Mayrhofen or St Anton for Christmas?

A snowHead

Hi there, a group of 8 of us are looking to travel to either Mayrhofen or St Anton for Christmas (Aged between 25 and 65). We are mostly first time skiers and looking at booking through Crystal Ski. Considering Manni Hotel or Obermair in Mayrhofen (big difference in price for both of these) or Goldens Kruez in St Anton. Looking for a lively resort thats typically Austrian and Christmassy with decent restaurants and nightlife. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

A snowHead

@afinlay, I wouldn’t say either Mayrhofen or St Anton would suit your group, for different reasons. First time skiers need easily-accessed beginner areas, reliable early snow, really don’t need a huge or a difficult range of slopes. Maybe look at Saalbach-Hinterglemm as an option - would meet lots of your criteria.

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Okay thanks for that. Afraid we’re restricted with options as we need to be back in Dublin early on 30th December and the only early flights are from Innsbruck with Crystal Ski so we’re restricted to certain resorts.

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@afinlay, are Mayrhofen and St Anton the only resorts available? If not, let us know the others and there’s bound to be someone who can advise

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The only other affordable options are Alpbach (Hotel Alphof - which seems to be on a steep hill) or Ischgl?

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I would not pick St Anton for first time skiers, especially that early in the season. Limited easy slope options.

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Okay thank you, will definitely rule out St Anton so..

After all it is free

Have you looked at Topflight ski, based in Dublin & Befast. Good selection of resorts. Pas De La Casa in Andorra would fit the bill to a degree. Not typically Austrian. It does lack that, but probably fulfills everything else and probablly at a better price.

@afinlay, I would not completely rule out St Anton, it is good (if expensive) for the nightlife part, even if perhaps not as good as a few years back. It also has the on slope apres spots (Mooserwirt, Krazy Kanguruh etc) which are possibly the best around. The issue for beginners is not the nursery slope (there are some good ones at Gampen which often have much better snow than the normal spots in the valley). The issue is moving on from there, the choice of straightforward quiet runs is limited. If your beginners are sporty types they will cope more timid ones might struggle. Mayrhofen is probably better though has its downsides too. Ischgl might be a decent choice if nightlife is important, again the nursery slopes are up the mountain but there is a much greater selection of straight forward skiing than at St Anton. It cannot be described as a budget option and personally I loath the village (it does not have a particularly traditional atmosphere). Alpbach is very traditional (popular for Christmas) but not so snow sure these days and the skiing is a bit limited for more experienced skiers

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@munich_irish, Would Mayrhofen be an ok base for good intermediate skiers around 17th March or would you go higher? I usually go to Val Thorens that week but my son is now based in Munich and the train link from Munich Airport to Mayrhofen looks interesting.

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Can't speak for St Anton but I think Mayrhofen would be fine for your group. Nice town, good apres, lots of restaurants, short airport transfer. I'd go for Manni hotel because less than 5 mins walk from gondola's. Learner slopes up the hill with places to meet at top of gondola for lunch. Once mastered beginner slopes on Penken mountain progress over to Ahorn mountain where you have the White Lounge to sit and relax with a drink. It worked for our group on our first trip and got us all hooked on skiing 20 years ago.

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@Old Man Of Lech, Thanks for that but afraid the flights to Andorra are 24th/31st so don’t suit us.

@munich_irish, Thanks for all that info. I would say most of our beginners are not all that sporty so might struggle with anything too difficult. It would appear Mayrhofen would probably suit most of our needs taking everything into account, including price?

You know it makes sense.

@jaggycolin, Thanks for all that. It looks like Manni would be a good option for us although its quite expensive for B&B but I guess you get what you pay for.

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@afinlay, I stayed some years ago at the Obermair in Mayrhofen, and it has a good buffet breakfast (it also has a small indoor pool). If you're on Half Board option then you take the evening meal in a nearby hotel.

A snowHead

@Alastair Pink, Cheers thanks for that. I’ll take another look at it.

A snowHead

@afinlay, have you looked at www.directski.com another Ireland based TO? Maybe see what their return flight timings are on 30/12, but also consider that any flights can be delayed or changed which could mess up your group’s need to be back early that day.

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The Zillertal (it is not just Mayrhofen) is a pretty good choice for most. The downsides are that there is little skiing back down to the valley (mostly ski routes with only natural snow) which means a lift up & down , there is a lot of skiing but it is spread out over the entire valley, getting between the areas can be a bit slow if you dont have a car (though the trains and buses are efficient). For those who like to tick lists it has (supposedly) Austria's steepest piste, Kamikaze, the sort of run where falling over is not to be recommended! Lots of much easier runs too. Also there is the glacier at the end of the valley

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Mayrhofen is fine for absolute beginners but that immediate stage after when you need to spend time on easy blues is a bit limited. Ahorn is perfect but you won’t meet your mates for lunch. There are a few routes around Penken suitable for this stage and your instructor will show you around. But many blues and reds are steep and not wide enough for beginners. The other resorts in The Valley are prob better for beginners but lack the town.

