Daily Mail

Austria’ s ski sweet spot

- by Roger Alton

YOU know you are on to something g special when the well-travelled couple e sitting opposite you in the cable car r lean forward and say intently, ‘Please e don’t tell anyone about this . . .’

We are in the high-speed gondola a heading up to the 2,770m Pezid peak. . From there, you savour the views of f Switzerlan­d and Italy, before choosing g from two hairy-chested black runs or taking the scenic, long blue.

Spoilt for choice, in other words — and virtually unknown in the UK. The three historic villages of Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis sit on a plateau in the Austrian Tyrol high above the Inn Valley.

This extraordin­ary triptych of villages now boasts an astonishin­g ski area. Certainly not the biggest, but its 200-plus kilometres of groomed pistes, plus a wide variety of good off-piste, all on spectacula­r slopes framed by the Samnaun mountains and Otztal Alps, are more than adequate.

All the villages are delightful, full of heavily timbered chalets. Serfaus, the largest and arguably the liveliest, is virtually traffic free thanks to a remarkable undergroun­d railway running all through the resort.

Ladis is especially historic and has a wonderful selection of wall paintings on the houses. Although the villages are so close together, Serfaus was kept separate until the end of the last millennium because rival mayors couldn’t agree on how a common lift pass would work for everyone.

Not any more. And the results are impressive, with challengin­g blacks and a whole heap of reds — try the Frommes run, a 10 km trip winding across the face of the mountains from the top of the Schongamp chair. There are marvellous long and unintimida­ting blue runs, while for families there are fantastic children’s facilities at mid-mountain, with all-day child care, well-organised nursery slopes, restaurant­s, zip-wires, p plus a skyswing.

I stayed at the Schlosshot­el in Fiss and, f frankly, would be quite happy to live t there. It is family-run, elegant but not oppressive­ly so; friendly, with good restaurant­s and a lavish spa and pool.

It’s also right on the slopes, with its own excellent ski-hire shop on site.

I haven’t enjoyed discoverin­g a new resort so much since 25 years ago when I first came across Champoluc in northern Italy, part of the Monte Rosa ski area, which is now widely known in Britain and recognised as one of the diamonds of Alpine skiing.

Fiss, Serfaus and Ladis run it pretty close — and that’s saying something.

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