Ski Resort Guide: Austria

Add to this the fact that locals are genuinely friendly (and invariably lederhosen-clad), accommodation is comfortable and scrupulously clean whether in hotels or family-run B&Bs, food is tasty (assuming you like cheese and eat meat) and affordable and you'll understand why several of our favourite resorts are found here. We're not saying that Austria's ski scene is perfect. The Ski Amadé region might be Europe's largest linked ski area, but generally speaking Austria's resorts are relatively small. Even the larger resorts often incorporate several small villages in one valley, like Bad Gastein and Stubaital. However, it can work to the advantage of families and those on a budget when a small resort is linked by lifts (or bus) to large, interconnected ski areas such as SkiWelt and the Kitzbüheler Alpen, as accommodation is often cheaper and family-friendly. Examples include Westendorf for Kitzbühel and Leogang for Saalbach-Hinterglemm.

Another disadvantage is the low altitude of many Austrian resorts. Kitzbühel is lower than virtually any other European resort and the fact that the country boasts four glaciers (Hintertux, Kitzsteinhorn, Stubai and Sölden) and some of Europe's most reliable snow in the Arlberg region doesn't help visitors who book in advance and arrive to find grassy slopes. If the convenience of ski in/ski out accommodation outweighs the importance of a pretty Alpine setting and if you love the mileage of large ski areas like Espace Killy, Austria might not be the place for you. However, if you love freeriding, want chocolate-box pretty surroundings and loud, unpretentious après-ski it might just be your spiritual ski home.