SCHEFFAU, superb apartment, 5 mins from gondola station, pool, garden

Beautiful apartment and excellent for skiing



We are a family of five with three kids aged 18 – 22 on a ski holiday and had a wonderful stay in this lovely apartment in the first week of 2011. It is superbly fitted out, exactly as described in the property particulars and was spotlessly clean on our arrival. There is a huge open plan living area which, like the entire apartment, is gloriously warm due to the underfloor heating. It is also served by a wood burning fire for that extra cosiness – free logs are available from a neighbouring storage area. The main bathroom is enormous and there is lashings of hot water from the brilliant showers installed. The bedrooms too were very comfortable (although less so the mezzanine sleeping area, which we ended up not using and I for one found the ladder access quite challenging). There are excellent views from the balcony. The owners sent lots of useful information in advance of the trip and were very flexible about our arrival and departure dates.

It is well located for the ski lifts – only five minutes by car and you could just about walk it if you were energetic enough. Similarly it is a bit of a hike to the nearest shop but once you are away from the road it is lovely, like many of the winter paths around the village (says my wife who was the one to do them several times).

The resort of Scheffau is well placed for access from Munich – it is in the first ski area you come to in Austria and all but the last 15 minutes or so is on motorway. As you come off at Kufstein you don’t need to pay for a Vignette to get there. The town itself is fairly quiet – nearby Soll and Ellmau are a little livelier and we had a very enjoyable meal out in the Mexican restaurant in Ellmau. It is part of the Ski Welt area which, as well as having very good skiing, is very extensive and well linked, although it is at a relatively low altitude. While it was fine while we were there, it would probably wear a bit thin if there is a long gap between snow falls. There are plenty of runs with snow making equipment however, and there is also floodlit skiing for those with boundless energy! Also you can get a ski pass which covers equally top class ski resorts such as Kitzbuhel, Zell am See and Saalback-Hinterglemm so you need never be bored! All in all highly recommended