There are so many beautiful hotels to choose from in the Innsbruck region and we were so glad we picked the 4* Sporthotel Igls to call home for a week during our wonderful skiing holiday in Igls, Innsbruck Austria with Inghams.
Many ski resorts require long transfer times (it can be up to 3 hours before you get to your hotel) but we chose Igls because it was just a 20 minute drive from the city.
After a 2 hour flight into Innsbruck airport we were met by our Inghams rep who took us to by private transfer to Igls, a beautiful picturesque Tyrolean village nestled in the mountains above the city of Innsbruck.
Igls is just as how we imagined an Austrian village to look, with narrow streets lined with century-old buildings, a beautiful church and a small selection of shops, cafés, a small supermarket and a handful of restaurants.
With the snow covered Alps surrounding the village it could not look more picturesque. If you are looking for an apres ski party town then it’s the wrong place but for families with younger children it was perfect.
Our Junior Suite
The hotel is made up of rooms of varying styles and sizes; some are modern while others which are more traditional Austrian and cosy in style. After a warm welcome at check-in along with some welcome drinks for couldn’t wait to see our room.
We had booked a junior suite which was spacious, modern and stylish and perfect for the four of us and looked as though it had recently been refurbished.
As we arrived in our room, we were all immediately taken by the gorgeous views from our window and the views from our balcony were even better of the snow covered Alps.
One of my favourite things during our stay at the Sporthotel Igls was opening the curtains each morning to see this spectacular view; I could never get tired of it and is one of the lasting impressions we have of our stay at the hotel.
Our suite featured a master bedroom separated by a sliding door to the living room which had a large comfortable sofa bed for the children to use.
Beside the beds and throughout our room there were plenty of electrical sockets which are essential for travellers these days with so many pieces of technology to charge.
As you would expect from one of the leading hotels in the area, our junior suite was of a very high standard offering all of the comforts required for a great family stay including:
- 2 large flat screen TVs
- Complimentary high speed Wi-Fi
- A mini fridge
- A large safe
- White fluffy bathrobes and slippers
Our room also had plenty of storage space which is key given the amount of clothes and accessories you need for this type of holiday, coupled with the fact that we never travel light.
The bathroom like the rest of our room was modern and stylish; with a large walk-in shower and separate deep-soaking bath which the girls and I loved coming home to after long days on the slopes.
The Pool and Spa
Each day after our adventures, the girls would always make a beeline for the swimming pool, which was their favourite part of the hotel. The hotel’s indoor pool looks out to the snowy peaks beyond and also had a spa area, although this was for adults only.
The Skiing
This is not a ski-in ski-out hotel but the free J bus service directly outside the hotel is excellent and you can reach the slopes of Patscherkofel within 5-10 minutes. The resort was perfect for skiers of all abilities including complete beginners like us with excellent nursery slopes and green and blue runs out of the eight runs available.
The hotel offered a ski room to store your ski equipment but we hired a ski locker at the modern ski changing rooms located on the slopes. This made it really easy to store all of our ski gear; meaning we didn’t have to take it back with us to the hotel each day, so we basically had ski in ski out.
As you would expect from a modern family-friendly ski resort, Patscherkofel offered ski rental on site which we pre-booked through Inghams, a ski room and ski lifts were really close and perfect for families with younger children.
The bus ran between the Patscherkofel and Nordkette mountain ranges and was also a quick and convenient way of getting into the city of Innsbruck. This is why we loved Igls so much, it offered us the perfect mix of great skiing along with the numerous family attractions in the beautiful city of Innsbruck just a 15 minute journey by bus.
We chose the Sporthotel Igls hotel over catered chalets that focus more on childcare and entertaining the kids as we wanted to send a much time as possible together as a family especially as we were all booked on private family ski lessons.
There are four ski schools at Patscherkofel offering courses for all ages and abilities and as we are not skiers we pre-booked our 3 day private lessons with Alpinskischule Patscherkofel through Inghams.
Private lessons are more expensive but I felt that we all progressed quicker, it’s amazing how much you can improve in just a short space of time.
What was great with having the one-to-one instruction was that the instructors offered us detailed feedback each time on our individual technique as we came down the slope.
The Food
A skiing break is a high energy holiday so good food is a priority. We stayed on a half board basis that includes a breakfast buffet which was cooked to a good standard and then a five course meal each evening although there was a limited selection of dishes available especially for children.
However what was great about the Sporthotel Igls was that nothing was too much trouble for its staff. When we wanted a change from what was on menu, the chef’s would happily create some of our favourite meals.
A favourite for the girls in particular at the hotel after skiing was warming up with some hot chocolate.
One evening at the hotel we experienced a true Austrian tradition of “Fasching” which is a tradition around the start of lent to symbolically drive out the winter!. With traditional Austrian music and people dressed up wearing their traditional costumes, jumping around with bells on their backs it was a fun evening.
The Verdict
Our week at the Sporthotel Igls flew by, we had such a great stay here, it’s an outstanding family friendly hotel with exceptional levels of service from its staff.
We had wonderful February weather coupled with an abundance of snow which made for excellent ski conditions at Patscherkofel. We do think we have found a hidden gem in the Sporthotel Igls as it offers the perfect mix of skiing and non-ski activities especially if you don’t want to spend all day on the slopes.
The benefit we found of travelling with Inghams was that our flights, transfers and accommodation are included and you can pre book ski hire, lessons and ski passes like we did before you leave the UK, so it’s all stress free when you get there.
Factbox
Inghams offers a seven-night Christmas 2019 ski holiday on a half board basis at the four-star superior Sporthotel Igls in Igls, Austria, from £1,113 per person based on a family of four travelling. Price includes return flights and airport transfers. Lift passes, equipment hire and tuition can all be pre-booked through Inghams. To book, visit www.inghams.co.uk/ski-holidays or call 01483 791 114.