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Visitor reviews for Sölden Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
January 13, 2023
Nigel Dean from
United Kingdom
Nigel Dean from
United Kingdom
Brilliant resort for intermediates. Easy short transfer, great variety of high quality hotels and accommodation. Good variety of high up snow sure skiing. Ski all the way from the top of the glacier to the village in most conditions from December to March. Efficient bus service to Obergurgl /Hochgurgul included in the pass. Plenty of variety of mountain food and not a rip off like France or Switzerland. Apres has everything you need from rocking bars to cosy stubles and nice hotel bars. Not a pretty village but never bothered me.
February 16, 2022
David from
United Kingdom
David from
United Kingdom
Starting with the positives:
- Short transfer from Innsbruck Airport
- Modern and efficient lift system
- Well groomed slopes
- Snow sure
- Fantastic views
- Ski 3 days which gives access to Obergurgl
- Lively nightlife
The not so good:
- Not that much terrain
- Not a picturesque resort
- Long and spread out resort
- Crowded lower slopes later in the day
- Can be quite rowdy (not really a family resort)
- No real difficult slopes
For a short trip without the kids where you want to let your hair down it's certainly worth a visit.
March 19, 2019
Daniel from
Brazil
Daniel from
Brazil
I was there for a whole week at the beginning of March. Being an overseas visitor with previous experiences in big name ski resorts around the world, I was frustrated with this Austrian icon. Soelden caters basically for German, Dutch and Belgian visitors, plus locals, who come by car with friends and family. Some room for Scandinavian and east Europeans, and that’s it. Very few Brits and Americans.
People ski basically mid-mountain up, relying on two big gondolas that leave from the village base.
Lifts – Soelden is absolutely busy. I had never seen such a crowded place! It took me almost 40 minutes to ride up a lift one day, and I am not talking about weekends, but a mid-week afternoon! And when I say crowded, expect the worst: ski crashes, people stumbling at each other, hurrying to place skis on gondola's racks, yelling at each other, children crying and so on. Looked like the end of the world! Politeness is not the rule here, and staff were totally passive. I remember that when I went to the glacier. When I got there I felt just so exhausted of the adventure in all those lift rushes on the way up that I had to rest a little before skiing down. But not even in that I succeeded, as there was a crowd taking pictures with the mountains in the back and disputing space. When commenting to a person sitting next to me about the obnoxious experience, he said I shouldn’t complain: “Today is very good, it is usually much worse!”
Snow – it is good as expected, but when it is sunny it gets so hot you start sweating in 5 minutes. When it is cold and snowing, visibility is limited, forcing people to remain in the lower runs, worsening the already problematic crowd issue. Temperatures are always higher than announced.
Trails are weird. Some blue runs are harder than reds. But they are clearly marked at least.
Village is not nice, it doesn’t have any charm. It is essentially a busy road with a bunch of shops and hotels around it. Après-ski resumes to 3 or 4 places with mainly groups of males singing local EDM holding beer.
In-mountain food is bad and expensive as expected. In-village restaurants are ok, nothing that will make you remember it later though.
Rentals and lessons – prices vary a lot, so you have to do some research, quality is all the same. Yellow had the best value when I was there. Instructors are good, if you get one that speaks English you may be fine.
Views – what I liked the most. Just breathtaking.
I usually highlight the negative in my reviews so people can better manage their expectations. But I had a lot of fun there. I am not saying it is not worth going, but consider carefully other options before making this decision. If you already booked, ski a few days in Obergurgl to escape crowds.
January 01, 2017
Jill Harris from
United Kingdom
Jill Harris from
United Kingdom
We have been visiting Soelden on and off for over 30 years, with and without our family, and have seen enormous changes over that time. The ski area is huge, and we haven't found very many problems with lift queues once you get up to the Giggijoch ski area. But avoid 9.45 am when the Ski schools go up to the slopes. This year they have a new faster gondola so it should be much quicker, and the Soelden lift company seem to be constantly reinvesting in improvements to the lifts. Snow conditions are now good all through the season as they have super efficient snowmaking machines which cover virtually all the ski area, meaning you can always ski back to the village. Although, at the end of the day, the run down from the Giggijoch gets very busy.
We drive down from the UK; 12 hours from Calais via Luxembourg (cheapest petrol and coffee in West Europe, and free Autobahns throughout Germany). Once in Soelden, parking is free, a great plus for older skiers or families who don't want to take a last run down to the village.
Skiing is extensive, with wide pistes suitable for all standards; a few black runs and many ways to get down the various slopes. Restaurants are plentiful and not too expensive. The village isn't the most picturesque, but we come down to Soelden to ski, not sightsee. Innsbruck is an easy drive away if you want a day off and we now get a 5 days out of 7 ski pass which means we don't have to ski everyday (very useful at the end of January when at least one day is usually bad conditions).
We will continue to return (again, and again!) until our skiing days are over.
January 04, 2014
Sharon from
United Kingdom
Sharon from
United Kingdom
We have been to Solden twice now, at the end of February 2012 & 2013, and we are about to return, in 7 weeks, for our 3rd visit. We have, in the past, returned to 3 resorts more than once, so that we feel we have explored their full potential before moving on. Other resorts only once, usually because the runs were not as described (too difficult) or the lift system/piste markings were poor, or unreliable snow fall despite the hype about snow cannons (which can only be used then the temperature drops below freezing!).
