Sporthotel Alpin Zell am See

Where to stay skiing at Zell am See

Zell am See is a charming Austrian alpine resort village at the base of Zell am See ski slopes on a beautiful Lake Zell. If you want to be steps to the ski slopes and lifts, check out Sporthotel Alpin.

You can’t stay closer to the slopes than the Sporthotel Alpin. This family-owned second-generation lodge has 30+ rooms perfectly situated at the base of Zell am See’s CityXpress ski lift. The Sporthotel Alpin is literally where everyone takes their skis off at day’s end. And as an Alpin hotel guest, you just walk a few steps to the ski room where you store your skis and place your boots on dryers for the night.

The Sporthotel Alpin is a classic chalet lodge, with full hotel service, complete with Spa of indoor heated pool and various saunas – outdoor Finnish, indoor traditional and damp steam sauna. The Alpin even has a Golf Simulator in the downstairs – and a Golf Pro on hand certain days of the week to provide golf coaching. Your hosts Elisabeth and her husband Stefan now run her family business, with their own young family on property.

Our panorama room was neat, spacious, with blonde wood furniture, wingback chairs, a modern bath, and a wonderful balcony with a fantastic view. Family suites are also available, and the hotel is pet friendly – tough we did not encounter any pets during our stay.

Lodging at Sport Hotel Alpin, a delicious bountiful breakfast buffet is included in your room. You can enjoy breakfast of a lovely display of fresh bread, cheeses and meats, salmon, a waffle station, plus yogurts and cereals with fruit and nuts – all local. Fresh made eggs to order are available too. There’s even fresh made juice and prosecco, but we were here to ski these Salzburg ski mountains in the morning, not pop the bubbly. Afterall the ski lifts are so convenient to us.

Afternoons, we loved the hotel’s Living Room, a beautiful lounge overlooking the slopes, where you can relax and order snacks, play board games, or just watch the outdoor activity as skiers descend their last runs at Zell am See. The bar in the Living Room has friendly bar gals who would make us a cocktail or wine and chat with us about our ski day. In fact, by opting out of daily housekeeping, we earned drink tokens – what a great idea – a win win win says the owner Elizabeth, better for the environment, for her staff, and for patrons to have a fun opt-out.

For Après Ski at the Alpin, you can also go right outside to their own umbrella bar at the end of the slope which gets rocking certain afternoons and early evenings. Après ski is a big part of the alpine lifestyle in Austria and in the Salzburg Mountain region.

We enjoyed the indoor heated pool at Sporthotel Alpin, which becomes adult-only after 6pm, but its open from 10am for families – which is generous hours versus so many Austrian hotels that only allow access to their pool and spa facilities in the late afternoon. A classic indoor sauna and damp bed (steam room) are complemented by an outdoor panorama sauna – which is more traditional – made of local wood. From this outdoor sauna, you have a glimpse of the ski slopes – but they can’t see you! The sauna areas are for age 16 and up.

Stefan and Elizabeth are available, as your gracious hosts, to offer dinner suggestions (since the hotel serves only breakfast, and snacks in the bar afternoons and evenings). Elizabeth’s reception desk is also loaded with guides on fun things to do in the area around Lake Zell.

Walking the town of Zell am See after skiing is lovely, cute shops, restaurants and bars line the streets and historic pedestrian squares. Its a beautiful historic village, like similar Austrian ski villages of Kitzbühel and St Anton.

In town dining, you can share a great pizza or pasta at Giuseppe’s – their waiters are fun and friendly in this casual pizzeria. Another night, I had a wonderful burger at Brasserie Traube, where the menu ranges from Asian stirfry to more traditional fare.

Deins & Meins (translation: yours and mine) is a cool bistro restaurant in the center of Zell am See village, specializing in steaks and Austrian fare – sausages and such. The salads are big and healthy too. Yur Ribs is just like it sounds – featuring ribs on the menu – delicious ribs with varieties of beef versus pork. It’s a fun friendly place right on the historic pedestrian plaza of Zell am See.

For a small alpine village there are lots of happening in Zell am See. For Après Ski bars, Castlebar is where the ski instructors go after skiing beers – if you join in, keep your ski togs on as its an outdoor bar. Other après ski hangouts are Gruener, Crazy Daisy with live music, The Green Room, and the umbrella bar right outside our Sporthotel Alpin.

Skiing from Sporthotel Alpin, we skied a few days at Zell am See, then enjoyed skiing nearby Kaprun and Kitzsteinhorn – a dramatic 3000-meter glacial peak just across the valley – which is also part of the Zell am See Kaprun, on the same ticket. We also skied humble but fun Rauris. There’s a free ski bus. You are also very close to Saalbach’s big Ski Circus of vast skiing terrain. Nordic skiing, sledding and snowshoeing, even night sledding, are all nearby for winter fun. We’re certain its spectacular here in summer, on the shores of the beautiful Lake Zell, with the surrounding slopes and fields for hiking and golf.

We recommend skiing Zell am See, which is part of Austria’s Super Ski Card for the Salzburg ski region Saalbach Ski Circus , Rauris, Kitzsteinhorn, Ski Gastein’s 4 areas, and Snow Space Salzburg. to name just a few of 80!