Our Ski Week in Austria at Kinderhotel Almhof
We just got back from our third February Kinderhotel holiday in a row since moving to Switzerland. This year we stayed in Gerlos at Kinderhotel Almhof. In February, in Switzerland, everyone goes skiing for the two week school holiday. And many people go to Austria, to a Kinderhotel. There are so many to choose from, but they are fantastic for a week of relaxing while your children are completely taken care of all day.
Top reasons to book a Kinderhotel right now for next February:
- Adult Lunch and Dinner (a week of lunches and dinners, chatting with adults!)
- Kid’s Club (my girls love the Kid’s Club and went any moment they could)
- Ski Lessons (9am-3pm for 5 days, the girls loved it and learned so much)
- Food (no cooking!)
- Kid Activities (Pool, Slide, Playgrounds, Soft Play, Horse Riding, Lantern Parade, Dance Night, Ski Race, Awards Ceremony, Movie Night)
- Spa (I got a manicure AND a pedicure! Wildly indulgent and so nice!)
- All Inclusive (You literally do not need to worry about anything. So nice.)
I call it a Land Cruise. It is completely catered to families and parents do not need to worry about a thing. We did not need to drive anywhere or drop any kids off. The girls ate with their friends all week. For lunch, the girls ate with their ski lessons up on the mountain. They came to us every night at 9pm and we would put them straight to bed.
The first two years we went to Kinderhotel Buchau. It is a lovely Kinderhotel with amazing service, relaxing environment, and wonderful food. I love the way they treated the whole family at the bar after skiing and before dinner. (They served the kid’s mocktails in the sweetest way, they really have kid service nailed) The only downside to Buchau was the closest skiing was not very challenging. The food, the pool, the horse riding, spa, activities, and childcare were absolutely top notch. I would absolutely go back to Buchau for a wonderfully relaxing holiday.
Kinderhotel Almhof was a wonderful place to ski for the week. It is the world’s largest skiing valley with 508km of groomed slopes, 179 lifts, and reaches an altitude of 3,350 meters above sea level. Our girls took 5 full days of lessons, getting back around 3:30pm each day. Then they would swim until Kid’s Club dinner at 5:30pm. We (the parents) would eat dinner at 6:30pm and the girls would come find us after dinner at 9pm and we would head off to bed.
These are full days of activities and skiing. I was very happy with the challenging skiing at Zillertal. Also, the littlest ski lessons are right at the hotel as well as a more advanced beginner T-bar. The final day ski race was also right at the hotel, making it super convenient for everyone to watch. The ski bus leaves from the front of the hotel frequently and goes through the cute town of Gerlos for 5-10 minutes until reaching the Zillertal Arena gondola.
A Day at the Kinderhotel Almhof:
8am- Breakfast with the girls
9am- Drop the girls with their ski lesson teacher right outside the hotel
9:30am- We would jump on the ski bus for some adult skiing
12:00pm- Lunch on top of the mountain (we ate for free as the Almhof has a deal with Seppi’s restaruant, we just needed to bring our hotel key card)
3:00pm- We would take the bus back the Almhof and get ready to take the girls swimming
3:30pm- The girls would arrive at Almhof from their ski lessons
4:00pm- Swimming
5:00pm- The girls would run to the Kid’s Club to get there in time for the kid dinner
5:30pm- The girls would sit at a table right next to the bar and eat their kid dinner with all their friends while we sat at the bar and caught up with our friends
6:30pm- We (parents) would head to dinner
9:00pm- The girls would join us after dinner as the Kid’s Club closes at 9pm and we would head to sleep
Read more about our first year and second year at Kinderhotel Buchau.
What do you and your family do for the February holiday? Do you go skiing or do you search out a sunny beach? We are undecided on our plans for next February and would love your recommendations in the comments below. Happy planning!
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