The Skiers' Guide to Zell am See - Schmittenhöhe

Loved the resort, accommodation was incredicble, the town was beautiful. However most of the snow was artifical while I was there and not all the runs were open.

Great traditional resort, really friendly and a stunning lakeside location. Skiing perfect for intermediates and excellent conditions, with plenty of snow cannons when there’s not so much snow.

Don’t go during festive periods or school holidays and this resort is perfect for the not so confident

Family friendly resort with some decent apres.
Very pretty town centre
Very busy slopes and bottlenecks, found a lot of the runs back to the town narrow and steep, or narrow blue roads.
Conditions were very icy which meant a lot of blues were closed leaving only blacks as an option.
Snowparks not open.
Lifts busy.
With good snow and out of peak times I imagine this would be a fab resort, but with poor snow and at a peak holiday time this wasn’t an ideal resort.
Kaprun is also a 30min bus ride and the buses only run half hourly during the day. Then you need to take 3-4 lifts to get to the top of the glacier, which all in all is around a 60-90 min journey from leaving Zell to get to the top of the glacier, and unfortunately didn’t feel there was enough skiing in Zell to entertain an experienced skier or boarder who can cover a lot of mileage

Good transport links. Plenty of area to ski. Plenty for intermediate skiers. Some lifts very busy first thing.

The Good - Excellent piste preparation, fast gondolas and efficient lift layout, truly stunning lake and mountain views. A lively but not rowdy Apres scene. Decent traditional Austrian food options with modern restaurants too.

The Bad - While there are challenging runs, some think it’s not as extensive as nearby Saalbach. Slopes can be really busy during holiday peaks.

Zell is a great family friendly resort with lots of options. There is a good mix of blue, red and black runs to suit everyone. There is also glacier skiing at Kaprun, and more runs at Saalbach Hinterglen all within easy reach.

Zell am See Ski Resort Review

Zell am See in Austria is a beautiful resort that’s especially great if you’ve got young kids with you. The town itself is absolutely gorgeous and has stunning old buildings and a lot of history behind it. The shops are chic and have a lovely mix of furniture and clothing shops to ski and sports shops! It’s definitely more like a town rather than a purpose built ski resort.

Accommodation

In terms of accommodation, accommodation (Schönblick residence) in particular was absolutely stunning.

The Skiing

The skiing itself was good, with picturesque runs going through the trees that were absolutely lovely. The lifts and changing between sectors/resorts in the area was not so good and sometimes you had to take a 30 min bus journey to get to other parts of the area. The main stations could get a little bit blocked, especially during peak times like New Year, but that’s something that comes with the territory. The only downside for me was that, sadly, the snow parks weren’t open, so I would have loved to try those out. One for next time!

Overall a great resort for beginners and intermediates - perhaps lacking challenge for more experienced skiers.

One of my favourite resorts. Come here most years and it never disappoints as you have so many options with the glacier or groomed tree runs and amazing food and atmosphere. The town is beautiful and charming so is the best overall experience.

Went to zell am See as a group of friends.
Excellent facilities, no ques for any of the lifts.
It's a small resort but perfectly placed to also be able to visit kaprun, saalbach hinterglem (with bus) and even Kitzbühel by train.

It's a low resort so can imagine it might loose snow earlier due to warm weather.

All bars/restaurants served excellent local food and took card payments.

I town a great mix of nice restaurants and cheap eats.

Had a great time and will be coming back.

A fantastic ski resort, lifts were efficient, ski buses were good. Really good restaurants on the slopes and in the town. Stayed in Hotel Daxer. Short walk from the gondola. Board hire was easy. The pistes were well maintained throughout the week we were there. Just got back tonight, can’t wait to go again.

Good resort, but we went just after New Year, so pretty busy. Great food on the mountain and a trip on the 3K K-onnection was a heck of ride

Amazing resort. Zell is a great town too. Loads of lifts to get up the mountain, so no real bottlenecks.
We went late in the season, so was getting slushy in the afternoon, but the runs were picturesque and loads of options - especially as Kaprun and Saalbach are included in the lift pass, with a free bus connecting the zones.

Had a grwet week here, and had skied there 3 times before in my life. Pretty busy, as it is so good I suppose, but really enjoyed the runs, and the apres ski also. Lifts usual AUstrian brilliance. WIll go again very soon ; maybe 2027

One of the most picturesque ski areas I’ve visited in Austria, with beautiful views over the lake and town. Really relaxed vibe if a little busy at times. Friendly to snowboarders and lots to explore.

Zell am See is the hidden gem of the Salzburgerland in the Pinzgau, a full on Austrian town with a mountain of ski slopes and a glacier attached, for the days when the snow is so bad you don't want to get your skipants dirty with mud.

The full on town has everything you would need from 5* hotels on the lake that dominates the views to cute BnB's, and shops for everything you forgot to pack. Packs of Uno cards? Contact lens fluids? woolly socks? saucepans? it's all there. Good to go before Christmas as well to enjoy the ample Weihnachtsmarkt. And if you have energy to spare at the end of the day, then the town leisure centre has a full swimming pool, spa, gym and ice rink that means you can catch an ice hockey match there on the weekend as well after a swim.

Skiing is everything from wide, gentle blues to gnarly blacks which host the Trassabfahrt in March. There is an extensive snow cannon network which covers the Schmittenhohe from top to bottom, from the Berghotel to the gondola which runs right from the middle of the town. The ski buses are also extensive to other entries to the mountain as well as across the valley to Kaprun and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, a complete area at altitudes which gurantees snow for all types as well as a large terrain park . Slopes open from December to Easter, and the efficient lift system will get you to the right part of the mountain when you need it.

Food options on the mountain are plentiful, ranging from the full 4 course champagne lunch in the Berghotel to soup and chocolate stops dotted all over the hill, from modern cafe's to traditional Berghutte over 150 years old. All good, all reasonable value.

Apres is all over the mountain, from the rowdiness of SchnapsHans at the Berghotel to a few quieter places for a calming coffee and cake, and carries on after hours in the town at Crazy Daisy's, Kellerbars in the many hotels and notorious dive that is the Pinzga'Diele for the late, late people.

Ski schools are varied in the area - I recommend the school at Bruck for the personal touch and quality teaching that will give a good feel for your skis and the mountain as a whole.

Only 3 hours from Munich airport by road, it is most accessible by train going via Munich and Salzburg, and everything is in easy reach of there by foot. Try it, you won't think of Austria the same again.

I was a a beginner skier and felt so comfortable. My ski instructor was so thorough. The food was the best Id experienced anywhere abroad as was the friendliness
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I had to summarize Zell Am See in one word, I'd say variety. The expansive area has every type of skiing condition you can think of. In altitude, you can ski at 750m or at 3000m. There's steep and challenging north-facing mountain sides, and gentle south facing cruising blues. Big wide and gentle, narrow, steep, challenging, it's all there.

Ski here five or six times love going back. Beautiful resort, well organised and picture perfect skiing

After a gap of 25 years we decided to give Zell Ann See another go purely for the Christmas feel.Th resort itself is very pretty and there is a good choice of bars and places to eatThe biggest problem is the main gondola from town. Because its small there are always big queues in the Morning follows at the top by big queues on the next chairlift.Kaprun is on the same lift pass and width a visit as is Saalbach-Hinterglemm which is massive , varied and has great lifts.I wont be returning.