6 top hotels in Austria that are located directly on the slopes

Nowadays it is impossible to imagine the German language without Anglicisms. What was once simply referred to as a piste hotel now has the resounding name of ski-in/ski-out hotel. What is always meant is the luxury of the alpine pole position for skiers and snowboarders: despite a leisurely breakfast, be one of the first to carve across the freshly groomed slopes and turn straight into the whirlpool in the evening. This is a ski holiday at its best.

1. Top hotel in Hochgurgl, Tyrol

At the end of the longest valley in Tyrol, the Ötztal, the road winds towards Timmelsjoch, the border pass between Austria and Italy. This is closed in winter, but not the access to Hochgurgl, which is at an altitude of 2,150 meters. Half a dozen hotels in the middle of the Obergurgl-Hochgurgl ski area, which is one of the most snow-sure in the Alps due to its altitude. The Top Hotel sits enthroned in Hochgurgl, the highest point where the sun shines the longest. A house with 71 rooms and a luxury hut flair that amazes guests as soon as they enter the lobby: many old wooden parlor elements that date back to the 15th century, stylishly mixed with modern design and deer antlers. The rooms are new and modernly furnished, with marble bathrooms and views of the 21 surrounding three-thousanders and directly onto the slopes.

This panoramic view is also available from the infinity pool, which is wonderfully heated with hydroelectric power, and from the sun terrace. Even at night, because since this season there are two discarded gondolas on the terrace, heated and lovingly built with wood, for a romantic dinner. Speaking of cuisine: Here too, the ski-in/ski-out hotel lives up to its name. Excellent regional cuisine in Alpine style with international influences make the evening 6-course menu a gourmet event. This also includes a wine list curated by the well-known German sommelier Ralf Frenzel – with exquisite wines from the highest wine cellar in Austria.

And speaking of superlatives: In the basement of the top hotel there is a large sports shop, the ski cellar and directly in front of it a chair lift and a gondola lift. “We are a hotel for sports-loving skiers with a penchant for high-quality cuisine, fine wines and a beautiful spa,” summarizes the new general manager Marc Thümmel, a friendly Stuttgart native with many years of experience in the Tyrolean hotel industry.

2. Hotel Gasthof Post in Lech am Arlberg, Vorarlberg

Understatement reigns here: The post office in the 1,444 meter high ski resort of Lech am Arlberg has retained the charm and intimacy of a historic inn, but noblesse, sophisticated casualness and 5-star comfort make this accommodation something very special. Outside ventilated paintings and wooden shingles, inside 46 rooms and suites, all individually designed with local antiques, historical paintings, open fireplaces, contemporary luxury and lots of wood. The Dutch royal family also appreciates this feel-good atmosphere, as the Royal Family has been skiing in the Post for decades. Namely in the stagecoach, an attached building with six rooms. This is located in the post office’s park-like garden, matching the generous space of the traditional house. The Moosbrugger family has been running the hotel since 1937, and for decades it has also been part of the international association of luxury hotels and restaurants called Relais&Chateau Hotels.

There has been a breath of fresh air in the three in-house restaurants – the small fine-dining Jägerstube, the historic Emo-Stube and the panoramic restaurant – since this year. The 31-year-old chef Michael Rieser brings a pinch of France and Asia with him, setting new culinary highlights in the place with the highest toque density per inhabitant in Austria. The hotel manager’s brother also supplies exquisite wines from his Schloss Gobelsburg winery in Lower Austria. Also noteworthy is the large outdoor pool, which allows swimming in warm water with a view of a ring of mountains up to 2,800 meters high. Snow to the horizon. The slopes of Austria’s largest ski area are on your doorstep – and how could it be otherwise for this place, which is away from après-ski tourism – in a sunny location, of course. If this goes down at the end of the ski day, there will be a large children’s pool waiting for the little skiers and the elegant spa for the grown-ups.

3. Nesslerhof – the natureness Hotel in Großarl, Salzburger Land

Be active, enjoy and feel natural happiness: this desirable triad is what defines the Nesslerhof. Its location, right next to the brand new 10-person gondola Kieserlbahn (opening on December 21, 2023) in the Großarltal-Dorfgastein ski area, which is part of the huge Skiwelt amadé, is perfect. Tina and Hermann Neudegger, who have gradually expanded the Nesslerhof into a stylish 4-star S-ski and wellness hotel with large rooms and plenty of space over the past few years, are living the concept themselves. Both are athletes and nature lovers, she is a sommelier and he is a trained gourmet chef who also runs the in-house butcher shop. “For us, the topic of enjoyment is always part of it,” explains hotel manager Tina.

