Arlberg:Lech?Zurs?St.Anton?Stuben?

I am going with the group of friends to Vorarlberg area in the second part of January.Mixed beginner-interm.-advanced,all of us pretty senior(age side ) means the night-life is not a priority.Probably 80% of skiing would be on piste,but a couple of us would like to wander a bit off.What of the places would be better?Any suggestion and info are appreciated very much!
Thanks

I'd say Lech or Oberlech. We loved Lech. Really pretty. It's fairly compact with lots of excellent restaurants. We didn't stay in St. Anton but it seemed less pretty and more sprawling. St. Anton is reputed to have a much livelier party scene. Indeed, by reputation it's supposed to be one of the best party towns in the Alps. Zuers is basically just a collection of upscale hotels; it's above tree line and, IMO, doesn't have the charm of Lech. Oberlech is connected to Lech by tram. Depending on how close you want to be to more action it would be a very nice and quiet place to stay. You could ride down and back to the main village in the evening. I think the skiing in the Lech-Zuers circuit will better suit the skiers at the beginner/intermediate end. You can take a bus over to St. Anton. I'm envious. I'd love to go back to Lech.

Thanks RI! Will try netting Oberlech.I had an impression that you cannot reach Oberlech by car and we are going to rent one,with a lot of luggage,taking our ski with us.

If I remember correctly, pricing works on a sliding scale as follows:
Zurs
Lech
St Christophe
St Anton
Stuben
the 'burbs

I favor St Anton, because there's much more going on in town there than anywhere else. There are lots of reasonably priced hotels, many of which will do shuttles if they're not within walking distance of the lifts, and ski passes are sometimes included in room rates. I like the Gasthaus Freisleben (not sure if that's the right spelling), but there are plenty of good places.

You can't get to Oberlech by car. It's basically a collection of hotels that is served by a cable car. The cable car runs well into the evening between Lech and Oberlech. I believe there is some kind of underground transportation system that's used to transport supplies and luggage between Lech and Oberlech. Oberlech would be very quiet in the evening but it's convenient to lifts and it's pretty convenient to go back and forth between Lech and Oberlech. The hotels in Oberlech are popular places for lunch. Oberlech would be a great place with kids because there is no traffic. Not sure how you're travelling or if you are making other stops. There is a very convenient bus service from the Zurich airport called the Arleberg Express. You can find it with a google search. Unless you're planning to go elsewhere, you wouldn't really need a car in the Arlberg. Buses between the main villages are pretty convenient. There is more to do in St. Anton than in Lech. It's larger and more spread out. But we didn't think it was nearly as charming as Lech. I think you'll have a fantastic time regardless of which base you choose.

Thanks all,we are flying to Munich (have a huge reduction on ticket prices) and from there it is something like 3 hours drive(?)
Maybe you are right and there is no need to rent a car.I will try to find out the railway options. Just to think about the trip and planning makes my life fuller.Hope this season will be at least like the last! We were in Sportwelt,Kitzbuhel,Mayerhofen-GRATE season it was.

mil46: go by train from the airport. They are fast, efficient and not overpriced. They also run on time. Some people may think this is unimportant but I live in the UK and we have the other system, which involves turning up and hoping there will be a train sometime this week.

You will get to sit at your leisure watching some lovely countryside go by and none of you have to drive, which means the fruits of the 20 minutes you spent in the duty free before you flew, or the bottle shop at the airport when you landed, can be enjoyed by all.

When you get to the other end, get a taxi. A nice big one with room for your skis if you are carrying any - there will be plenty of people carriers and you can probably book in advance. If you're a reasonably sized party, it won't be that expensive. And you won't have to worry about paying for parking at the other end.

Lech sounds ideal for you. St Anton is one of my favourite places in the world but I like to drink until I forget my own name, usually about 4am ish, then start skiing about the time the lift opens, and repeat.

One day I will grow up, but I'm not planning on it any time soon.

Zug is cheaper, and the secret road on down to Ruete can make the visit even cheaper. Lech nice if you can afford it.

Listen to what Sandgroper says: he knows what he's talking about. Especially the bit about using the train. You will be astonished by how easy and pleasant it is. The only thing I'd add is that Stanton is not just a wild party town: there are plenty of peaceful, family-oriented places to stay. No knock on the other resorts, but you'd do fine there.

AHHH I can still taste the streudal and the hefe weisen. Fun place, great skiing, good chocolate! Have fun!

This advice will probably ovrride any other

I am surfing the net for Lech or St.Anton.Seems to me that lodging is some 25% costlier than any other place in Austria,but what the heck! I still have to find something that is better to spend the money for than skiing

thanks! Wll have to loose another 15 pounds before

Hmm. I met a woman from Reutte while on a lift in Bichelbach a couple years ago. She said they had a great, but tiny ski area there. I've been wanting to check it out ever since.

But I'd never thought of using it as a base for the Arlberg until now. It's at the end of the train line from Garmisch, so I never really thought of what's beyond it.

Which is exactly why I haven't been there yet. Arlberg and Ischgl look great, but I haven't been able to get over the cost yet.

