Skiing in austria - kapruna and zell am see

Tiscali Travel were hosted by Directski.com and stayed at the Sporthotel Kaprun

Editor's highlights

* Friendly atmosphere
* Good value lift pass, skis, snowboard and boot hire
* Nice little village
* Good bus service
* Glacier skiing
* Price of food and drinks

Current offer: Directski.com has a week's stay at the 3* Hotel Sport in Kaprun from £439 during March 2008, including half-board accommodation, return Gatwick flights and transfers, based on two sharing (£469 from Manchester). Visit www.directski.com or call 0800 587 0945 for more details.

The holiday gets off to a great start; as we land, the blue-white Alps rear abruptly beyond the airport, hushing the planeload of skiers, boarders and walkers in awe and anticipation.

It was my fourth time skiing in Austria and prior to the trip I'd visited a mix of resorts in the country; from cheap and cheerful Lermoos and Auffach (is a skiing holiday ever 'cheap'?!) to the exclusive, very high resort of Obergurgl.

Kaprun lies in south-west Austria, a short transfer (1hr 30mins) from the picturesque airport of Salzburg.

In style and value, it sits somewhere between the more fashionable, exclusive resorts and those of the mass market variety. Built in a traditional style by a fast flowing river criss-crossed with wooden bridges, Kaprun has an old centre with smart hotels and guesthouses, many with good restaurants. While the nightlife is quiet, there are a few decent bars, all of which serve high quality beer and spirits at reasonable prices.

Of major appeal is the glacier skiing on the majestic Schmittenhöhe mountain which soars skyward a little further down the valley from the village, and provides breathtaking (quite literally from the viewing platform) 11,500 foot views from the top. Glacier skiing means the snow is nearly always of powder quality and feels extra smooth under ski or board.

The village is bus-linked with its neighbour, the larger resort of Zell am See, across a fairly wide valley. Zell sits prettily by a lake that freezes in Winter.

There are three main ski areas - the glacier near to Kaprun, Zell am See's own mountain and a smaller mountain area on the edge of Kaprun centre - with a combined 130kms of piste (a large ski Alpine ski area has around 200kms or more, small up to about 100kms). Both villages sit at 720 metres, so are not that high and this can lead to a lack of snow at village level. Kaprun can't be considered a ski in/ski out resort.

Kaprun is the best placed of the two resorts to take advantage of the overall ski area as the Schmittenhohe lies to the west, deeper into the valley, only 10 minutes by bus from Kaprun but around 25 from Zell centre.

Going towards Zell, of the several lifts that can take you up onto its mountain, the first is 12 minutes by bus from Kaprun.

The bus system is easy to work out and buses run bang on time every 15 mins, except during lunch when it's every 30 mins.

Skiing is generally of an easy to intermediate standard, with nice cruising on mainly blue and red runs, but with a sprinkling of black runs for good measure. If, like me, mountain atmosphere is as important as the skiing, then the glacier provides you with craggy peaked, awe-inspiring views, and Zell's pretty tree runs satisfy those looking for 'chocolate box' lake and town views.

Complete beginners have limited practice areas on the edge of Kaprun centre, but those I spoke to mid-week said it isn't too scarey once you graduate and are taken up into the mountains.

Ski lifts are modern and fast from resort level, whisking you up high with ease, and queues certainly weren't a problem during my visit. However, even though it was out of season the pistes themselves on occasion became a little crowded (this might be the result of it being the best skiing in the region, and a bit of a thaw occuring lower down across the regions' resorts during my week's stay).

Boarders are fairly well-catered for as pistes are generally wide, and the glacier has a boarding park (if you fancy doing jumps etc). Boarders be warned though, the highest runs on the glacier are reached using drag-lifts. You could use the cable car to get to the very top each time, but this only runs every 15 minutes.

Sporthotel Kaprun is well-positioned on the edge of the village towards the glacier. Although modern, it's built in a tradtional style with dark-wood rooms and an appealing, typically Austrian exterior. Most bedrooms have balconies, with those at the front looking out over a road, fast-flowing river and snow-fields, and those at the rear more quietly positioned looking up the valley towards the village.

Most importantly in a village where you can't really ski in and out, the ski-bus stops just over the bridge in front of the hotel on the road to the glacier. It's a 6 minute walk (or a minute on the bus) to the village centre.

Buses also head into the village to the smaller ski area which lies just off the centre and from there on to the Zell Am See ski area.

The Sporthotel is a three star I'd bracket in the 'value' category. The rooms are a really high standard for a three star hotel, with spotlessly clean, good-sized bathrooms with bath or shower, modern comfy beds and really good sound-proofing for those lovely quiet mountain nights.

The food is simple and basic and could do with a little more zip, but the breakfast offers a good buffet choice ranging from bacon and sausages with great scrambled eggs, to cereals, a spread of cheeses and fruit.

The bar area is a quirky, half-moon 1970s affair, opening into the reception, with comfy seating and good beer. It's cheerful rather than stylish, with a warmth and friendliness I liked and that certainly kept the hotel guests coming back and filling it on most nights during my stay.

The hotel staff were great; really friendly and fun. They were always available if you needed extra bedding, local info or just wanted to kill a few minutes waiting for your ski pals.

The Directski rep, JJ, was very helpful and always available, giving out his phone number, offering up opinions and recommendations, and organised plenty of nights out for the party-minded as well as skidoo trips and sight-seeing days.

One great feature of the Hotel was the quality and size of the communal dry-sauna and steam room area, which, in my experience for a three star, was exceptionally good (and free! unlike in many French and Italian hotels).

I certainly had a fun week and the companions I took also enjoyed it (I'm a skiier, one's a boarder and the other a complete beginner). The village and surrounds are scenic and it's a relatively cheap destination for the quality of skiing on offer.

It isn't the most amazing of Alpine resorts, but has it's own individual charms. If you simply can't afford the Meribels, Zermatts or Ischgls of this world then Kaprun's a great option to consider.

Accomodation-wise, Sporthotel Kaprun is good value, in a great position with attractive rooms and an excellent sauna area. As I said, evening meals are fairly basic, but with all it offers at the price, you could perhaps treat yourself to dinner at one of the lovely restaurants in the village centre one night - the four star Hotels Orgler or Tauernhof being particularly good.

Skiing-wise the glacier provides superb powder, nice wide pistes and jaw-dropping views. Pretty tree-lined runs abound at Zell's slopes and on Kaprun's smaller mountain.

Skiing: 6
Scenery: 6
Non-skiers: 6
Transfers: 5 (Due to waits for other incoming flights)
Sporthotel Kaprun: 7
Families: 6
Couples: 7
Singles (if you're after full-on nightlife): 4
Resort staff: 9
Value of food and drink: 8
Travel company Directski: 8
Overall value: 7