Why this Tyrolean escape should be the basis for your next family adventure

After the holidaymakers have suffered another summer of forest fires, queues and intensive heat to traditional Mediterranean travel destinations, visitors could be awarded in a corner of the Austrian Alps that they feel quite satisfied with themselves.

“We don’t take care of Air-Con,” says a local guide. “The temperatures during the day reached the high 20s or even the early 1930s, but at night we simply open our windows and let the cool mountain air flood.”

Welcome to Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, a trio of villages in the mountains of the Tyrolian Oberland.

With more than 130 mile slopes up to hand, the region is already famous as a winter sports goal, but becomes an increasingly seductive place for those who are looking for a high life in summer.

We and my 16-year-old son, fresh from the end of his GCSes and a little time outside of his screens on the five-star lock hotel Fiss, a relaxed family-friendly hotel, 1,436 meters above the valley floor.

We spend the night on a sun -drenched plateau over 1,345 m Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of Great Britain, but the alpine summit tower high above us.

The area has kilometers of hiking trails and cycle paths as well as adventure parks, mountain lakes and zipipline trips filled with adrenaline, all of which are accessible from a series of cable cars that use visitors like a bus network of buses.

“We get many Germans, Swiss and Dutch up here, but more and more British are discovering us,” added the guide. “I think people can take the clever temperatures more in the medication and want somewhere where fresh and healthy – with nature on the doorstep.”

Where is it?

After flying to Innsbruck Airport in Schlosshotel Fiss, most British visitors offer a spectacular entry point in the Alps. Without queues or delays, we felt that we had arrived in a private jet. The hotel is then only an hour by bus, taxi or the hotel’s pick-up service.

Others end up in the airports in Munich, Zurich or Salzburg, which are two and a half to three hours away.

The hotel is only a five-minute walk to the cable cars, the ideal starting point for every downhill tax (winter visitors can use the ski-in-ski-ski-out location, where guests can take up directly to the slopes).

Which space?

The hotel follows its origin in a hunting lodge and has 135 individually designed rooms and suites, with alpine cosiness connects with sophisticated elegance, each with a terrace or a balcony that offers a breathtaking view of the Tyrolian mountains.

It has belonged to the Domenig family since 1991. “I wanted to create a special place in a unique place,” says Bernadette Domenig.

Her daughter Suzanne now heads the show. “There is definitely a human grade on the show here,” says the PR of the hotel. “You can see Suzanne’s handwriting wherever you go – it decides every detail of the decor – there is a thoughtfulness and harmony across the place.

“The hotel is sophisticated, but it is also cozy and timeless. Even if we are full, there is no feeling of being overcrowded. There is always a place where you sit and relax and just like to be here.”

Family -friendly accommodations include pull -out sofas, separate sleeping areas or spacious children’s rooms to ensure privacy and relaxation.

Food & drink

It can be assumed fairly that you don’t let the castle hotel go hungry. It describes itself as a “gourmet hotel” and the food is included in the price as part of the luxury board package.

Things that start at breakfast that contains almost everything you can imagine. Much of the offer offered is from the region, including honey from the Zillertal Bee Farm in the lowlands of Tyrol (and the rare reward of honey from the comb).

After one morning in the mountains, you can recharge with the lunch buffet (again extensive, with tyrolical specialties), while from 3 p.m. the cake buffet (of course is there). Austrians have a very sweet tooth!

The star of the show is the multi-course dinner in the elegant hotel restaurant. The guests can also enjoy weekly buffets with dishes that are garnished with alpine herbs and berries. The highlights include seafood, desserts and the Signature Schnitzel Nacht, and there is also a special children’s buffet.

Stay for a week and you will have a different food experience every evening.

You can accompany your food with something from the hotel’s extensive wine collection with 800 bottles, including international fine wines, rare vintages and Austrian classics.

Facilities

The hotel is designed in such a way that they are family -friendly and it really shows. The 5,000 m² spa area is divided into two areas, for children and for adults.

Children have their own water park, including a 48 m film with double loops and the special family spa, in which parents and children can enjoy the facilities together.

Daily childcare supply in the children’s club for two years and a media room for teenagers with billiard table, table football and Playstation consoles.

There is also a bouldering wall, a bike rental and the SHF youth program with its activities, from trampoline sessions to hip-hop classes. Every night is a film evening in the hotel’s own family cinema.

As for the adults? Early risers can join the morning yoga sessions on the lake, while there is an excellent spa for adults with steam trees, sauna, hammam and aromatherapy.

One of the advantages of a Wellbeing hotel is the therapeutic treatments, from facial treatments to full -body massages – a welcome antidote for an energetic hiking or cycling.

My personal favorite was the 250 m long swimming pool. Of course, heated with the exterior section framed by the mighty Samnan mountains and the Ötztal Alps.

The eyes closed, my relaxation was only broken by an employee of the hotel staff and asked if I wanted an ice cream (obviously “yes”, although I was still full after the cake buffet …)

Extracurricular

Difficulties to bring your teenager from his phone? Why not jump out of a mountain. We tried in tandem paragliding and started from one of the summit before we hovered through the mountains and then gently hovered into the valley. Exciting, spectacular and unforgettable.

The Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis region is blessed with excellent hiking trails, including an art path with a great height, in which sculptures of renowned artists can be admired alongside the wonderful views.

The parents may want to know that there is a selection of mountain buggies that they can borrow free of charge at the Schlosshotel reception.

The area is also a refuge for mountain bikers of all skills, with the cable cars for transporting bicycles to the various courses.

Among the attractions on the doorstep of the hotel is the summer Fun Park Fiss, in which the Fisser speedsters (a 2.2 km long summer bridle ride down the mountain) and the Fisser plane, a high-speed Zipline giant kite. (Austrians seem to have the habit of flying from things).

A little further away is the Hög Adventure Park, where visitor can swim in Mountain Lake or rent boats and paddle boards.

“Why not dive and cool down,” said the guide. “The water is surprisingly warm.” The discovery of the teenager was “surprisingly cold” after jumping in.

Throughout the summer, the three villages are on topics like long night in Serfaus, where musicians, jongers and magicians perform every second Thursday between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., while local farmers offer their homemade specialties and fresh products from the region.

A top tip is to take the Super summer card in your hands, a guest pass that is often included in your room price, with which users can enjoy several advantages in the region, including the unlimited use of min lights and hiking buses as well as discounts on some attractions in the region.

Did I also mention marmets? The sweet, furry rodents live in the mountains and can sometimes be fed by herbs and grasses. We discovered you when we exaggerated in a cable car. Paragliding and Ziplining are all very good, but it is one of his own thrill to recognize a marmot in the wild.

Best for …

Relaxed luxury with a focus on outdoor activities. And marmets.

The details

Verks from £ 456 in summer, £ 670 in winter. Book it here