As we get older we have become more particular about how well the resort meets our needs and the length of time researching them, the accommodation and flights etc has become more of a chore; so we are less likely to move on than we may have been in the past. Solden was on our tick list for many years, but as it had rather a “party” town reputation we had given it a miss, until we met someone that works for a charity that organises rehabilitation holidays for injured service men and women, BLESMA. As the people in this group are all amputees, they use Snowbikes (Skibobs) which we also use due to back and knee injuries that prevent us from skiing these days. All of Austria is Skibob friendly (unlike most of France) and this resort, in particular, is good because of BLESMA returning every winter with a new group of beginners.
The resort is split into two distinct areas, joined by lifts on the mountain and road/free bus in the village.
The free bus that shuttles people from one end to the other gets overcrowded at peak times. You can leave your skis etc at the main ski-hire shop at either lift for a small fee; makes life so much easier!
The most popular part, by far, is the Giggijoch end of the resort, where most of bars and restaurants are and a bubble lift that does have queues early in the morning due to Ski Schools and shear number of properties in the area, plus it’s a nicer part of the mountain range to start the day off in our opinion. To be honest, the queue is quite fast-moving and never took longer than 15 minutes. From day 2 onward, after the weekend, there wasn't a queue. Once you get to the top of this lift the runs fan out with various options, one is to continue upwards to the Glaciers. The comments about the long length of time it takes to get to the glaciers are, in the main, due to a bottle neck, where all the people who came up from the Gaislachkogl end of the resort end up at the same point as you and there is only a chair lift to take you to the next section (rather than a cable car). But once you get through this things speed up a bit. You just have to be patient and accept that it’s a small price to pay for such wonderful views and runs when you get up there, especially the 15 km unbroken run back to the resort - that everyone can ski!
The pisted range is plenty for the average skier, we have still not done all the reds, and I believe the off-piste is good too. The entire lift system is modern and efficient, map and markings are good, snow quality guaranteed. Nearly all runs are above the tree level, so exposed if the weather turns nasty but they are lovely and wide, great for cruising. If you are a timid 2nd week skier, there are lots of gentle blues, most of which are actually on the glacier which is unusual, so even beginners get to ski high-altitude runs rather than the norm where blues are often stuck at the bottom near town!
One minus is that when the weather is bad and the lifts to the glaciers close, the remaining runs near the main lifts do get crowded. The glaciers areas are so extensive that it's not until they close you appreciate just how many people are on the mountains. This happened once on our holiday but we never felt that it was too crowded to ski safely; we just made for a quieter area.
The food in the restaurants is typical Austrian fare, good but not cheap (this is an expensive resort due to snow-sure altitude and mainly German/Russian clientele). The standard of hotels is varied from 5 star to self-catering only, lots of B & B’s, small guest houses etc and from our experience Austria beats other European standards by a long way. The resort is buzzing at night with lots of bars/night clubs. If you want a good night’s sleep, don’t stay in a place on the main road, or at least avoid rooms at the front. It’s a busy road but there are lots of places to choose from off the road that are still near the lifts.
To sum up this place from a 60 year olds’ perspective and 14 years of skiing, it ticks all the boxes. Efficient, modern lift system, guaranteed good quality snow, two glaciers, rolling wide runs with lots of blues and reds. Skibob hire centre and facilities to leave equipment at lift depot. Night life if we want it, good standard of accommodation, convenience of lifts in relation to accommodation. Shops in the town, short transfer from Innsbruck airport, not over-run by English! For now, we think it’s hard to beat, but you never know!
December 31, 2012
Mark from
United Kingdom
Mark from
United Kingdom
Just back from a week in Solden over Christmas. It was a last minute booking at a chatered chalet.
Location:
Convenient flight into Innsbruck and a 1 hour 20 minute transfer to Solden. There are also train links from all major cities.
Getting around:
We stayed about 5 minutes walk from the Giggijoch gondola which was very convenient. It would not be so great if you are not staying that close and need to catch one of the free shuttle buses to get around. The buses run every 10-15 minutes and there are 2 main gondola stations in the village. Shops, bars and restaurants are all along the main street.
Lift system:
Extensive lift system to access a reasonable amount of terrain! There is plenty of terrain accessible by 2 main lifts. Besides the first gondola from the base, it never felt crowded or busy. We never had to queue for more than 5-10 minutes. All new lifts with covers to keep the snow and wind away.
Terrain:
Good variety to cater for everyone. Long wide open groomers, steep black runs and easily accessible off-piste. The main runs to the restaurants get crowded with beginners and lessons. Not many traverses which is good for snowborders.
I would return back to Solden and recommend it to skiers / boarders of all ability levels.
April 10, 2012
Iancu from
Romania
Iancu from
Romania
Soelden (Sölden) - a large resort with even larger crowds.
