Austria in the summer - any recommendations to rival AI?

[Curlewwoohoo]

Would be grateful for any recommendations for a family holiday in Austria in the summer! DH and I and kids ages 9&11. Feel like we're being quite specific... We'd like mountain scenery, pretty villages or towns, the kids are keen to do a marble run trail. We'd love things like gorge walks, waterfalls, and cable cars. Seeing big mountains is the main reason for going, I'd like the kids to be amazed. We would also love to able to mooch about, get some food etc. The kids would like to stay somewhere with a pool. Also and this makes it trickier, I don't really want to have to drive, although would consider a car for a few days if it's low stress driving. I've put it into AI and it's suggested Hall in Tyrol or Alpbach, Mühlbach am Hochkönig, or Saalbach which is apparently gentler. Has anyone got any opinions on these or alternative recommendations ? Thanks!

St johann in tirol.
We stayed at the post Hotel, they used to do half board but now just bed and breakfast.
Summer cards are given by the accommodation, buses, some trains and the town swimming pool are included for free. I think you get a discount on the cable cars too.
Nice restaurants, friendly people, a fabulous base. There's a gorge we visited too.
Really recommended it, have a Google.

Nesslerhof inGroßarl is beautiful, I went in winter but imagine spring / summer would be beautiful. Lovely family run hotel amazing spa / food / immaculate and kid friendly

You would need a car though sorry not helpful

Salzburg, Altausee, Badausee - the Sees in that area generally, Hallstatt. Super pretty, easy driving, beautiful mountains

You would need to drive

I get Instagram ads for so many - start searchjfm
there and the algorithm will do its thing!

Achensee (based solely on its literary history and not on practicalities, sorry).

Ellmau has a fantastic public pool, we stayed in an Airbnb five mins walk away - it was perfect. Did a similar thing in Zell am Ziller.

Hotel Haymon in Seefeld. Been two years running after seeing it recommended here!

Zell am see ticked all those boxes, kids loved it!

Achensee (based solely on its literary history and not on practicalities, sorry).

Was waiting for someone to suggest this 😄 At 9 and 11, op's children are just the right age. Are they girls, op?

Lake Achensee holidays | Tirols largest lake

I can recommend the Zillertal. We had a week there last summer with kids similar ages to yours and got the Zillertal Pass, which wasn't cheap but covered the train line up and down the valley, all buses, one cable car per day, one outdoor swimming pool visit per day, and discounts on other attractions, so worked out as really good value. There were some fab playgrounds up the mountains and we hiked to Italy through a mountain pass with fantastic views. We didn't have a car (travelled there by train) and it was no problem at all, but stayed in an AirBnB so can't help with accommodation recommendations.

Zell am See with accomodation that includes the summer card.
Fly to Salzburg. Bus from outside the airport to Zell am See. Local buses are amazing. Absolutely no need for a car.

All of Tyrol is stunning. DH and I went to Achensee last summer. Lovely lake, good walks, cable car. We went very end of August and there were some hot days but also one very dog shit day where it was six degrees and snowed and rained all day so very mixed. But I’d highly recommend it.

Oo thanks everyone, lots to look up!

We stayed in Hinterglemm last summer without a car and it had everything you want. E we did the overnight train to Salzburg then a train to Zell am See then a bus to Hinterglemm. It was stunningly beautiful. We stayed half board in a lovely family run hotel, but it didn’t have a pool (there is a brilliant public outdoor pool in Saalbach with slides etc), but lots of the hotels did have pools. You could look at Inghams walking holidays as they have places all over Austria and will sort your flights and transfers for you and seemed quite good value when I looked last year.

Hotel Stadt Wien in Zell am See is what you need - amazing! And includes the summer card with free local travel, cable cars and entrance to most attractions.

I've put it into AI and it's suggested Hall in Tyrol or Alpbach, Mühlbach am Hochkönig, or Saalbach which is apparently gentler

I live in Austria and know all of those areas. Hall in Tyrol is not suitable - quite a distance from the mountains really, it's just a small town in the Inn valley. It's quite nice but not really for kids.
Alpbach is very beautiful, lots of mountains, great for hiking but very upmarket and not a lot to do in the village especially with children.
Mühlbach is quite out of the way. I assume AI came up with it because it has a marble run (I'd not heard anything about marble runs here so they must be a relatively new trend as I can see a few places have them now that I've googled). I wouldn't go to Mühlbach.

