30 Mar Charming holiday rentals, ski and après ski in St. Anton, Austria

The large offer of charming holiday rentals in the beautiful tyrolean villages, the large ski area and the great après-ski, makes the ​​St Anton am Arlberg area one of the best ski regions in Austria.

Sankt Anton am Arlberg

The village of St. Anton is located in Tirol near the Arlberg pass at 1,300 meters above sea level. It is a paradise of snow in a beautiful tiroles environment. It is also known as the cradle of alpine skiing since it has had a lot of influence in the invention of this winter sport.

Ski Area Arlberg

The ski area of St. Anton is called  Ski Arlberg. Since 2016 it was enlarged and now it connects villages like St Anton, Lech, Zürs, Stuben, St. Christoph and Warth. There are 305km of slopes and 87 ski lifts. The facilities are equiped with the latest technologies with modern ski lifts (some with heated seats) and cable cars. In the lower areas it is beautiful skiing between trees. In addition to the typical prepared slopes there are also routes that are like wide paths for skiing where in general there are less people but be careful, they do not have the same preparation as normal slopes.

 

Charming holiday rentals in St. Anton and surroundings

When skiing in Austria, we have visited the Arlberg area on several occasions (we have been to Lech, Zürs, St. Anton and Pettneu) and  have always been very lucky finding charming austrian holiday rentals.

For the design of the exteriors of the chalets and hotels, the use of wood is common. The interiordesign is a combination of wooden furniture with embroidered cushions, Christmas-style ornaments, large fireplaces, candles, warm lights, carpets, animal skins and low carved wooden ceilings. Alltogether a dream environment!!!

On the St. Anton website you can make an exhaustive search of all types of accommodation.

Holidays rentals at the Vaya Resort St. Anton

A charming accommodation in St Anton is the 4-star Vaya Resort, a fantastic choice for your ski holidays in this ski area. The resort has 31 design apartments. We were in this hotel with a large group so I was able to take a look at the different types of apartments and they all have a high level finish. It is a new building with a modern, functional and cozy austrian design at the same time.

Each apartment has a modern kitchen but the establishment also offers its guests a breakfast buffet so we chose lodging with breakfast and in the evenings we went out for dinner (we only stayed a few nights and we were adults only). Our 3 bedroom apartment also had a quite large built-in sauna. If you’re looking for holiday rentals in this area for a group of friends or as a family I can really recommend this accommodation.

Besides, it’s only a 400 meters walk to the Nasserein ski lift. Right there in the shops Intersport or Jennewein you can rent your ski equipment. If you do not want to walk every morning and afternoon with skis and boots, you can rent a locker in the shopes. A very comfortable solution!

Penthouse The Rooftop

A special mention for the ‘The Rooftop’ apartment. A 190m2 penthouse on the top floor of the Vaya Resort with 5 bedrooms and space for up to 12 people. It is impressive, cozy with its fireplace, wooden floor, a huge terrace with beautiful views and a sauna. An authentic luxury for your skiing holiday rentals with family or friends.

Other services offered by this accomodation are a Spa, a kidszone and a carparking. To the center of the village it’s a very pleasant walk of about 10 minutes and a 5 minutes walk to the Nasserein ski lift. There are also two ski buses that connect the different skilifts.

We booked the apartments through the Sunweb travel agency that offers ski accommodation in different countries in Europe.

Holiday rentals in Zürs

Are you looking for tranquility for your ski holiday in Austria? Zürs may be the place. It is a very small, quiet and exclusive town with mainly 4 and 5 star hotels. It is famous for its annual stay of the royal family of Monaco.

Hotel Valluga Zürs

We stayed at the 4 star Hotel Valluga Zürs. It has nice and cozy common areas. The rooms are spacious and with a traditional design. We had halfboard and both breakfast and dinner were great and served in a warm ambience. The hotel is located just 2 minutes walk from the ski lifts.

 

Hotel Edelweiss Zürs

Some friends stayed at the Hotel Edelweiss, skihotel since 1856, almost next to the Valluga hotel. This hotel seemed to all a fun option. It is a curious mix between elegant alpine Austrian design and kitsch at the same time. The employees attend dressed with the typical Austrian costumes. In the afternoon there was a great atmosphere in the hotel bar with people singing and dancing with an audience well over 50 years old. And it also has the famous Club Zürserl for a drink in the evening since 1977. We have decided to return to this hotel when we are about 60 years old.

Holiday rentals in Lech

If your are looking for a village that combines elegance with fun, Lech could be a good choice. If you travel with children, the area of ​​Oberlech is interesting because it is ski-in ski-out. In the evening this area is connected with Lech by ski lifts.

Some amazing holiday rentals are offered by the agency Ultimate Luxury Chalets. An absolutly spectacular but also prohibitive accomodation for most of the souls in this world is the Chalet 1597. I do not think I will have the opportunity in this life to rent this property but I enjoy the interior design. And one needs some dreams in life. If someone who reads this wants to invite me, just let me know?.

Après-ski in St. Anton, fun without limits

St Anton is probably one of the best après-ski places in the world. The après-ski is done as the word says directly after skiing, with your skiboots on. In St. Anton the best bars are also on the slopes, and while you are skiing downhill, you can stop at the different bars. The party starts at approximately 3:00 p.m.

Après-ski tour in St. Anton

A recommended après-ski route would be on the main blue slope nr 1 going down from the Zammermoossbahn chair towards the base of the Galzigbahn with the following stops:

Sennhütte: to have lunch or a drink in a cozy atmosphere while listening to the live music with a more stylish audience. Some years ago here we ran into the royal family of Jordania and I danced with their Minister of Finance. When we left I realised I lost my skigloves and the Minister was so kind to ask their bodyguards to search for them (and they found them).

