We visited Lower Austria for a long weekend (27th to 29th January 2017) choosing a ski resort that was close to Vienna. Mariazeller is a pretty small resort with 15km of pistes all set amongst tree lined runs. The resort is relatively low altitude but when we went there we enjoyed fabulous snow conditions (1.5m depth) with "bluebird" skies throughout. The resort was quiet at the weekend when we visited; we hardly waited longer than a minute at the bottom of the two chairlifts. The great thing about the resort is that it takes around 2 hours to get to the slopes in a hire car from Vienna. The roads are very easy to navigate with motorway and A roads right up to the slopes.

However, the one downside is that Mariazeller is small with 9 pistes, but it does benefit from being close to two other similar sized resorts: Gemeiendealpe and Annabergerland, a mere 15 minutes drive away. We skiied as a family at all 3 ski centres, each for a half day. Gemeindealpe has more challenging mostly red and a couple of black runs (the top black is set at 70 degrees gradient!) Gemeiendealpe is more of a young persons resort with noisy bars on the slopes whereas Annabergerland is more child friendly with gentle learner slopes.

We stayed in the local village of Annaberg, in Gasthof Meyer, in an ideal 7 person apartment. All very reasonably priced at €95 per night for the apartment. The ski pass cost €64 per person for 2 full days skiing. The pass allowed us to ski at all 3 resorts.

At all 3 resorts, everyone except us were Austrian locals and so the food and drink costs were reasonable (3.20 Euros for a large beer can't be bad!)

All in all, we had a wonderful long weekend away that was very invigorating and a complete break from life in London. I wholeheartedly recommend you try out the Lower Austria ski area. Provided the snow has fallen you will love it.