Scheffau, Austria

Visitor reviews for Scheffau

• January 06, 2008
  Paul O from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Back to Scheffau again this Christmas at Hotel Alpin with Ski Esprit-see last year's comments. Snow superb this year with lots of wide open well maintained pistes. Virtually unbroken sunshine with some clouding over at midday on a couple of days but cleared again. Lots of mountain restaurants; cheap compared to France.
  Hotel Alpin as good as ever with good breakfasts and enormous quality buffet in evening - ideal if you have ravenous teenagers like us(as well as free snacks; cakes, teas etc when you return from slopes).
  Possible to ski from hotel to lifts this year but you need to bus back; not much of a problem.
  Ski hire shop below hotel is very convenient with good staff and equipment; all of us got new skis.
  Kufstein is worth a visit by taxi if you fancy a break from skiing.
  Esprit were good again especially staff in resort. Flight timings/delays were a bit of a downer-they need to sort this out as even without delays arrival time in resort was too late in day; add a couple of hours delay and it's very tiring esp for families with young kids who are Esprits main market.

• February 12, 2007
  Adrian Garside from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  I've just returned from Scheffau on 11th Feb.
  The runs up at the top were generally fine and almost all open, although they were getting a bit hard packed & icy on the mornings of the last few days, excellent at lunchtime and getting soft at the end of the days. The run down to the resort was open all the way, but it was suffering too the last few days.
  Most pistes are open, but many are narrower than in snowy years.
  I gather there are more runs closed in the Ellmau part of the SkiWelt. Some of us went over to Westendorf and the runs down to Brixen were bad enough for them to catch the gondola down. However Westendorf apparently is awesome and in very good condition and worth the bus/taxi journey.

• January 29, 2007
  David King from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  We have just returned from Scheffau where we stayed in the Hotel Alpin. It is our third visit to Scheffau which suggests how much we like this place. This year the snow was not as good as in previous years. When we arrived the fields around the hotel were green and runs to the gondola base stopped before the bottom. That having been said, the number of runs open at the top of the mountain is testamony to the snow-making ability in the Ski Welt. During the week we had loads of snow and by the time we left on 28th the village was the Winter Wonderland we remembered. It is truly beautiful.

  We chose Esprit as the operator as they are simply superb when it comes to skiing with families. We have two children (3 & 6) who could not have been looked after better. The Kinder Kaiserland at the top of the Scheffau gondola is the best area I have seen for young children learning to ski with the focus on skiing as fun!

  The Hotel Alpin is small-scale but has excellent facilities, the swimming pool was a real winner after a day on the slopes. The evening meals are buffet style with a superb choice and wine / beer included.

  Having already been to this resort and hotel three times I can give no higher recommendation than to say I will happily return again next year!

• January 24, 2007
  JK from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Went to Scheffau from 7 Jan to 14 Jan 2007 and stayed at Hotel Alpin with Esprit.
  Best winter holiday we've had. It was a thin time for snow across the Alps this year but they are brilliant at maintaining snow at Scheffau and we had a great time.
  There's variety to ski on for intermediates and plenty of places to stop and eat/drink. The piste-map is incomprehensible so pay E2.50 for a 3d version at the lift station instead. The ski down to the bottom at the end of the day is beautiful and worthwhile if you're not too tired. Also the little run from opposite the Alpin down to the road near the lift station is a nice little warm up rather than taking the ski-bus in the morning.
  If you've got kids this is the perfect resort. Esprit are second to none and we had a totally worry-free holiday. 6-yr old was in improvers and went on all manner of slopes, 3-yr old tried skiing in Spritelets and also played in snow etc in Snow Club. Basically we couldn't fault the child-care as they had plenty of staff so any idiosincracies with particular children etc just isn't a problem.
  The Alpin accommodation is clean and spacious (Esprit get the superior rooms in the block above the Pizzeria/reception) and the food is fantastic. Lots of choice of what to eat and the wine etc is included. Only negative to the hotel is that outside the restaurant is a bar area where some of the guests who came with another operator (who does more than just families) would smoke, but then we only pass through that area I guess. The pool is great (if a bit cold) and the staff helpful.
  Ski-hire is under the hotel and the first day isn't stressful as the Esprit staff just wait in the shop until you've got all your hire sorted out and then escort the kids up when ready, so no pressure to have them ready too promptly on the first day!
  Ski-school is good for kids and adults. Don't bother with the metal ceremony though - it's chaos. Just book a free sleigh ride instead for that night. Ski lifts were good, not too much waiting around, and the gondola from Scheffau is fast.
  Its nice to vary where you go on holiday, but this is a resort where one really could come back to time after time.

• January 13, 2007
  Paul O from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  We went to Scheffau over Christmas and had glorious sunshine all week . The skiing was good with most runs open considering the previous high temps and limited Snow fall-snow making facilities are excellent in this area. Scheffau had excellent access to Skiwelt area with lots of intermediate runs and phenomenal no of restaurants serving good lunchtime food.
  We stayed at Hotel Alpin- still brilliant food and excellent accommodation/ health centre -see earlier comments. Good ski-hire shop attached and convenient ski-bus to base station (fast gondola up). Ski-school -had a couple of private lessons with excellent instructor. Little lift queuing except of last couple of days when main return lift to gondola down was very busy at end of day. Went with Ski esprit who were good -check their website for last minute family bargains

• March 14, 2006
  jc from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Scheffau is great when there is plenty of snow as there has been for the past couple of years. It is ideal for beginners less good for those looking for challenging skiing. It is easy to get to from Munich whether by car or train. If you are there for a week then it is probably best to get a Kitzbüheler Alpen pass so you can take trips to ski in Kitzbühel, St Johann etc. It can get busy at weekends especially Sundays but there has been a lot of investment in new lifts so queues usually aren't too bad.