There is a significant overcrowding problem in Soelden, at least in late February / early March, which is aggravated by the layout of the slopes. It takes at least four lifts / one hour to reach the glacier, where the skiing conditions are the best. If the weather is poor and skiing at high altitude is not possible, there are very few lower slopes, which become massively overcrowded.
On the plus side, the lift network is mostly new and very fast. There is a great 7+km red slope from Gaislachkogel (3000m) to Solden (1400m), and the ride back up takes only about 20 minutes. The glacier skiing is fantastic: don't miss the World Cup slope at Rettenbach, or the chillout slopes at Tiefenbach where you can also find a great restaurant and sun deck. The views are also great, and on a sunny day the 20 minutes walk to the top of Innere Schwarze Schneid is well worth it. In the morning it's better to use the Gaislachkogl gondola instead of Gigggijoch, as it is significantly less crowded.
The standard ski pass (230 euros this season) only covers the Soelden ski domain (~140km), which is poor value considering that in other resorts you can choose from up to 800km of slopes at the same price.
All in all, it was a positive experience, but next time will choose a less "maintream" resort to avoid overcrowding.
March 27, 2012
David Hodges from
United Kingdom
David Hodges from
United Kingdom
January 06, 2012
Paul Rivers from
United Kingdom
Paul Rivers from
United Kingdom
Review of Solden & Chalethotel Hermann
The resort
As is well documented, the resort is well spread out between the Giggijoch and Gaislachkogl gondolas. Both are efficient, although we encountered 15 minute queues at the Giggijoch at peak times. The town is lively, and our grown up children enjoyed the late night clubs on offer, with Fire & Ice being the favoured destination.
The skiing is extensive, and in good conditions, the runs back to the town are enjoyable, although the red run 9 crosses busy nursery slopes, 2 T-Bars and bizarrely two roads! The area above Giggijoch has good blue run skiing with plenty of variation on the routes down. As has been commentated elsewhere, there is a strange habit of placing piste markers in the middle of the piste (as on Black 14 from Hainbachjoch), which is a hazardous practice when visibility is poor.
The glacier skiing is excellent, although it takes the best part of an hour to get up to the top lift station from the town, and queues were such a problem on a sunny mid-morning that we baled out – the Einzeiger chairlift is a particular bottleneck, as there is no other route up to the cross-valley Gletscherexpress gondola. Once up on the glacier, the views are outstanding, and we found typically excellent snow conditions, and there is an enjoyable black run (where the World Cup Tour starts every year apparently) on the Rettenbach Glacier. There is an enormous but functional self service restaurant at the bottom of the Tiefenbach Glacier with a large variety of food on offer and sundecks which will no doubt be very popular in sunny conditions. Beware though, that there is only one route back from the larger Tiefenbach Glacier, which is a six-person chairlift, so queues will be common mid to late afternoon.
The lift system, apart from the couple of bottlenecks mentioned, works well, and most key lifts are either gondolas or detachable chairs with hoods. A special mentioned must however go to T-Bar KarlesKogl on the upper part of the Rettenbach Glacier, which is only open in the Autumn, but with the drop off to one side must be a hair-raising experience!
There appeared to be plenty of off-piste opportunities in the right conditions, although the snow base was early-season in nature with rocky terrain close to the surface at the time of our visit.
The restaurants we tried were generally very good and typically good value. A particular favourite was the small Stabele Schirmbar at the base of the Stabele chairlift (accessible via Red 11, Blue 30 or Blue 6) which served enormous burgers, although capacity inside is limited.
For an additional 10 Euros (payable only when buying a 6 day pass) a day in Obergurgl/Hochgurgl can be enjoyed – accessible via a free ski bus service. Despite its reputation, the snow in Obergurgl was less good, and had clearly suffered from wind blown conditions, being on the East side of the valley during a predominantly North Westerly weather pattern. Nevertheless a great time was had with lunch at the Superb Hohe Mut Alm and a live band at the Nederhutte.
For some of its constraints, we enjoyed Solden and it seems to provide enough variety to offer something for everyone.
December 06, 2011
John bird from
United Kingdom
John bird from
United Kingdom
My wife and I visited Solden late March 2011. we stayed in a B&B near the new Gaislachkogel lift. The new lift is a big improvement and in two hits you go from 1300m to over 3000m. The red runs and the off-piste from the top are fantastic. A true leg burner from top to bottom.
There are some great little mountain huts in the Gasilachalm area and in this sunny area well worth a stop for lunch.
Rettenbach gletscher and the Salomon Station is a great stop for coffee up stairs, nice, relaxed and quiet.
For a bit of apres-ski try Philips bar just above the town. There is a new lift that can take you their from town or you can ski their at the end of the day. Although I do miss, after a few beers at Philips Bar trying to to get on the single chair lift with skies off and trying to run off the bottom of the lift in ski boots. More difficult than skiing.
This is a fun resort with some great runs and if you are able to let the skies run. Just point them!
Don't forget to challenge yourself to do the BIG 3 circuit. 3 peaks over 3000m and one of them you have to hike up the last 50 m vertical to the top. Well worth it for the view. Although your lungs will know you are at altitude.
My wife was impressed with the resort and we have booked again for Jan 2012. So make the effort and try it for yourself.
Nearest