How Skiers Rate Zell am See - Schmittenhöhe

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.

highly recommended! Good craic, nice food, fun runs, excellent lifts, well staffed. Great connecting to several other resorts. Buses can be busy but worth the journey. Good spa facilities for aching muscles.

Unfortunately not much snow when we went but there was a bus up to the glacier which had much better conditions and a good amount of runs

Zell am See is a great little place, very friendly. Decent bars/restaurants but a little on the quiet side. Good selection of blues & reds. Well kept machine snow when we were thrre. Definitely worth making use of the lift pass to go to the glacier at Kaprun or across to Salbach. Hardly any drag lifts/flat tracks so good for boarders.

Honestly the best value for money place I have skied in my life! Would highly recommend for a nice chill week of skiing, nothing too labour intensive but also long enough runs to not constantly be on the lifts!!!

Great resorts. Big ski area and good choice of restaurants to eat at on the mountains and in town. Fast lift system

A really great resort - lots of runs which meant you didnt have to double on yourself much. End of season meant a few had been closed towards the bottom but that still didnt affect us much.A lot of restaurant choices up the mountain as well as down in the village.Would absolutely return.

Zell Am See is a ski resort I really like, its got lots of nice accommodation, the food options are great and there are lots of varied runs. Top tips from my perspective are that the main ski school is excellent and cheap. Ive done private lessons and theyre good but the group lessons seem to have better instructors. Id also recommend the Hotel Pension Hubertus, near the city express ski lift either for a drink after skiing or stay.

First time in Zell (Jan 25) and thoroughly enjoyed. Lifts were not unduly busy so wait times good. Decent range of runs for all abilities. Perhaps some a little busy esp with ski schools / school kids. But great fun overall!

Zell Am See - Schmittenhohe was overall a great resort. I attended 29/12/2024.I would recommend this resort to all, but pick an low-season day to stay away from crowds.The line to rent gear (1.5 hours) and the line up the first lift from City Center (45 mins waiting for a 4 person gondola) were unbearably long. We arrived at 0830 and we were not skiing until 1045. This wait was so bad that it almost ruined the rest of our day.The second ski lift was also a 30 mins wait to get to the top of the mountain. Once up there, the lines were somewhat shorter.Views were amazing and terrain was fun. The ski lifts were comfortable and heated. The food and drinks on top of the mountain, along with the views were unmatched. Best I've ever had at a ski resort.

Good for beginner except to get to the bottom of the main slopes you had to go down a black for about 100m

Went during new year so was very busy and slopes got mogully by lunchtime. The runs that were in the sun were good but those in the shade all day remained icy. Good to venture over to saalbach for the day but taxis are 80 and the bus is only once an hour and cannot ski between zell-am-see and saalbach. Restaurants had good food but busy and weather was wonderful

Weve been to Zel numerous times and love it. The people are super friendly and its a bit quieter than going to French resorts, and cheaper. There is less of the apres seen in France. With a full ski area pass you can ski and get the bus over to Salbach which is a really great addition too.

Took a group of 30 -15/16 year olds on a school ski trip.
It was absolutely amazing! Clean, friendly, great snow and slopes for all abilities. Will be back!

Great family resort with good ski school. Good lifts with minimal queues, and really easy access to the hill. Nice town for non-skiers to visit. Linked with Kaprun and Salbaach for easy access to more terrain.

Amazing resort and skiing, would defo go back!

Food and restaurants in the area were great and nice Lake to walk around too.

Ski lifts fast and skiing good - slopes not too busy either!