• January 20, 2006
  Graeme from GERMANY
  

  As a Brit living near Munich, Scheffau and the entire Skiwelt area is our closest large resort. And it is large, with over 250 kms of mostly easy cruising blues and reds. Its size and proximity to Munich mean that it is very popular for a day trip and can get very crowded at the base first thing in the morning. However the area is so large that it can cope with a huge volume of skiers. It is also littered with mountain huts and bars. Only when the weather closes in does it get tought to find a lunch spot.

  One of the biggest problems for the Skiwelt area is its lack of altitude. Whilst this year has seen mostly sub-zero temperatures and masses of snow, it's not typical and you can end up skiing through almost a foot of slush at the bottom at the end of the day in mid-season if the weather isn't as wintery as it should be. However, it has an enormous amount of snow making (if the temperatures are cold enough) and has invested every year in more and more 4/6/8 seater chairlifts.

  If you're a family or a group of beginners/intermediates this area is perfect for you. Heck, it keeps the locals like us happy and we ski an awful lot!

• November 19, 2005
  steven colman from BELGIUM
  

  We go for about 8 years to Scheffau.

  This is the best resort that I know!
  Friendly people, good snow conditions and nice deep snow pistes!
  Where always stay for about 10 days in the appartment of Cafe Rose-marie.
  Rose Marie is superfriendly, she have the best icecream that I ever eat and on wednesday evening she makes a very good "grillabend"!!!

  So if you come to Scheffau do not forget to check Cafe Rose Marie!

  It is also a very big area end they have a electronic system to check your skipass on every lift.

  So if you come..... enjoy!!!!

  Greetings from Belgium!

• January 02, 2004
  Pepperell Mark from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Having just returned from spending xmas in Sceffau, I can talk about several aspects of the vilage.

  first the skiing,
  we have a good dump of snow just before we got there and more during our stay so it was perfect, what impressed me most was the way that they prepared the pistes overnight, so that whatever we had, sun, or snow, it was always in top class condition in the morning.they also kept certain runs loose for the powder nuts and only pisted them after they ahd had a days fun.
  I noticed that they also seemed deliberatly to hold certain lifts/runs closed, so that even after hard sking, there were always new fresh runs being opened, seems like a good idea
  as only an internediate skier, I felt that there was more than enough to keep me going for two weeks if I had the money to keep my family out there!
  I am not too sure whther the black aces would have managed to stay entertained though for more than a week if that!

  They have a kindergarten ski centre right at the very top where the advantages are two fold, one it is right at the top of the gondola and by the resteraunt so as you finish skieing etc you can just slide by and grab 'em, and the other advantage is that being at the top there is almost guaranteed snow, my two girsls were froloicking in two foot of powder in safe conditions with excellent attendents and they kept their skis on almost all the time, invaluable if they are to take proper ski lessons next time

  the ski shop in the village has several English guys and an Aussie, so they could not be more UK friendly and v efficient with fitting, although it really is a good idea to try and get there Sat afternoon to get fitted out as it took over an hour and a half to get all sorted on Sunday morning!!

  the village in general? lovley people with strange opening times!! check out the times of opening, and the Spar shop has the cheapest booze anywhere in Austria I think, especially if you want to bring back some special liquers, they are less than half the price of the gift shop!

  The Hotel Alpin, where we stayed, served the best food I have ever eaten in Austria and as much and more than you could ever eat, Say hello to Rebecca and/or Lucia, great girls who served us well all week

  Underneath the hotel, (the Alpin is in two sites so I am talking about the one behind the ski shop) is the best kept secret in the valley, they have an amazing health centre with several steam rooms, saunas, massages and solariams etc not to metion a nice pool.

  if you want livley night life go to Soll or even Ellmeau, but if you have a family and enjoy quitet drinking in good company where the kids can be stowed away in a terrific children's room then Scheffeau is spot on

  we will return next year, but I am led to believe that we were lucky to have so much snow at xmas, probably better bet in early Feb.

  anyway enjoy the trip

  anything else I can advise on I will be happy to, especially regarding the two main tour companies there, Crystal and Esprite. One was excellent the other>>>>> well I do not want any libal charges!!

• November 09, 2003
  Heather Sullivan from UNITED KINGDOM
  

  Great family and just- starting to become confident ski area with lots of ski ing due to the inter connection of lifts between most of the neighbouring resorts. Pretty, quiet (no wild nightlife here really)with bearable/ short queues at the lifts. Why take the package option ? Save by flying to Munich and taking the train to Kufstein and a short taxi ride to the resort.Excellent ski school, especially for young beginners. Great for grown ups who haven't skied for a while too. Excellent mountain food and drink and relatively few lunatics on the slope until you get nearer to Soll- really respectful and helpful instructors. We're going back- hope to see you there in Feb 04.