babsNYC

We've been skiing in Austria for the past few years during President's Week in February. We've enjoyed Ischgl and the Arlberg region (St. Anton, Lech, Zuers). We were less pleased with Kitzbuhel becuase of disappointing snow in the lower altitude.
We're looking for something new. How's Serfaus? We are two adults, two 18 year olds and an 8 year old. We range from strong intermediate to expert but are not looking to push the envelope. We do like nice long trails.
Serfaus seems to appeal to families with kiddies. Will it appeal to the teen agers?
Am I overlooking another amazing ski resort in Austria?

Ingo

As you mentioned, Serfaus is great for families with younger kids. Excellent for your 8 year old. But I guess the 18 year olds will not be very thrilled. It doesn't have that *big* apres-ski scene like Ischgl or St. Anton. The skiing is excellent though, especially if you combine it with the Fiss/Ladis ski runs.

For your 18 year olds Sölden/Ötztal would be perfect. Famous for its apres-ski and parties. Can be a little obnoxious, loud at times, though.

Ingo

babsNYC

Ingo,
Thanks so much for the reply. The truth is our 18 year olds are not "party animals". They just need to know that there is challenging skiing/boarding and that the place won't be over-run with little tykes. At night they'd be content to walk through a nice village and eat at a pizzeria and grab a beer. Frankly, my husband and I don't want to go on vacation to be surrounded by lots of little kids either.
So if you tell me that the skiing is close to as good as the other Austrian resorts we mentioned and that we can enjoy village charm, albeit the wholesome variety, we'll be pleased.
So now that I gave you a little more flavor for my family (we prefer unpretentious sophistication to late night apres ski), what do you think? Will Serfaus fit the bill? If so, any hotel recommendations?

Thanks so much.

Ingo

Hm, now I am really torn! I still think Serfaus is a nice village, almost car-free btw, sunny, snow reliable, offers excellent skiing - but the focus is on intermediate with some challenging runs too.

Since you're going in February during the school holidays you'll have to deal with school kids in any Austrian resort. Serfaus won awards for family friendliness, that means they have plenty of things for kids. On the other hand, this makes sure the kiddies are (mostly) to find in secluded areas, specifically designed for them, and their parents go skiing in the meantime. The 'red' and 'black' runs are not crowded with kids.

On second thought I am not sure if there are enough challenging ski runs (expert level) for y'all in Serfaus/Fiss/Ladis for a whole week. It definitely cannot compete with St. Anton/Lech/Zürs and is slightly below the Ischgl/Samnau skiing.

Serfaus has some upscale hotels with excellent restaurants and spas. I have stayed in the 3star Hotel Silvretta and liked it a lot - young team, quite modern design, large rooms, good food. Rates are still affordable (but not really good value in winter IMO).

Friends of mine stayed in the 4star Gourmethotel Maximilian, large rooms with panoramic views, spa, excellent food (Gault Millau restaurant) - expensive, but they loved it.

Honestly, there is no other ski resort in Austria like St. Anton/Lech/Zürs. Serfaus is definitely in the top league. If you don't want to go back to where you have already been, then Serfaus is your best choice IMO. Or, ever thought about Switzerland? ;-)

Ingo

babsNYC

Thanks so much for your very helpful insights. I think we are fairly committed to trying Serfaus. Now we need to decide on a hotel. Sounds like you have some familiarity so I thought I'd run a few options by you.
We are leaning toward Hotel Adler. But others we are considering are: Cervosa, Post, Geigers, Alte Schmiede and Drei Sonnen. If you know of any that you'd recommend or warn us against, I'd most appreciate it.

As for Switzerland, we've been there several times. Actually my husband is a Swiss native. We just find that we get much more bang for the buck in Austria (even at their top resorts).

Thanks again.

Ingo

The Adler is a good choice. I remember that I met people in Serfaus who stayed there and liked it a lot.

The Cervosa and Drei Sonnen would be my favourites in terms of spa/pool etc. They are clearly better than the Adler in that regard (from their website). If money is not an issue and you like to spend the time after coming back from skiing in the spa/pool area then you should pick one of them. You must know that kids are not always allowed in sauna areas, though - e.g. in the Cervosa they ban kids younger than 16 from the spa area. They have aceess to the pool, though.

Anyway, I am sure you'll have a great time in Serfaus no matter where you'll stay.

I.

Andreas_US_GER

If you liked Ischgl then you'll also love Sölden. Pros: High altitude, very long runs, back-bowles, great apres-ski fun. My personal favorite in Austria.

http://www.oetztal.at/index.php?id=971&L=1

babsNYC

Thanks Andreas and Ingo for the great advice. I will definitely look into Soelden for our next trip.

But now I need more advice on our Serfaus trip. We will most likely fly into Munich. Since Serfaus is car free I'd prefer not to rent a car for a week+ just to park it at the resort. However, it looks like a very long trip by DB (nearly 4 hours to Landeck vs. an approximately 2 hours drive all the way to Serfaus) and we would still have to take a taxi or bus from Landeck.

We actually asked the hotel about a taxi for the trip to and from Munich but as you can imagine, it's mighty expensive (EUR340 each way)and that's nearly the cost of the car for the week.

Anything I haven't thought of? Is there a bus service from Munich?

altamiro

Can't you fly into Innsbruck?

Alternatively, even Zürich would be a better starting point than Munich.

Ingo

Serfaus is not totally car-free - most people drive to Serfaus, park their car there and don't use it during their stay there, though. You really don't need it there.

I don't see an alternative to the train/bus combo. Altamiro's advice is good - do look into flying into Innsbruck. It is a small airport.

Bus service from Landeck is not bad as far as I recall. Or take a taxi - that should be not too expensive. Btw, I doubt you can make it from the airport Munich to Serfaus in 2 hours. That's very optimistic.

altamiro

From Munich airport to Serfaus in 2 h? It wasn't a road vehicle that the trip time was measured on. Sounds more like a helicopter.

babsNYC

Actually, our plan was to drive from Munich city center. We planned on flying to Munich on Friday, staying overnight and then moving on to Serfaus on Saturday evening. That would be somewhat closer than MUC airport.
Having said that, if Zurich makes much more sense, we would consider that (with the same plan of spending Friday night in Zurich). However, the train connections from Zurich to Landeck looked much worse unless I'm missing something.
After all is said and done, we may just do the car rental despite paying for it to stay dormant during our ski holiday but it's not easy (or inexpensive) to rent a vehicle large enough for a family of five and all of our luggage and ski equipment.

You people seem to know the area and the logistics quite well. I appreciate your allowing me to pick your brains. Keep the advice coming.

BTW, looks like we will be staying at Pezid Apartments instead of Hotel Adler. I saw their site early in our search and it looked gorgeous. But they were all booked. However, I asked them to notify me if they received a cancellation and in the meantime they sent me an offer before I made payment to Adler. So if any of you know anything about Pezid, chime in.

Barbara

altamiro

>However, the train connections from Zurich to Landeck looked much worse unless I'm missing something.

???
You are clearly missing something - there are direct trains from Zürich to Innsbruck (and onwalds) all stopping in Landeck-Zams.