St Anton is ok except the Happy Valley run from memory.

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Just reacting to some other comments:
*Beginners don't get to Happy Valley in their first week.
*Beginners don't ski Kamikaze. Preferably. Please!
*Mayrhofen most likely will not have snow at village level. At Christmas....
*Beginners don't need 'easy slopes'. Beginners need nursery slopes. Almost all week! St.Anton offers that, albeit at a price. But with much better chances of a White Christmas...

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I wouldn't go to St Anton unless I was wanting to ski lift served off piste, itineraries, good blacks and felt like I'd been ripped off at every possible opportunity.
For the record I've skied St Anton and will go back. The ripped off part is a trade off for the rest.
You won't feel ripped off in the Hoff. The skiing will be enjoyable and ample for your group. The apres is good. The S3 gondi ride in the morning is no issue at all.
I've skied the Hoff before and will ski there again

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1st timers need a simple resort.A nice easy walk to ski school, a drag lift
for the nursery slopes at the base of the mountain, a few blue runs up higher for later in the week and to not feel intimidated with the surroundings.In my opinion, St Anton and Mayrhofen don't really offer that.Although I love both places!

After all it is free

@spacetrucker, it would be an excellent base. Ideally with own transport to get to other Zillertal resorts quickly if you want to make the most do the lift pass (although Mayrhofen has plenty of skiing on its own).

Thanks everyone for all the feedback, really appreciate it. I have tried Direct Ski but flight times don’t suit (bearing in mind that other flights can be delayed). So it would appear that Mayrhofen town is unlikely to be white for Christmas but as it’s cheaper than St Anton it’s a chance we might have to take. I would think that most of us beginners probably won’t move off the nursery slopes with the exception of 1 or 2. The non sporty ones might even quit after a couple of days. It’s really more of a family week away at Christmas rather than a pure skiing holiday.

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@afinlay, Snow or no snow in the town, the Christmas decorations are really nice and they do a great job. Also for non skiers it’s a great town.

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@Matrix, Thank you, sounds great. Really looking forward to it Eh oh!

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For a group of 8, a package including dinner will make your life much easier. Trying to book for 8 is a pita! Also it will probably end up being cheaper, as best intentions on keeping the cost down when eating out often go out of the window.

Stayed in Mannis and the Obermair, Mannis is a much better location but can be noisy if your in a room at the front on the high street. It also has a great outdoor pool in the roof and is a sub 5 min walk to the lift Vs a bus ride from the Obermair.

If you are on a strick budget, then the Obermair is ok, I'd always go for Mannis otherwise. Were there any other hotel options.

You know it makes sense.

Mannis has two restaurants, one for residents (extremely good when we were there) and an "Italian style" public restaurant at the front. Feedback from Crystal bookers indicates it can be a lottery as to which one you end up in.

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

The only half board options are Hotel Neuhaus €1827 per person and Neuhaus St Josef €1700pp. The others are only have B&B option. Pension Nordstern €1263pp, Obermair €1,050 and Mannis €1500pp.
Thanks for all the help really appreciate it Eh oh!

A snowHead

@afinlay, if you go with the stated attitude that good snow and skiing will be a bonus, Mayrhofen is great, lovely village, good apres, very Christmassy Very Happy

Have a great time

A snowHead

@afinlay, these prices are crazy, guess it's the Christmas bonus kick in the nuts.

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@Montan, Cheers, thank you Eh oh!

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@JimboS, Yes I agree, very pricey. It’ll be a once off, well for Christmas anyway. Thanks Eh oh!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi snowheads community, it’s a little unrelated to skiing I hope that’s okay. I have a holiday booked with a company called Exodus and as it’s approaching am starting to get a little nervous about it all. I’ve only done group solo ski holidays not a summer venture. I wondered has anyone used this company or have experience of this, was just hoping to get some real reviews. Thanks Eh oh!

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@afinlay I have done this trips to mayr and St anton many times from Dublin both with crystal and DIY, definitely go to mayr, it would suit ye better, did u look at sunweb, u would save on them price's

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@fullducknodinner, Thanks for that. I have looked at sunweb and the fact that they include the ski pass their prices are pretty good but the only option for flights from Dublin is to Munich or Salzburg. I’m presuming transfers from there would be expensive? I rarely use travel agents for holidays but as as this skiing holiday is a first for us I felt it might be less of a headache going through Crystal? Will have another look at it though and see if the saving is worth it. Cheers Eh oh!

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After all it is free

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Mayrhofen or St Anton for Christmas?

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