[quote=ami in berlin;956854]But I'd never thought of using it as a base for the Arlberg until now. It's at the end of the train line from Garmisch, so I never really thought of what's beyond it.[quote]

There is a littleoad from Reute to Lech which is very direct. We stayed in a room in an old ladies house really cheap, and enjoyed the town quite a bit...affordable, good xc skiing, nice local area. When there is a dump, they close that road and you have to drive around and over a pass to Zurs.

mil46, we have skied Lech/Zuers/St. Anton/et al many times, long ago and recently.

First, Be aware that Saturday is bed change in that region and room are rented sat. to sat. and they are reluctant to do it otherwise.

Lech is great, it has a lot of blue and red runs (blue=easy,red=middle,black=hard) and since practically all is above timberline the wide groomed strips are marked with green and red lantern signs to keep you on the groomed, but you can go off piste by just paralleling the groomers ten yards in the deep.

Zuers is also very nice to ski and it is easy to get there grom Lech via the Ruefikopf lifts but it is hard to ski back via the Madloch, for advanced skiers only and it is not patrolled for most of the return trip. Take a bus.

Oberlech is not worth staying in my estimation unless you are on your honeymoon, just a few hotels and shops. There is a hairy road from Lech to Oberlech.

Don't wander off by yourself, cliffs are not well marked or you may find yourself in a valley with no way out unless you want to swim the rushing waters of the snow melt. A yellow blinking light means avalanche danger 4 or 5.

So go for Lech and have fun. I'll attach a few pictures from Lech.

....Ott

More Lech

In my experience, Lech is much more expensive that St. Anton, and the skiing is not as good. Think of Lech being Deer Valley and St. Anton being Alta with Park City's nightlife. Intermediates will do fine in St. Anton, and you guys will have plenty to do when not skiing.
In St. Anton, I recommend Apartments San Antonio. It is run by friends (Sandra and Zeppl), who are great ski people. The rates are fair (about 200 Euro/night for a one bedroom) and the accommodations are 1st class. This place would cost 350 Euro/night if it were in Lech.

Ott,thanks for the input,it is great.After a big discussion desided to go to Lech. There is a chance to meet Putin (of Russia) so they are writing on the net.The idea of honymoon at this point of my life does not seems very appealing,so it will be Lech.Actually,we skied a lot in Austriahbut somehow never went to Arlberg
Very exited about this trip!
Canyons,we are going probably for two weeks so will be looking for something less expensive.We will take a car(what with all our quiver) so probably will venture to ski St.Anton as well.

I think the skiing in Lech is underrated (offpiste). Zurs has the best snow. If you're staying in the area for a week, you can easily ski St Anton and Lech/Zurs. Don't try to do both in a day, but it's not much of a hassle to go from one to the other by bus. I always stay in St A, but I've done that and skied entire weekends at Lech/Zurs. Just depends on the snow, what people want to do, etc. It's easy. I just think St Anton is a better place to stay, unless you're rich or like hanging out with rich people. Overall (eg, St Anton/Lech/Zurs), though, you're looking at what is IMV the best ski resort in Europe.

We are going to stay for a two weeks and the goal is to ski as much as we still can. Actually we are looking for a quiet place, but within an easy reach to a good meal with a couple of beers and an obstler or two after ski.No special attenion to "who is who".Nice people,rich or not,is another matter.Thanks for your opinion,it is valuable for me.

Newfydog,

How did you find out about the Old Lady's house? Any suggestions on finding private rooms in the Arlberg area or recommendations for hostels? Stan S

I cruised through town looking for Zimmer Frei signs I think, though sometime we go to the tourist office and ask for a list of such places. We do that all the time...in France look for Gite d'etape. We are accumulating a nice list of secret affordable places. Most Americans don't do that. so we usually get a nice reception

It might help not to speak German. She joined us for breakfast everyday and talked nonstop about Hollywood gossip and why it is better not to turn up the heat in our room too high.

whats wrong, you can't get any good skiing up at Har Hermon?
I lived in lech for a winter and having also spent 2 years in Israel outside of Haifa, i was amazed at how many Israeli's passed through lech. The deer valley analogy is right no.
Enjoy.

I live nearby Hermon up north and actually can see it from my backyard.
The only problem with Hermon is that every Israelian from 5 to 75,who is first time in life on skis,feel that he has to ski the only black trail there is in Hermon.Othervise beutiful place and sometimes there is even snow!
Thanks! Will try to enjoy!

Having drinks with friends in London on Friday night (eight people at the table, all living and working in London ... all ski instructors. Kind of weird!) and one of them in general conversation was saying how much she loved Lech. Go for it and have fun!

Oh, and for any Euros in London ... Henry's bar, Covent Garden, Friday night happy hour 5pm-closing, Lanson champagne £20 a bottle.

We drank quite a lot.

To meet Poetin you should go to sankt-christoph!
5 hotels of which 2 with 5 stars or something

I've been to Stuben, I found it great there though with Christmas and new year there isn't much sun in the village. It is linked to the skiing in sankt-anton and the bus stops in the village to go to zurs and lech.
It will also be cheaper.

If anybody is interested in pictures I got some from this past christmas...

You might want to checkin here for updates & info, links etc

This season
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewt...f06c df3b6b13

Last Season
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewt...g+2007&start=0

Nice of you to mention this...now i will avoid St.Christoph as much as possible!

But St Christoph has THE best bathroom of any restaurant at any ski area in the world. They have a slide to take you down there, and the weight of your ski boots pulls you along. Anyone been there? Haven't been able to find a picture of it anywhere.