Helen from UNITED KINGDOM writes:
We went to Austria in January 2006 on our first ski holiday as complete beginners.
The flight with Lauda Austrian Airlines was excellent - fresh smoked salmon meal with as much wine as you could drink. The transfers to and from Niederau were approx 1hr and were very efficient. Be warned - Innsbruck airport check-in on our return journey was a disaster. We queued for about 1.5 hrs with only about 20 people in front of us. We were not checked in until 0745 hrs and the plane left at 0810!!Everyone seemed to be in the same boat - it didn't make a difference where the flights were going to. However, this was the only blip.
The Hotel Austria was quite basic and the reception was a bit smoky. However, it was very clean apart from that and the location is the best in the village. There was also a free apres-ski snack every afternoon but no entertainment at all in the small bar. It is 1 minute walk to the nursery and beginners slopes, to the gondola and ski school and the free ski bus stop is right outside. The hire shop is right underneath the hotel with a separate ski storage room and heated boot room provided for those staying at the Austria. All of the staff seemed to speak quite good English and were very helpful when needed. The restaurant is quite good - breakfast is a selection of meats, cheeses, cereals and juice and the evening meal is four courses - self-service salad, soup, main and dessert. The evening meal was different every night (although a lot of pork) and there was always a veggie option (you pick your evening meal in the morning at breakfast, choice of 3). Wine with dinner was approx 3 euro 50 for a 1/4 bottle of wine which was quite cheap. We also made use of the sauna and swimming pool but remember that in Austria, nudity is the norm for the sauna/steam room! Our room and bathroom was quite small but had a balcony looking over a lovely view of the church, village and mountains. However, the bells in the church ring at all hours. Again the room was clean but quite hot and there was no shower curtain. On our last morning we left very early and the hotel gave us a breakfast pack the night before consisting of rolls with ham and cheese, a flask of tea and fruit.
Our ski lessons at the Wildschonau Ski School (the reds!) were with Phil (from Yorkshire) and they were excellent. The lessons were varied and a lot of fun and on the last two days he had us on the easier parts of red runs. The snow was also excellent for this time of year. We went tobogganing and on the horse drawn sleigh ride both of which are excellent. If you aren't a skier, there seemed to be quite a few people at our hotel went walking instead. Apart from that there is only a couple of shops in the village but there are organised day trips to Salzburg and Innsbruck. The Cave Bar is ok but the best bar is the Sports Bar next door to the Austria. The atmosphere is great with a mixture of music, including karoke and is frequented by locals, tourists and ski instructors. This is a very friendly resort and we met some great people which added to the overall enjoyment of our first ski holiday. Some we spoke to had been coming to Niederau for years.
On the Thursday our ski school held a time trial ski race with an "awards ceremony" on the Thursday night at the Hotel Hafernwirt. Great fun, everyone got a gold, silver or bronze medal and some got trophies. Every Sunday night the ski school holds a ski demonstration which lasts about half an hour but is worth seeing - good entertainment for all. We would recommend Niederau and the Hotel Austria for first time skiers especially as you don't want to be put off the first time trying to walk too far in ski boots and carrying skis and poles, and also for the excellent ski school.
We have already booked the same hotel, resort and lessons for next year. There are probably better hotels in the village but I doubt that they could beat the Austria for location.
2006-10-13 |
