A hidden gem in the Austrian alps
Paul Dale find a snowy Austrian Alps ski hideaway
There are times when you stumble surprisingly across something on holiday, a fantastic hotel or a great bar, and you really don’t want to shout about it.
After all, why tell everyone else about your secret find?
They’ll all want a slice of the action and, before you know it, prices will have soared, the Euro-trash moved in, and the place will be ruined.
It is with huge self-sacrifice, therefore, that I have to alert readers to the delights in general of skiing in the Austrian resort of Zell am See and, in particular, to the splendid Hotel St Georg, where the beds are blissfully comfortable and meals are a seemingly never ending parade of fine foods and splendid wine.
Unlike many other Austrian resorts, Zell is far more than a small collection of twee buildings half way up a mountain.
This is a proper town wrapping itself around one side of the country’s largest lake and its small collection of mediaeval buildings pay tribute to the fact that Zell dates back to 740AD, having been founded by monks.
Its cobbled streets around an ancient church are full of up-market shops, bars and coffee houses. A walk right around the lake can be completed in three hours, but it is worth it for stunning views of the Austrian Alps.
The journey from Salzburg Airport takes just over an hour, and the flight from Birmingham is two hours and 15 minutes.
I went with Inghams, one of the oldest and best winter sports operators in the UK. The firm offers several hotels in Zell, all of a high standard.
The four-star Hotel St Georg has been owned by the Sauper family for generations and, because it is relatively small, staff make a habit of learning the names of all guests. People have been coming back here year after year because they are impressed by the warmth and hospitality, and when members of the owner’s family eat most nights with the guests, you know you are on to a good thing.
A cosy well-stocked bar leads to a lounge with comfortable sofas and arm chairs, ideal for relaxing with a drink after a hard day on the slopes.
Almost the first thing likely to strike you is the reasonableness of prices at the Georg. Drinks at the bar are cheaper than in town, there are always special offers on good quality wines, typically discounted by up to 20 per cent, and best of all the hotel lays on free snacks between 3pm and 5pm for ravenous skiers. Dinner, four and sometimes five courses, is of a very high standard indeed with a choice of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes.