Saalbach is the best choice of the AI suggestions. I don't know why it said it's "gentler". Heavy duty hiking to be had there. However, it is very nice and very well set up for kids. The marble trail is in Viehofen just down the road and accessible by bus. You can get to Saalbach from Salzburg Airport with one change of bus. If you do decide to go there and need any help with bus timetables at a later date do let me know as I can help you.
https://www.saalbach.com/de/sommer/familie

I'd recommend Zell am See which others have suggested. It's a beautiful setting. There are cable cars and the view is spectacular. It's easy to get to by a direct bus from Salzburg airport. You can swim in the lake and there are 3 lidos with things like slides and inflatables. If the weather is shite there's an indoor swimming pool which is nice or you could get the bus to the Tauern Spa at Kaprun. Again, if you decide to go and want some more tips, let me know.

You could go to one of the villages in Salzburger Saalachtal https://www.lofer.com/en/things-to-do-in-summer/family
Accessible by bus (the Zell am See bus) from Salzburg airport, takes about 45 minutes. With guest cards the bus is free as are all local buses, the cable-car, the swimming pools, the gorges etc. and there's a bus from the village of Weißbach into the mountains on the border with Germany with lots to do including a parcour and a low-ropes course which your kids might like. The Seisenbergklamm (gorge) in Weißbach is spectacular. Vorderkaserklamm is also nice. Outdoor pools in Lofer and Unken.
The Almenwelt Lofer is nice https://www.skialm-lofer.com/en/summer-in-lofer and lots of easy hikes including one to a peak Grübhorndl which gives you a spectacular view of the mountains.

Neustift in Stubaital is also really nice. Lovely valley, lots to do. Accessible by bus from Innsbruck. Flying into Munich works as well as you can take the train and then the bus. There's the Stubai glacier at the end of the valley and you can take the lift all the way up to the top for spectacular views and snow! www.stubai.at

Or you could go to Maria Alm https://www.hochkoenig.at/en/family-holiday/family-summer-in-the-hochkoenig-region.html which is part of the Hochkönig region where Mühlbach is. Very beautiful place. You'd need to change bus from the airport (change in Saalfelden) but that's easy to do. And then you could go on the bus to the marble run in Hochkönig.

If your kids are set on the marble run you could access the one at Viehofen by bus from Saalbach, Zell am See, Saalachtal or Maria Alm.
Saalfelden (also accessible from those 4 places) has a summer alpine coaster which the kids might like.

Plenty of ideas for you. Feel free to ask if you want to know more or need any tips.

@Curlewwoohoo From Zell, my lot loved sledging on the glacier after taking cable cars up. Also the Maisi Flitzer run. And frisbee golf coming down a different mountain. The playgrounds on the mountain tops were fab. I don't remember marble runs. The trip to the dam was really interesting for all ages. We didn't use the indoor pool in town as they loved the lidos with diving boards, slide and inflatable thing.

Saalbach - Hinterglemm is great for outdoor activities, scenery, hiking and cycling etc. We stayed in a lovely hotel with pool - the Alpin Juwel. Amazing food! You wouldn't need a car, public transport is fantastic.

We’ve been to Achensee which is spectacular but we’ve also been, twice, to Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis which has the most incredible gondola network and much better access to mountains and activities in my opinion. Two alpine rollercoasters on the gondola network, both amazing. Both times we’ve stayed at family hotels which included the gondola passes for free as well as our food and the clubs for our children. Austria is just the most amazing place.

If you go to Zell you can take a day trip to the Krimml waterfalls, the largest waterfalls in Europe.
https://www.wasserfaelle-krimml.at/en/
They are spectacular and you say you love waterfalls.
You can take the Pinzgauer Lokalbahn and then the bus to get there. The local railway is fun and they also sometimes have steam trains on it. Or just take the bus all the way to Krimml.