New To Mountain Holidays? How To Road Test Alpine Travel (Without Breaking The Bank)

Alpine travel for newbies is daunting. Will I enjoy it? Where should I go? Is it worth sacrificing precious beach days in the sun? Should I drag the kids along? Blindly dedicating a week of annual leave – and the price of a small car – can leave many travellers retreating quickly back to the safety of their sun loungers.

But what if this writer said you could book an affordable 3 night mountain micro-break no more than 5 hours from London to road-test everything a family holiday at altitude has to offer? Saalbach-Hinterglemm in Austria is a destination I have travelled to since my 20s, returning frequently because – as well as being utterly magical – it’s just so convenient to get to. It has absolutely everything you would expect from a chocolate box alpine village at a fraction of the cost of more famous resorts, with just as many miles of mountain terrain to explore – either on skis in winter or by bike in summer.

To ice this proverbial cake, on my last trip I also finally found the ultimate hotel for myself and my family. I’m always on the hunt for accommodation that serves adults and kids in equal measure and the Alpin Juwel nails that brief with style. Still to be convinced? Read on to find out why I 100% recommend rolling those alpine dice…

What sets it apart

For me it’s the way the Alpin Juwel creates space for everybody. So many times, we’ve craved the outside world after being cramped into one bedroom inside hotels with communal areas that blend blandly into each other. The Alpin Juwel is different – with huge airy bedrooms, kids’ games rooms, spa & saunas, swimming pools, trampoline courtyard, terrace bar and a warren-like restaurant set-up, it offers changes of scene that we really appreciated. After a few hours spent adventuring on the mountain, once ‘home’, we didn’t want to leave.

The hotel achieves an Austrian charm and rustic decor in the common spaces, while offering cosy modern comfort in the bedrooms. Our room was brilliantly designed with separate sleeping spaces for adults and kids, an inside-out bathroom (with a bath!) integrated within the bedroom via roll-back shutters, an inbuilt water fountain, cute dining space and the most glorious open plan wardrobe storage, fit for four lots of ski kit. No tripping over open suitcases, which is usually inevitable.

Food and drink

Probably the best thing about the Alpin Juwel is its 3/4 board offering – breakfast, afternoon tea & cake AND dinner, all included in the cost of your stay. Breakfast is a buffet offering that we all adored – from meats & cheeses to eggs & bacon, it had everything to fuel an active day ahead, plus a DIY orange juice station that the kids loved.

We missed afternoon tea as we preferred to end the day with a beer on the mountain, but can confirm that dinner is a gourmet affair – with options to dine from a well-presented self-serve buffet or order any dishes you might fancy from a 4-course set menu. Or both – should your mood and appetite take you! We indulged in a mix and enjoyed onion soup, seared duck breast, lasagne and baked fish during our stay, all of which were delicious. One thing to mention is that you are assigned one table in the Juwel Alm restaurant for the duration of your stay – something I wasn’t keen on at the start but grew to love by the end, as it made us feel really at home arriving for meals.

The verdict

Exhilarating scenery? Check. Made for adventure? Check. Easy journey? Check. Family friendly? Check. Delicious food? Check. Great location? Check. I really could go on and on, as there is nothing at the Alpin Juwel I would improve. It really is possible to experience all the Alps have to offer in just three nights – without remortgaging to do it – and I can’t wait to go back.