Snow Place Like Home

Whether as haven of alpine calm in the summer, or a high-adrenalin snow sports base-camp, European mountain properties offer a great holiday home option. We take a look at some of the hottest property hot spots in the frozen hills.

St Martins, Austria

The pretty alpine farming village St Martin is just 1hr 10m south of Salzburg airport, in Austria. At 1,050m altitude in the heart of the Lungau ski region, access to this village is very easy (motorway within 5km) and there are frequent and cheap flights to Salzburg from Birmingham. St Martin is so close to St Michael that the two villages are really as one. Between them they have several restaurants, traditional gasthofs, coffee houses and bars. The main streets are quaint with many old buildings, but at the same time they provide all the shops you need – butchers, bakers, and supermarkets. The Hölzern Chalets make the perfect base from which to explore other European countries and historic cities as the Italian border is just 70 min drive away with Venice, Turin and the Italian lakes within 2-3 hours’ drive – to the east lie the beautiful coastlines of Slovenia and Croatia.

The villages are at the centre of the Lungau ski region at the foot of the Grosseck / Speiereck ski slopes which offer good intermediate skiing up to 2,400m and also descend to the attractive town of Mauterndorf. The chair lift is about 700m from the chalets and you can ski the new 9.5km ski run right back to your door at the end of the day. The Lungau ski region includes several other pretty villages and also the modern ski resorts of Katschberg (1,640m – 2,210m) and Obertauern (1,740m – 2,350m) and boasts a total of 63 lifts and 300km of ski piste all on the same lift pass. In addition, there are plans to extend the area further for the season of 2007/8. Some villages are connected by lift and others by the ski bus. The lift system is modern and fast, there are 10 ski huts/restaurants on the mountain and plenty of après ski in the vicinity too – three discos and six bars and pubs in Katschberg! Prices start from £225,000.

 

Rauris, Austria

Rauris is a picturesque valley with fresh clean air and crystal clear winters, situated in the Hohe Tauern National Park, around an hour from Salzburg. The Alpendorf Sonnblick Chalets are a ten minute walk from this idyllic village and have stunning views up to the Sonniblick Mountains - perfect for year-round getaways for the whole family. The pretty alpine village of Rauris is a great ski destination for beginners, snowboarders and for families. Although the immediate ski region is moderate with 30km of pistes, Rauris makes a fantastic base for skiing in this region. Within half an hour there are the many and varied slopes of Zell am (132km of pistes), the Kaprun glacier (summer skiing too at 3,000m) and Bad Gastein (200km of ski piste). These resorts also form part of the enormous Amade ski-region with over 865km of pistes and 270 lifts all on one ski pass.

In Rauris there are open sunny slopes up to 2,200m and you will also be able to ski right back to your chalet as a piste is being specially created for the Alpendorf Sonnblick development. Rauris can be lively or intimate to suit your taste. For lively try The Shake’s Beer, Dies and Das (D&D), Pub Mix or the Grimming Cellar Bar. Twice a week there’s floodlit sledding from the Kreuzboden with access via the double chair lift up to the start of the two kilometre long descent. The area has much to offer in the summer months too, with over 150 km of marked hiking paths, giving you the perfect opportunity to get to know this beautiful valley. Offering fantastic scenery and outstanding hiking there’s also the Seidlwinkel Valley, where fishing is abundant with a network of waters that extend to some 45 km - primarily home to brook and rainbow trout, as well as char.

Rauris has 18 restaurants offering traditional Austrian specialities, as well as international cuisine in somewhere like the fabulous Gusto (awarded 13 Gault Millau points). Take in the atmosphere with cosy mountain huts, après ski bars and lively umbrella bars. Prices start from £185,000.

Contact Details: Jessica Delaney, Head of Sales and Marketing (Austria)
Email: jessica@investorsinproperty.com
Tel: +44 20 8905 5511

Chalet Royalp Hôtel & Spa, Villars-Sur-Ollon, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland

For those with a deep love of alpine luxury the Chalet Royalp Hôtel & Spa, in the Canton de Vaud some two hours from Geneva, offers all the exclusive luxury and breathtaking mountain views you could wish for. The 30 apartments consist of studios, two, three and four bedrooms and there is direct access to the ski slopes. All apartments have modern fully fitted kitchens, bathrooms, double glazed windows and come with either a balcony or terrace. What’s more, buyers are permitted to use hotel facilities – including indoor and outdoor swimming pools, fitness room and sauna. Apartments are priced around the £490k mark.

Les Mayens De Sion, Les Agette

Situated around 90 minutes from Geneva some 1,300 metres above the valley and just moments from the Piste de l’Ours ski lift, Les Mayens de Sion offers views in the popular 'Four Valley' ski domain. The area is connected to the Four Valleys ski region, the largest in Switzerland, with 400 km of slopes and over 100 ski lifts. The area is also good for hiking in the summer. This development consists of five chalets, with each plot having approximately 1,000m2 (which the maximum a foreigner can purchase in Switzerland) and will include five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a large lounge, dining area, kitchen, utility room and a storage room with the option to create a study, walk-in wardrobe or jacuzzi etc. Four chalets are currently available. Prices start approx £1,100,000 and this includes the cost of the land, the cost of the access road and the construction of the chalet.

Contact Details: Chesterton International
Tel: 0207 201 2070
Email: international.property@chesterton.co.uk
Website: www.chesterton.co.uk