Zürserhof – time out in Zürs am Arlberg

Astonished, we looked out of the car window last summer halfway between Langen and Lech. “What kind of ghost town is this?” “Zürs hibernates in summer. But that’s what the bear does here in winter,” said our taxi driver. We didn’t want to just leave this statement as it is, but to see for ourselves how winter breathes life into the ghost town. Located at 1,7000 m above sea level, Zürs has been a classic winter sports resort since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1937, Austria’s first T-bar lift went into operation in Zürs and has developed into a legendary ski destination over the years. In the run-up to this winter season, the ski resort on the Arlberg catapulted itself into Austria’s largest connected ski area with the opening of a connection to St. Anton.

One of Zürs’ skiing pioneers, Ernst Skardarasy, bought the Zürserhof in 1955. Now in its third generation, it is run by the Skardarasy family as an attractively located ski-in ski-out 5-star superior hotel. A hotel that proves that Zürs is an attractive destination for a relaxing winter weekend, even away from the tens of hundreds of kilometres of slopes.

Arrive, take a deep breath, enjoy

Getting from Zurich to Zürs is less complicated than in some Swiss ski resorts. We get on the Railjet at the main station and get off 2.20 hours later in St. Anton am Arlberg. Here the hotel shuttle awaits us, which takes us directly to the Zürserhof. If the weather had been nice, we would have taken the opportunity for a first round of skiing right after arrival. However, the foehn storm, which had travelled with us from Switzerland to Vorarlberg, took the wind out of our sails. Most of the lifts were at a standstill when we arrived due to the gusts of wind and the lady at the reception smiled: “Why don’t you relax first?” Agrees! Sometimes someone has to force me to be happy. And so we start our time-out with Zürserhof with food and doing nothing. By the way, I immediately fell in love with the great parlours and seating niches in the bar and restaurant area.

Lech-Zürs: 1 ski area – a thousand possibilities

After this slow start to the weekend, we are up early the next day. The first look out of the room window is not terribly promising. The predicted fresh snow has arrived, but the clouds still have a firm grip on the mountain flanks. So there is time to try the rich breakfast buffet. The delicious waffles are served fresh to the table on request and there is hardly anything else left to be desired.

After that, we are ready for the mountain. Right next to the ski room is the in-house ski and snowboard rental. At the sight of the cool Stöckli skis, I regret that I lugged my own with me – that wouldn’t have been necessary at all! But since I had clearly neglected my skis this winter, I didn’t want to leave them behind because of a chic, new ski model.

Directly behind the hotel is the Seekopf chairlift. Since the visibility is still poor, we stop at the top for a hot chocolate in the mountain restaurant and wait for the announced fair weather front. It arrives punctually to the minute and shortly after 10 o’clock the clouds break up and make way for the sun. Once again, we have phenomenal weather luck and enjoy powder snow descents in the sunshine.

The ski area is really huge with over 300 kilometers of slopes and the view of the trail map overwhelmed us at first. On request, the concierge of the Zürserhof recommended a nice, classic round via Madloch Joch and a long ski route descent down to Zug, a round trip via Lech and Rüfikopf back to Zürs. A large part of this round trip corresponds to the legendary White Ring. In general, the slopes in Zürs are more challenging than those in Lech. In Lech, on the other hand, there are the nicer huts. In Zürs, there is a lack of demand, as most hotels offer full board and people stop at their own hotel at lunchtime. If, like us, you like to stop off at a rustic hut at lunchtime, we recommend a detour to the Kriegeralpe. A cheese dumpling soup is simply part of an Austrian day of skiing, isn’t it?

Knead once, please!

Back at the Zürserhof, a deluxe pampering programme awaits you. The hotel is one of the Leading Spa Resorts and the wellness area is great! Our afternoon at the Aureus Spa starts with a warm-up including a body scrub in the “Alpine Haman”. Four days later, my skin still feels like a baby’s bottom. After that, the private spa is reserved for us. Here, our cramped muscles are first loosened with an aromatic oil massage. Afterwards we have the sauna and lounger for half an hour and are spoiled with snacks and fresh smoothies. Also great is the infinity pool with a view of the ski slopes and the spacious relaxation room with a fireplace in the middle (which burns as soon as it gets dark). If you want to treat yourself and your loved ones to a really great wellness day, the Zürserhof is definitely the right place for you. By the way, there is an extra family spa area for families, which is geared to the needs of children, teens and their moms and dads.

Après-Ski im Zürserhof

After lots of sunshine, powder snow and bädälä, we toast happily and relaxed in the evening with an aperitif, listen to the virtuoso keyboard playing of the pianist Eddie Friel (he has been setting the mood here for 13 years and is practically part of the inventory) and then feast our way through dinner. Cheese lovers should be cautious about this. Because after the main course, a phenomenal cheese buffet awaits you. We even discovered Vacherin Mont-d’Or on it. In addition to the almost endless selection of cheeses, I notice the family ambience positively. Despite the limitation to the winter season, the Zürserhof has long-standing employees who welcome regular guests like old friends. Sympathetic!

And as always, if you particularly like it somewhere, time flies. I would have liked to splash around in the infinity pool longer and see more of the ski area – so at least we know where we are drawn to when we need that successful combination of fun on the slopes and relaxation again.

More tips and information about the Zürserhof

• Double room with full board from 430 Euro / night
• For bad weather days, the Zürserhof offers a large wellness area, a large fitness room with gymnastics program and a multi-sports and tennis hall
• The Alpine Hamam experience costs 143 euros for two people
• The Aureus Private Spa Ritual costs 195 euros per hour (excluding treatment)
• The day ski pass for the Ski Arlberg area costs 52 euros (current information here)

Note: We were invited by the Hotel Zürserhof for this stay. All impressions/opinions are ours.

Merken