagna before it very sadly burned down. Lovely feeling, esp. on NY's day, hingin' oot ones erse, to exit post breakfast at the top of a lovely off piste bowl.

After all it is free

wedelhuette.at

I'd echo the Verbier 4 Vallées locations of the Cabane du Mt. Fort (2457m):

or if you were OK with more Youth Hostel type accommodation, rooms at the Maison des Ruinettes Station (2200m) (middle right, above the bowl):

Personally, I'd tend to make a stay at a «cabane» a subset of a holiday in residence within a resort i.e. 1-2 nights some time during the stay, rather than the primary accommodation. In part, because it could get tedious having to trek back up to the place every day. There's also the logistical issues of getting there on the first and away on the last days, when you'd be in normal clothes with at least some luggage. And possible problems if bad weather at altitude meant you couldn't easily get there or get away. So something like the Ruinettes station above would avoid the downsides - but you'd have to make sure you scheduled the flights early, as you'd be reliant on the gondolas running to get there. Then, while you were there, if the weather was fine, you could still do a night at the Cabane.

I'd also say that 90 minutes total transfer time is unrealistic, or unnecessarily limiting. If you're using a hire car it takes at least 30 minutes from the last person picking up their luggage to driving away, I'd have thought. In which case an hour's radius is very small. If you went for something like the Ruinettes Station above, you could do the transfer by train from inside the airport, but you'd have to allow more like 3-4 hours in total, given train schedules and the transfer at Martigny, the short walk across to the Verbier gondola from the railway station at Le Chable, and then the gondola up from Médran to Ruinettes. I'd actually recommend against taking a car to Verbier unless you had covered parking included in the accommodation.

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or just stay in e.g. Avoriaz?

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Weisshorn hotel St Luc. mix of chic and rustic. You may need skins to access unless the boss is about in his piste basher!!

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@1556garyt, I can think of many huts in the Dolomites at the top of lifts, or on the way down that offer suitable accommodation, however they are all more than 90 minutes from an airport. I suspect you will be limited to those in Austria or parts of Switzerland.
@Alastair Pink, The Averau hut would need at least 15 minutes on the chair lift to get to it so would be very hard to get to within 90 minutes from an airport.

Thanks all - some of the suggestions are a little more luxurious than I was expecting but I'm sure the Le Refuge de Solaise hotel is very nice.

The 90 minute airport to resort distance was just about trying to be within a reasonable drive; a 2 hour-ish transfer is fine too but I would prefer not to drive 3 or 4 hours before even starting to get up to the accommodation.

The Almer Hütte looks interesting although going to St Anton and then not having any Apres would seem odd? Perhaps 2 nights there and 2 or 3 nights in the town as @LaForet suggested?

I also like the look of Orso Bianco in Sauze.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

You know it makes sense.

You can stay part way up the hill at Engelberg, transfer times are not too long from Basel or Zurich.

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

Kulmhotel Gornergrat, above Zermatt. Reachable only by cog railway.

More than 90 minutes transfer but easily do-able by train or hire car from Geneva.

Absolutely unbeatable location and views Very Happy

Rooms are all half board and the food is fantastic. Definitely worth the supplement for a Matterhorn view - watching sunrise and sunset over the Matterhorn was absolutely stunning.

A snowHead

Would highly recommend the Wagrainer Haus. 70 mins from Salzburg Airport and they do specials. https://www.almstadl.at/

A snowHead

@RedandWhiteFlachau, the Wagrainer/Almstadl look great! This is not an area that I know - what the skiing like in the area?

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

@1556garyt, Ski Amade has over 780km of piste on a single lift pass but from the Wagrainerhaus you'd probably be happy with just the Salzburg Snowspace, which has around 210km of linked pistes. From the Wagrainerhaus you can ski straight down to the Mid-Station on the "Flying Mozart" piste. From there you can head across the G-Link towards Alpendorf, or take the Panorama Bubble to Kleinarl and on to Zauchensee, or head up the Mozart lift to Flachau. There are World Cup runs in both Flachau and Zauchensee but mostly it is the big crusiing reds that keep you entertained and there is a Freeride area above Alpendorf. I love this place because every day can be a proper ski-journey but without the need to sit above the treeline in somewhere like Espace Killy. Plus the legendary Austrian Apres.

