We usually stay in a friend's apartment when we visit Scheffau, but this week they were using it themselves so we booked the Alpin.
The Alpin's main building is about as central as is possible in this town. Ski shop in the basement. Tourist office and ski bus opposite. Bank and cashpoint next door. Minimarket next door the other way. Mind you, this isn't a large place.
We had a room in the main building, so handy for breakfast. A room in the annexe might be less handy if it was snowing. Our room was fine - bath, WC, and cupboard space just inside the door - balcony facing south which was handy for keeping drinks chilled. The bed was two single mattresses on a double frame, and the cleaner came in every day to change the towels, make the bed, and sculpt the duvets and pillows into dramatic mountain peaks. I think my wife was embarrassed at finding her nightie elegantly folded and draped instead of stuffed under the pillow - after the first day she hid it away...
The hotel boasts a pool and wellness centre. Two separate but adjacent facilities, on the ground floor of the annexe, so presumably purpose built, but not in any joined up way. You go downstairs and there are the toilets. Then you walk down a corridor and into the changing room for the pool. Then round the corner is the access to the wellness centre - you need to know the access code number (it's in the room information they give you at reception). If you can't find it, hang about for a while and someone will turn up who knows it.
Reception will give you a lovely fluffy dressing gown, in return for a 20€ deposit. Do not lose the voucher! These are available in Large only, so if you are XXL or S you might be wise to take your own dressing gown from home. Take a pair of flip flops as well. There is a changing room over there, sort of, but it's a bit small and with not much room for leaving your stuff. Most people seem to change in their rooms and walk over in their dressing gowns and flip-flops - it wasn't snowing when we were there so I don't know if this happens all year round.
Two saunas, a steam room, a couple of lounging about areas, a shower, and a fresh air room. The fresh air room is a small room with an open window, next to the showers. So a bit draughty. This being Austria, you can spot the Brits as the ones who wear their swimsuit in the sauna - the German speakers don't. Brits may find this a bit disconcerting at first. The Austrians find people wearing swimsuits in the sauna disconcerting too. The architectural layout means that you can't easily come out of the sauna and plunge into the swimming pool - you would have to walk round the corridors, through two doors, round a few corners. I don't know if this was deliberate or just bad design. You can't run outside and roll in the snow, either - that would involve corridors, doors, and climbing up the stairs, and past the dining room. Not that I would want to run outside and roll in the snow - just sayin'.
The pool was a bit small for swimming and a bit chilly for lazing. It could do with a jacuzzi. There are about half a dozen loungers at the end, and I dare say in the spring they open up the door out to the lawn which might be nice. My wife liked the wellness centre better than I did. It was OK, don't get me wrong - but I think it could have been a lot better designed.
Breakfast and afternoon snack is in the main building - help yourself to the buffet. Freshly baked bread, rolls, cheese, ham, fruit, hard boiled eggs, and often leftovers from dinner the night before - smoked salmon a couple of times, beef salad, all sorts of stuff. There is a hot choice - bacon, sausages - and the chef will cook you eggs on the hotplate at the bar. Help yourself to tea and juice, or your waitress will bring you a pot of coffee.
They have afternoon tea for when you come in from skiing. There is the option of a bowl of soup, so you could easily skip lunch and have a slap up tea, especially if you like Gulaschsuppe. Apart from the soup they do cakes, tea, coffee and ham, cheese and bread rolls.
Dinner is in the annexe for most people, although if you book in advance you can have dinner in the main building too. The food is the same, but the main building offers the extra choice of pizza - I've reviewed this separately under Naschberger's. Walk in, find a table, and then go and help yourself to the buffet. The waitress will bring you a glass of wine or beer (it's included) and every now and then they will ask if you want another. Don't expect to get drunk for free though - they also have to clear the plates and give everyone else a glass.
The buffet food is good and there is lots of it - starters, salads, a choice of two roasts every night (various cuts of beef and pork mainly, but also duck and chicken), soup, pasta, potatoes, vegetables, goulash, fish, stews, puddings, pancakes and fruit salad. Different choice every night. Go round as often as you like, pile your plate as high as you like. If you don't eat it, it will re-appear at breakfast or high tea tomorrow.
We paid the extra for the Kitzbühel All Star lift pass which lets you access resorts for miles around. Alpbach in the West to Saalbach in the East is 100km or more, by road anyway. You can't ski all that way, you need a car but hey, we had a car, the Alpin has a car park. The Skiwelt is pretty big by itself though, so don't feel that you have to do this. You can take the free bus from outside the hotel down to the Scheffau lifts, or drive - parking at the lift stations is free except in Kitzbühel town. There is also a skiable track from the village centre down to the lifts, although we didn't use it this time.