Your guests will find this in many facets: be it being the first on the slopes while skiing, be it the daily yoga sessions or the spa, which is divided into a family area and an adults-only area. The latter reflects the current state-of-the-art: event sauna with themed infusions, pine sauna, old wood outdoor sauna, brine steam bath, brine outdoor pool, natural swimming pond and eight relaxation rooms. These are designed so generously that every guest is guaranteed a lounger.

And if you want to have the feeling of floating on cloud 9 up on the mountain, you will have this opportunity from December 21, 2023. Then the Neudeggers, together with the local hotelier family Hettegger, will open the summit restaurant “Wolke 7”, a modern low-rise building with wooden shingles, gourmet -Kitchen in collaboration with regional farmers, fine wines, sophisticated service, cool design and a gigantic 360-degree view of the Salzburg mountains.

4. Riederalm Good Life Resort in Leogang, Salzburger Land

The Skicircus Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Leogang, Fieberbrunn is the third largest ski area in Austria and the dream of many skiers. Right in the middle, right next to the slopes and the Asitzbahn in Leogang, lies the Riederalm. For two generations, the Herbst family has been doing everything they can to offer their guests the best mix of being active and relaxing. Hotel senior Friedl, for example, drives his truck every week to the nearby spring of St. Martin near Lofer and fills the tank with fresh healing water for the Riederalm’s outdoor thermal pool. Father-in-law Hans is a sauna master and is responsible for the personal care of the guests during the three daily infusions. A heart-refreshing experience in the truest sense of the word – including cooling off in the pond-like Kneipp pool in the rock garden, followed by a salt-honey peeling in the steam bath and a shared drink.

Junior chef Andreas is responsible for the culinary side and has been awarded three toques and membership in the top chefs’ association Jeunes Restaurateurs. His creations are served by his wife Andrea, in dining rooms that range from traditional Alpine to cutting-edge design. And they are designed in such a way that families with small children can stay together as well as couples. Every target group will find their personal paradise in the spacious 4-star S-Hotel: be it in the adults-only spa or in the family spa with children’s pool, in the 60-meter-long indoor water slide with timer or in the heated outdoor sports pool. From this you have a good view of the slopes, so parents can watch their children skiing.

5. Mountain Resort Feuerberg in Bodensdorf, Carinthia

Where to start? With the location at an altitude of 1,769 meters on the Gerlitzen Alpe, the award-winning infinity pool with panoramic views of the Carinthian lakes, the Karawanken and Julian Alps, with the concert sauna with panoramic glass front, the children’s pool world or the rustic chalet village, which can be accessed via a bathrobe corridor with the rest of the 4-star suburban hotels? The Feuerberg Mountain Resort, which is located in the middle of the Gerlitzen Alpe ski center in Carinthia, is so extraordinary in every respect that the first words of every guest are: Wow, wow and wow again!

Just skiing in the sun-drenched area with a panorama of mountains and lakes makes you happy. But back in the Feuerberg the radiance really begins. For example, with a singing bowl mediation in one of the heated outdoor pools, or an application on the Wavebalance lounger with sounds and vibrations, with feeling and poetry and that special spirit. The Feuerberg spirit. This also includes the great space in the huge water and sauna world as well as the sublime feeling of floating above the clouds.

6. SeeMOUNT Active Nature Resort in See, Tyrol

Most skiers rush through the Paznaun Valley all the way to Ischgl – past the insider tip at the valley entrance in the small town of See. There, at 1040 meters above sea level, is the SeeMount Hotel, where everything is a little different. Like 34-year-old Sabrina Mallaun, who opened the architecturally strikingly modern building made of dark gray granite stones and larch wood at the end of 2021. Under the motto “young, wild, passionate”.

A stylish wellness hotel with an active focus, located directly on the slopes of the family-friendly See ski area. And right next to the Madrigjochbahn, a sports shop, the village bakery and surrounded by the rocks of the Silvretta group. After relaxing on the sun terrace of the 4-star S-Hotel, the stylish bar with winter garden and the wellness area entice you. This extends over the fourth and fifth floors including the roof terrace. With an infinity outdoor pool, floating loungers, various saunas and relaxation rooms and unobstructed panoramic views of the snow-covered Silvretta peaks.