The Wagrainerhaus is one of my favourite lunch stops with clients and in late season it is an awesome place to sit in the sun, eat great Ribs off the smoker and watch punters struggling on the steep blacks that drop into the bowl. If you are only coming for a short stay it is probably a great mid-week option. BA fly to Salzburg pretty much daily in the winter and Easy Jet a couple of times a week. Side piste on Snowspace is great if you know the lines, but you'd really need a local to show you the best bits. Drop me a line if you choose this option and if I'm free I can show you around. Link here: https://www.snow-space.com/en/winter

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@RedandWhiteFlachau, Thank you!

There seems to be 2 properties run by the same people - the Almstadl Wagrain and the Wagrainer Haus. Which of these 2 would you opt for?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@1556garyt, The Wagrainerhaus is higher up and therefore more what you're looking for. The Almstadl is bang in the middle of the main piste (Flying Mozart) and heaving at lunch and Apres time. More lively if that's what you're looking for. I'm (slightly) older than your group of Gentlemen and would probably opt for the Wagrainerhaus for a more authentic mountain hutte experience. Factor in the weather and the Almstadl might just be a better bet in January with the Wagrainerhaus a clear winner in March.

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@RedandWhiteFlachau, winter access to the Wagrainerhaus would be by lift only (Flying Mozart, then Kogelalmbahn)?

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@Mankei, Yes. But you don't have to take the Kogelalmbahn. The new Flying Mozart lift (due to open for this winter) goes higher than the old one so you can ski down Red 15 or Black 15 to the Wagrainerhaus. The haus has a short rope pull up to it if you can't be bothered to walk, or take the Topliner lift and ski back down.

After all it is free · Last edited by After all it is free on Tue 22-06-21 9:56; edited 1 time in total

Yes, but if the OP's plan is to stay at the accommodation all week, then with an only piste/chairlift-accessible place, how do they deal with arrival and departure days, especially regarding luggage? Particularly if it's a whiteout or extreme weather that would close a chairlift?

So for example, in Verbier, the Ruinettes accommodation is accessible by gondola, and it'd have to be apocalyptic for the weather to close the main télécabine. So no probs in plain clothes and with a small wheelie case. But the Mt. Fort Cabin can only be accessed by ski/board: you'd have to get to Ruinettes, then change into your ski gear (assuming you have boots and skis with you) and then somehow transport the luggage and fki/boot bags as well. If you had to hire equipment then you'd need to change in the shop, get the equipment, and again, would be left with luggage.

If you had to hire equipment and were at the Ruinettes hostel, then the logistically easiest thing on arrival day would be to go up in travel clothes, check in, change, then go back down to the town in ski gear, hire your equipment, and then come back up again. On departure day, you could probably carry the equipment back down in one go along with your luggage. It all seems a bit of a faff.

Travelling light can be done: in another thread a SnowHead did a trip to the St.Nicholas skiing-free-if-you're-wearing-a-father-Christmas-outfit Weekend in Verbier and he changed on the train and dropped his luggage off at the hostel at the télécabine base station next to the Le Chable railway station. But he was staying down in the valley at Le Chable, not up in the mountains. He could have done the same if he'd stayed at the Ruinettes hostel, but not the Mt. Fort cabin.

@LaForet, you see skidoos with luggage and guests being ferried to on piste accommodation in Flachau/wagrain. Some are accessible by mountain roads which are cleared

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@holidayloverxx I can see that working, but for 5 adults and luggage, how many skidoos will that need and how much does it cost? And what if the weather conditions are really bad? And even if they were only moderately bad, wouldn't you then need to change into mountain clothing? Again, it all seems a lot of potential faff compared to a resort where you can get to the accomodation by télécabine directly. This is why I was suggesting that perhaps a mountain cabin might work better during a stay in a resort, when you could cancel if the weather was atrocious and get to/from it with the minimum of effort.

@1156garyt It would be useful to know if your group will be brining all their own equipment or if they will be hiring. Both introduce complications and simplifications to the logistics.

Help!!

Recommendations: Accommodation in Europe at the top of the mountain

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