Obergurgl-Hochgurgl Reviews & Ratings

Huge amount of piste to discover, friendly locals and great nightlife. Perfect for a family resort

For a long time, the Austrian ski resort of Obergurgl has been on my ski bucket list. Highlights being its incredible snow record, traditional mountain village charm and reputation as a family-friendly resort. So, it ticked all the boxes as a perfect destination for my family with our various skiing standards.

With a free week in mid-December, early for the ski season, but always cheaper, we booked a family holiday with the ski experts Inghams, who helped us with every part of our trip. From lift pass deals, to ski hire and accommodation.

With the vast choice of hotels and chalets on offer from Inghams we finally chose the newly renovated Moss Hotel, on a half-board basis. The hotel is perfectly positioned being only two minutes' walk to the nearest piste and ski school meeting point. The rooms here are spacious with a well-appointed en suite. Each room is decorated in a modern style, using natural materials and apparently taking inspiration from the surrounding mountains, which I can say really did combined to make a fantastic comfortable retreat from the slopes.

Making things even more luxurious is the hotel's new wellness area, which includes, indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room, a perfect place to relax after a busy day.

However, we found the real jewel in the crown at the Moss were the staff who were fantastic. Always there to help with a smile, making the atmosphere feel relaxed, and more a home from home rather than a four-star hotel.

Evening meals hit the spot with three courses, including various homemade pizzas to full roast dinners and obviously local dishes to wet the appetite. So, plenty to keep the hungriest teenager happy. Breakfast was a buffet style with the usual fresh bread, meats, eggs and cereal, perfect way to start the day.

On the slopes the conditions were perfect. This is due to almost all the Obergurgl ski area sitting above 2,000 metres and most is well above this, coupled with a powerful snow-making system ensures Obergurgl is one of the most reliable snow sure resorts in the Alps. A big relief compared to the conditions in other European ski resorts this season. Hence thankfully early season skiing is not a problem here.

Most of the terrain due to its altitude is above the tree line and favours beginner and intermediate skiers mainly, but there is some good off piste to explore lower down in the trees and with overnight fresh snow was great fun. A word of warning make sure you use a guide when venturing off piste. Back on the piste queues for the lifts were thankfully missing so getting back up the slopes was not an issue, compared to later in the season.

Taking advantage of our full area lift pass we ventured over to the neighbouring Hochgurgl resort via a long gondola, not just to ski the open slopes here, but to visit the Top Mountain Motorcycle Museum. Which is situated on the Austrian-Italian border. I was totally taken back by the vast array of early British bikes on display. It truly felt like a tribute to the Midlands bike industry, what a surprise to find it here in the mountains of Austria.

As with most ski holidays food can be very expensive. However, dining on the slopes here is a real joy in the cosy Austrian style mountain restaurants scattered around the resort. With portions defiantly on the large size and prices thankfully somewhat smaller. We found the average meal costing around 16 euros per person. So, keeping two teenage boys happy didn't break the bank.

If you need a change during your holiday, your six-day full area lift pass will allow you to ski the larger Solden area which is only twenty minutes away via the free ski bus. Now being a Bond fan, I was excited to discover you can visit the 007 Elements James Bond installation here. Which with your lift pass is actually free to visit when pre booked online, yet another win for the pocket. This amazing cinematic installation towers on the summit of Soldens Gaislachkogl at 3050 m above sea level. The installation is hidden away inside the mountain in the true style of a Spectre lair. The location is so brilliant even non Bond fans will be thrilled with its dramatic architecture and brilliant location.

It was here in Solden where the shooting of the Bond movie "Spectre" took place. The action-packed scene saw James chasing Spectre agents in a plane, before crashing it in to a mountain barn and sliding the wing less plane down the mountain in true 007 style to save the latest maiden in distress, Dr Madeleine Swann.

The 007 Elements kept us entertained for nearly two hours moving from various themed rooms showing past moves, gadgets and location models. Be warned the whole installation is unheated so very warm clothes are a must. The best was left till last, with a life-size plane smashing dramatically into the building using a little Pinewood studios magic. The rest of our day was spent skiing with various Bond themes ringing in our ears. All be it without the Bond explosions and only family members and not Spectre agents chasing me down the slopes.

So, it is left for me to say, if you fancy slopping of to a real gem of a ski resort which offers much more than a normal ski holiday, and I believe could even keep non-skiers happy. I suggest you try Obergurgl - a real diamond in the Alps.