Heustadl: après-ski with a more rock atmosphere.

Krazy Kanguruh: après-ski since 1965 in a historic and pioneer place in St Anton with a large outdoor dance floor. The owner has been twice world slalom ski champion.

Mooserwirt: probably the most famous après-ski bar in the world. Here you can find people of all kind of ages dancing on the tables between 3:30 and 8:00 p.m. If you just want to be an observer of this madness, I recommend that you get there early and sit on the first floor.

In Lech there is the Tannbergerhof, a hotel located opposite the slopes with a quieter but very pleasant outdoor après-ski bar.

 

What to do in St. Anton, besides skiing

? Enjoy your beautiful holiday rentals in the snow. For me, the accommodation is of great importance. Because I’m a good weather skier, when there is bad weather, I like to be in the hotel or chalet in front of a fireplace reading a book or chatting with friends having a tea or a glass of wine.

? Hike in the mountains or stroll throught the villages of the Arlberg area

?Cross-country skiing (there are about 80km.)

? Sledge down the 4,3km toboggan run of St. Anton. We did this activity with a group of about 60 people and it was hilarious. You can make a midway stop for a meal or some apr’es-ski fun at the Roddelalm. We rented the sledges at the Jennewein ski shop, next to the Nasserein cable which you have to take to get to the start of this run.

? Do some shopping. In Zürs and Lech there are more exclusive shops. A large and elegant multi-storey store is the Strolz store in Lech. It has a wide range of clothing, ski clothing, shoes, tyroles clothing and decorative items. If you’re looking for a mixture of stylish and sporty ski clothing, check out the skiwear brand Frauenschuh. For a more reasonable price take a look at the Dutch brand Protest. In St. Anton you can find a pedestrian street with many shops of all kinds.

? Take a horse carriage through the area of ​​Lech and Zürs

? Visit the swimming pool or spa area of your acomodation. If not available, you can visit the wellness area Arlberg-well.

⛸ Skate on ice at the open air skating ring of St. Anton

Gastronomy en St Anton

After a long day of skiing you have to recharge your batteries and nothing better than a good dinner. It is not easy to decide, there is an interesting offer of good quality restaurants in St Anton.

Hospiz Alm restaurant

Just as Chez Vrony is a ‘must’ in Zermatt, the Hospiz Alm restaurant located in the small town of St Christoph is for me a must in the Arlberg area. The Telegraph places it among the 40 best mountain restaurants in the world. You can get there skiing or, if you want to go for dinner, it’s about 10 minutes by taxi from St Anton. It is part of the Arlberg1800 Resort where you can also find other holiday rentals.

 

When you enter the restaurant you have the idea entering a fairytail. There are two storeys all made of wood and on each floor there are small dining rooms. The decoration is in austrian style with embroidered cushions, candles, carved wood ceilings … In the center is an area where the meat is prepared on an open fire. The waiters are dressed in the typical costumes of the area (the lederhosen) and the owner is a charming gentleman who happens to greet each table.

I recommend starting the aperitif with a glass of Testarossa, a cool drink of champagne with raspberries.

The wine cellar of the Hospiz Alm

Even more spectacular at Hospiz Alm is its wine cellar. They gave us a small tour and you better take a look at the photos to know what it was like, the valhalla of the wine lover. They have an impressive collection of 16 and 25 liter wine bottles. To enter the cellar you pass through a safe door painted in and Austrian way. To get to the cellar which is in the basement of the building, you can use a slide (which works better with ski clothes because it slides better, I have it checked?).

It is a restaurant with demanding prices, but if you are a gourmet it is a must.

Robi’s Rodelstall

Robi’s Rodelstall is located at the end of the St. Anton tobogganing run in the Nasserein district. The decoration of the restaurant is like an old stable (stall means stable). This results in a casual and warm place at the same time with a large fireplace. It is an ideal place to have a fondue or other typical Tyrolean food.

Krone Panorama Restaurant en Lech

The Krone Panorama restaurant is part of the 5 star hotel Krone. It is an elegant restaurant that offers quality Austrian and international food while you can enjoy the beautiful views of the slopes and mountains of Lech. We had a nice meal here among friends. A nice detail was when they brought the tea tray with three hourglasses so you can decide if you want to leave the tea bag 3, 4 or 5 minutes in the water. In summary, it is a restaurant that I recommend.

How to get to St. Anton am Arlberg

For your ski holidays in Austria, St Anton is a comfortable destination because it is very well connected. The best way is flying to Zürich. Most European countries have a direct connection to Zürich, so that should not be a problem. From there, there are several options:

? We were a group of 7 people and we decided to take a large taxi. There is a lot of offer so look on the internet and compare prices because there is a big difference depending on the size of the van or minubus that you hire. It takes about 2.15hours to the destination.

? Voralberg Express: this bus connects about 5 times a day in the winter season Zürich airport with Stuben, Zürs, Lech and St Anton. To get to St Anton it takes just over 3 hours.

? Another comfortable option is taking the direct train from the Zürich airport to St. Anton. The fastest train takes approximately 2.45 hours. This good connection is due to being the main rail connection between Austria and Switzerland.

In conclusion, whether your are a ski or nature lover I recommend you visit the Arlberg area of ​​Austria. If you also enjoy charming holiday rentals in the snow, with lots of and quality gastronomy, the St. Anton area should be your next winter destination❄.

 Bon voyage!!!!

 

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