Skiing — Niederau, Austria — first impressions
Hotel Sonnschein, Volkl rocker tips and Crystal Ski Reps
January 2015
I arrived at Niederau, Austria, after a 1 hour and 25-minute coach transfer from Innsbruck Airport. It was pouring with rain. Not a good sign for skiing.
From the little I could see from the coach, the town was small with a few shops (I spotted a Spar), some restaurants, a few bars and several hotels.
Hotel Sonnschein, Niederau, Austria
For the week, I stayed in the Hotel Sonnschein.
The hotel had a nice set-up. The ski and boot room was downstairs with a heated boot rack. There were at least two free Wi-Fi hotspots on the ground floor — username and password needed.
My room was warm and comfortable with a TV but no internet connection. It had a good shower, but the bed was soft.
The hotel was about 5 minutes from the nearest ski slope and about 5 minutes from the nearest ski hire shop.
Breakfast was served from 8 am to 10 am, and an evening meal from 6 to 8 pm.
One bonus was tea making facilities in the room. Milk and tea bags (and coffee) were available from reception at €10.
The closest ski hire shop to the hotel was in the nearby Hotel Harfenwirt. The ski shop only had one make of skis available, Volkl. A make I had never skied on before.
Skis for the week — a pair of Volkl rocker tips
I spent the week skiing on a pair of Volkl rocker tips, and I liked them.
They were 170 cm with a 16.1 m turn. I found them light and responsive, and they skied very well. They coped with the hard-packed powder and ice, and were good in the spring-like slush. I found them to be an excellent all-mountain ski and they were fun.
It is funny how skis have changed in the last 30 years.
I started on some 200 cm ‘straights’ and then went to 172 cm carvers. Then when I next hired some skis, I was on 160 cm as ‘short was in’. Over the last few years, the ski hire guys have been moving me back up to 170 cm. It looks like longer skis are back in?
Ski passes
Ski passes for Niederau, Auffach, Soll and the surrounding area:
The six-day Juwel pass is €211.50 and the All-Star €250. As a day pass for the Soll area is €47, if you are thinking of going from Niederau to Soll, you are better off getting the All-Star pass. Particularly if you will do more than one day over at Soll, this was not explained to us by the Crystal Ski Reps (see below).
Crystal Ski Reps
I booked my skiing holiday as a package through Crystal Ski.
Unfortunately, my first impressions of in-resort Crystal Ski Reps at the Hotel were not good. And it did not improve as the week went on.
The Reps seemed confused and disorganised. They didn’t do a good job of getting information out to their clients or interfacing with the hotel.
There was good online information available via an iPhone and Android app. There was a good information pack handed out on the coach. But it was not happening on the ground, despite all the Reps having iPads.
For example, we arrived late at the hotel due to a delayed flight and the dining room was closed. I got some food, but some of Crystals’ clients were left milling around with no food offered. The Reps were not dealing with the situation. We were also left to find our way to the ski hire shop (not easy on a dark, rainy night). And on the first morning, the Reps did not know the ski school meeting points or times.
The resort briefing happened 24 hours after we arrived and was conducted one-to-one. This was not very efficient, and different people got different information. Plus, as we were in a big hotel, with guests travelling with many other ski companies, I never met my fellow Crystal Ski travellers.
In the Crystal Ski briefing, there was no mention of this bus trip to Skiwelt. I only found out about it later in the week when a note appeared on my table at breakfast.
My ski ticket didn’t cover the Skiwelt ski area. It would have been nice to know that when I was buying the ticket from the Crystal Ski Rep.
The Reps never sought me out during the week to check how things were going. Yes, we had a phone number for emergencies, but there was no general ‘base-touch’ to check. I saw our hotel Rep in a local bar more often than I saw her in the hotel. Considering I was a solo skier, I thought this was particularly poor.
The quality of ‘repping’ was capped off on my last but one evening when I went for dinner and found another guest’s departure details on my table. I never did receive my departure information; I finally found out by asking the hotel staff.
In contrast, the hotel staff, who were nothing to do with Crystal Ski, were excellent. They were helpful and friendly and saved the holiday on the ‘customer interaction’ side.
The transfer from Innsbruck to Niederau was well organised, and the return transfer worked without any problems, but it was exceedingly uncomfortable.
When we transferred from Innsbruck to Niederau, the Crystal Ski Rep told us how seriously they took and valued our feedback. We got the feedback forms on the return bus, and it was impossible to fill them in under those conditions — it was too hot, too cramped, and the roads were too bendy.
Way to go, Crystal Ski!
The above may seem trivial, but these little things can make a big difference on a skiing holiday, and I know from experience that other ski companies do a much better job looking after their guests.
What did the Crystal Ski Reps in Niederau do for me on this trip? What value did they add? Nothing.
