What’s New in the Austrian Tirol for 2014-15

Sept. 22, 2014 - PRLog -- NEW HOTELS:

St Anton

The newly built 5* Chalet Eden Rock will open in St Anton am Arlberg in December 2014. Designed by award-winning architects, OFA Group, the property combines a traditional exterior blending effortlessly into the Tirolean landscape, with a luxurious interior featuring contemporary finishing touches.  Eden Rock has an indoor pool, steam room and sauna and consists of three chalets, Ariane and Zari, which sleep 6 and Kanzi, which sleeps 8 people. The Chalet Eden Rock is featured by UK tour operators, Supertravel Ski and Interactive Resorts. Prices start from £1299 per person, based on 7 nights on chalet board with Supertravel Ski (http://www.supertravel.co.uk/ski/stantonchalets/edenrock.aspx).

Zillertal

In December 2014, the newly built Aktivhotel Tuxerhof, will open in the resort of Zell am Ziller in the Zillertal. Located directly at the valley station of the Zillertal Arena, the hotel is close to the slopes and the the cross-country trails. The hotel offers 16 rooms and 9 apartments, with prices on B&B starting from €59 – €79 per person per day. http://www.aktivhotel-tuxerhof.at

The new Sports Residence 4*s in the Erste Ferienregion im Zillertal is scheduled to open on the

6th December 2014, with 21 suites and double rooms, a first-class spa, infinity pool on the roof and offering fine cuisine. www.schultz-ski.at; www.sportresidenz-zillertal.at

In Mayrhofen, the resort’s only 5* property, the Hotel Elisabeth, will re-open after extensive remodelling and become the first adults-only hotel in the Zillertal. Prices start from €268.00 per room per day on half board www.elisabethhotel.com

Obergurgl

To celebrate its 80^th anniversary, the Alpen Wellness Resort Hochfirst in Obergurgl will open again in November 2014 as Obergurgl-Hochgurgl’s third 5* property. With a large spa area, indoor and outdoor pools, hot tubs, sauna’s and steam baths, the focus is as much on the wellness as it is on the fine dining and ski in ski out convenience, with a ski lift next to the hotel. Prices start from €186 per person per day on half board. www.hochfirst.com

Wildschönau

In the resort of Auffach in the Wildschönau Valley, the newly built Appartementhaus Berg Juwel, will open for the 2014-15 season. Located close to the cable car and giving immediate access to the Ski Juwel ski area, the apartments have been beautifully furnished and are suitable for allergy sufferers. Prices start from €138 per apartment per day. www.bergjuweltirol.com

NEW LIFTS AND INFRASTRUCTURE:

Ischgl replaces Pardatschgratbahn

The largest investment in Tirol this season is happeing in Ischgl, who are investing €40m (approx. £32m) for the 2014-15 ski season, leading with the replacement of the 24-year-old 4-seater Pardatschgratbahn gondola with a luxury 28-seater tri-cable gondola system. It will be the world’s biggest height difference tri-cable gondola with a 1,251m height difference from the base station in the village up to the Pardatschgrat peak at 2,624m, with no middle station. In just over nine minutes skiers and boarders will be transported from the village to the top station. The new lift will have 31 cabins which have the capacity to transport 2,800 people per hour. This follows last season’s €18.5m (approx. £15m) investment with the opening of the eagerly awaited Piz Val Gronda cablecar, which opened up 100 hectares of freeride skiing and boarding. www.ischgl.com

SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental investing €23m in upgrades

Across the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental a variety of upgrades and expansions will see Austria’s largest ski area grow to 280km of interconnected slopes, through the creation of a new 1.2km long red run in Brixen. Over in Scheffau the replacement of the 4-seater Aualm chairlift with a brand new hi-tech 8-seater chairlift will ease the journey at busy times between Brixen/Söll and Scheffau/Ellmau/Going. The Panoramarestaurant Bergkaiser above Ellmau has undergone a renovation, whilst snow-making investments have also been made with four piste bashers and more than 25 new snow making facilities. www.skiwelt.at; www.wilderkaiser.info

Wasserkar chairlift in Sölden becomes 6-seater

This season in Sölden, in the Ötztal valley, will see the replacement of the 3-seater Wasserkar chairlift with a 6-seater detachable chairlift, with full weather protection hoods. The new valley station for the Wasserkar chairlfit will be positioned a further 560m down the valley, providing an extended black run. www.soleden.com

NEW PROGRAMMES:

Freeride Camp in Alpbach

Around the Wiedersbergerhorn in Alpbach, there will be a new Freeride Camp for beginners, offering special lessons for competent skiers, who have yet to experience freeriding. The camps will take place on selected periods throughout the season (10^th – 18^th January, 7^th – 14^th February and 14^th – 21^st March) and prices start from €393 per person for 3 nights on B&B and 3 day freeride lessons (4hrs a day) from Sun-Tue or Wed-Fri. Backpack including avalanche equipment is also included. To Book contact the Alpbach Tourist Officeinfo@alpbachtal.at, www.alpbachtal.at

Freeride Weeks in Kitzbühel

After the successful inaugural year, Kitzbühel will once again feature Freeride Weeks (http://www.kitzbuehel.com/en/news-and-events/top_events/Kitzbuehel+Freeride+Weeks_te40998) (7^th – 17^th January 2015), which will include free testing of new freeride skis, as well as film screenings and a special backcountry guiding programme.

GO FREESTYLE and GO RACE

For the second year running, the Tirol Tourist Board will be the destination partner of choice on Snowsport England’s GO SKI GO BOARD national participation campaign. Aimed at getting more people into and back into snowsports, the initiative has brought together a network of England’s indoor and artificial snow slopes to offer value for money, all inclusive ski or snowboard sessions. In its first year over 10,000 people participated in a one off ‘TRY’ ski or snowboard session or a six hour GO SKI GO BOARD course. This year Snowsport England are launching two new elements with the GO RACE GO FREESTYLE, along the same lines that they get a 6hr course (ideally over 6 weeks) for an all-inclusive price, but focussing on skiing gates or trying the jumps and rails in the park. GO RACE GO FREESTYLE will be launched at a media event on Tuesday 23^rd September at the Snow Centre in Hemel Hempstead – all media are invited. www.goskigoboard.org.uk.

Tirol is home to 33 terrain parks across the region, including well-known names like the Vans Penken Park in Mayrhofen to emerging stars like the KPark in Kühtai. This season the Snowpark Obergurgl will feature an easy and medium line and in Fendels in Kaundertal there will be a new slopestyle park.

For more information on the Tirol region www.visittirol.co.ukor follow us at www.twitter.com/visittirol keep updated at www.facebook.com/visittirol

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