Chalethotel Schweizerhof, Mark Warner

[EuroExpat]

Can anyone tell me anything about this accommodation and the resort? Thinking of booking up!

Is this the one in St Anton? Have booked a week in Feb for me and dd1 as a reward for the long lonely autumn we had (dh abroad a lot, and dd1 working v. hard for 11+ exams. It looks lovely on the brochure, but then it would...

I've since heard that MW tends to be good basic rather than luxurious, which is okay by me. I went for the MW thing because I haven't been skiiing since I was a child and wanted the whole no-efffort, plenty of hand-holding and no foreign languages approach (tho' I speak German, hence Austria rather than France). Will report back, but may be a bit late for you!

Better late than never ; ) I´m booking a flight to Austria today and then hoping we get a last minute MW deal. Will just make other arrangements if it doesn´t come off!

And yes, I understand the accommodation isn´t that good.. Does anyone know about the standard of the food? Are the cooks English or Austrian? I know what I´d prefer!

Euroexpat I'm off to St Anton next week, 16-20th Jan with ds(3). I'm already in Austria and did think about a last minute Mark Warner deal but the maths simply didn't add up (except perhaps for the benfits of childcare). We are staying at www.laerchenhof.cc which I booked direct using www.stantonamarlberg.com.

Skied there in 2000 pre children, saw the Mark Warner hotels, the Schweizerhof is a little way out of the centre but there is a good free bus service. Skiing is excellent but definitely intermediate and above, town is pleasant.

We are visiting friends who are there for 3 weeks with there ds(3) who is a friend of my son. We plan to use the ski school creche for a couple of mornings only.

When are you going?

Hi lapsedrunner, we´re planning to go with MW either the week of the 19th or 26th March but will be in Austria anyway at this time and may need to explore other options... I like the idea of a ski school creche (do they take 16 month olds?) and am going to investigate your links; thanks!

I'll post agin after I get back on 20 Jan. Sadly I think ski school creche is from 2.5.

Have fun!

Watch out for the black runs!

Hi Euroexpat, we had a good time in St Anton including a major snow storm.

Useful advice on childcare if you don't use MW. Ski School creche is from 2.5 however the tourist board can give you a list of childminders. Going rate is 10euro per hour. Friend I was visitng used a lady for 3 hours each morning for her ds(3), it was a very successful arrangement. My ds refused to join in with this plan, c'est la vie!

The best fun I had was the night time (with some lighting) 4.2km sledging run (Tue & Thu), an absolute ball, highly recommended. You can also do it each day from 1200.

Our accommodation was excellent if you need an alternative, www.laerchenhof.cc

Thanks for that Lapsedrunner; pleased you had a good time! I read about the sledging run, will definitely try it now; also good to know about the childminder option. Thanks!

euroexpat - have you heard of Kinderhotels? They're a chain of hotels really gearded around families with young children, have childcare all day and also baby listening, usually got good spa facilities etc. Loads of them in Tyrol. Are a bit pricey, but I think cheaper than mw & truly fab. there's a couple of other similar chains, one called familotel I think.

We're going to our 4th Kinderhotel in a couple of weeks and I can't wait. The most realaxing & fun holiday for all of us. Great 4 course meals where the kids can either eat with you or with the other kids, indoor play, on site kiddy skiing & kiddy ski club, pool, gym, massage the lot. can't wait. I'd def. recommend

Hi Ernest, Kinderhotel sounds great, do you recommend any in particular? Thanks.

I'd really recommend the resort Serfaus. We've been there twice and going nearby in a couple of weeks. We've been to one that was very posh, name I can't remember. The other was the St Zeno which wasn't as posh but in a way better, & we're going to one called the Laderhof which looks great - they've got 2 or 3 pools, one of which is warm outdoor pool even in winter. It is pricey, but really worth it. Here's the link for the hotel and here's the one for Kinderhotels. Do you speak German? The Kinderhotel site is in English as well anyway & I think the hotel one has mixed. They do speak english if you want to ring up. hth & have a great holiday wherever you go xx
btw the childcare is included, baby listening free & you only have to pay if you book a private babysitter, but we've never needed to do this.

Hi Ernest, good to know your thoughts; I do speak German - are there mainly Austrians in the Austrian kinderhotels and do the childcare staff use only German?

Really pleased to have heard about these kinderhotels. We´re going to try one out soon if the Mark Warner trip doesn´t come off. Let me know how your next trip goes (and why not put a review in the relevant section ; )

yes, most of the staff do seem to speak (american) english (sorry, pet hate.) & the language has never been a problem.

I wouldn't say the guests were mainly austrian. A good ole mix of german, austrian, swiss & dutch really, with us the exoctic swiss/english confusing family. Def v. few other nationalities.

Hi Ernest! The kinderhotel in Unken was really fantastic! Thanks for leting me know about it! Which ones have you been to? I´ll be booking up another one - just worried it couldn´t possibly be so goo again!

They're really expensive though and don't suit everyone. It's a heck of a lot of money to spend, so my advice is to check out Tripadvisor.com and other sites to get detailed reviews before you book