Christmas Ski Holiday in Zell am See: The Christmas Package at Hotel Der Schütthof

My personal highlight: a few runs on the Schmittenhöhe, with the glorious view over Zell am See and the surrounding mountains.

Ursula Auer, Hotel Der Schütthof

What the Christmas package includes

Hotel Der Schütthof's "Weihnachten im Schütthof" package is half board, with breakfast and dinner: a breakfast buffet with regional produce, themed dinner evenings and, on 24 December, the afternoon snack and a festive Christmas buffet. It also includes a welcome drink, the Vulcano Spa with bathrobe, slippers and towels, 10% off at the hotel's own ski hire, the lift pass service at reception, and advice on ski lessons and booking them; the hotels' ski instructor also teaches in English. Online, the package is for the 7 nights from 19 to 26 December; shorter stays can be booked too, up to and including departure on 27 December, even for a single night. Only a few rooms are left at the hotel for Christmas. You can book the Christmas package online; the booking page shows whether your dates are free.

The rooftop Vulcano Spa has a Finnish sauna, a bio sauna and a steam room, open 4 pm to 8 pm, from age 14. Hotel Der Schütthof has no pool of its own; guests can use the indoor pool at Hotel Latini next door for a fee (€10 a day, children up to 13 €5).

Can you ski in Zell am See at Christmas?

The Schmittenhöhe, whose areitXpress gondola is about 600 metres from Hotel Der Schütthof, plans to start the 2026/27 winter season on 4 December 2026. The start depends on snow and weather. The areitXpress is planned to run from 4 December 2026 to 4 April 2027, from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. The hotel is not ski-in, ski-out: guests walk to the gondola in their ski boots, and the single valley run back to Schüttdorf is not for beginners, who take the gondola down. Check which lifts are running on the Schmittenhöhe's opening hours page.

Nobody can promise snow at Christmas. GeoSphere Austria says a white Christmas is only reasonably reliable in Austria above about 800 metres; Zell am See lies at 757 metres. On the 1971 to 2000 averages, the weather station on the Schmittenhöhe (1,973 metres) had at least 1 cm of snow on the ground on 29.5 days in December, the town on 24.2, and the Schmittenhöhebahn says all of its pistes have snowmaking. See how snow-sure Zell am See is and today's snow report.

Ski bus 660, from a stop five minutes' walk away, also takes you to Kaprun's Kitzsteinhorn glacier, where the 2026/27 season began on 10 October 2026 and is planned to run until 17 May 2027, depending on weather and snow.

The Christmas programme at Hotel Der Schütthof, day by day

Hotel Der Schütthof's Christmas and New Year programme runs from 21 December to 1 January, with dinner from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm on most evenings. The afternoon snack is included for guests, on 24 and 31 December too.

To print the whole programme: Christmas and New Year programme 2026/27, PDF, in German and English.

The hotel asks guests to dress up on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and to be on time for the Christmas Eve buffet. At the leather workshop children make keyrings, coin purses or bookmarks with their initials; sign them up at reception.

Package, lift pass and ski hire: what they cost

At Hotel Der Schütthof the package costs, per person for the 7 nights:

A worked example for one adult skiing 6 days from 19 December: Hotel Der Schütthof's package from €885 in a double room, a 6-day Ski ALPIN CARD at €440 and a Top Carver hire set with skis, boots and poles for 6 days at €165, or €148.50 with the 10% hotel-guest discount. Together, from €1,473.50.

In peak season, from 19 December 2026 to 12 March 2027, the 6-day pass costs €330 for youths born 2008 to 2010 and €220 for children born 2011 to 2020, with proof of age, and children born in 2021 or later ski free with an adult on the miniAlpini Card (photo required).

Hotel Der Schütthof guests buy the pass without queuing at the main reception in Hotel Latini next door, or order it by email before they arrive; collected at check-in, it works from 3 pm on the day of arrival, with a €2 key card deposit. Under the Ski ALPIN CARD terms there is no refund if fewer lifts run because of a lack of snow or the weather, so if you would rather wait and see, buy it on arrival. For more, see our guides to ski holidays in Zell am See, the Zell am See ski pass and ski hire at the hotel.

Christmas in town: markets, the star cruise and the Christmas tree dive

For non-skiers and evenings out, the centre of Zell am See is a bus or train ride away on the Guest Mobility Ticket included in your stay. The last Lokalbahn train leaves Zell am See at 10.02 pm and reaches the Kitzsteinhornstraße stop, about 150 metres from the hotel, at 10.06 pm. In Advent an evening bus runs back to Schüttdorf too; the timetables are at reception. The Star Advent market on the town square is open Wednesday to Sunday until 20 December. The Star Advent Market at Lake Zell, in the Stadtpark, opens every day from 21 to 31 December, on 24 December only until 2 pm; more in Hotel Latini's guide to the Zell am See Christmas market. For more to do in winter, with or without skis, see things to do in Zell am See in winter.

On 24, 25, 26 and 31 December the MS Schmittenhöhe runs hour-long star cruises from the Esplanade (tickets online), and on Christmas Day from 5 pm the water rescue divers raise a Christmas tree from 15 metres down in the lake; entry is free.

New Year's Eve at Hotel Der Schütthof

Only a few rooms are left at Hotel Der Schütthof over New Year, with a 7-night minimum stay. After the gala buffet the evening moves to the UNO Bar in Hotel Latini next door at 10.30 pm, where the band "Duo Voices & Music" plays live hits from the 70s to the 90s for dancing. At midnight the Pummerin bell of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna rings out, followed by the Blue Danube waltz, and a late-night snack comes at 12.30 am, with music until the early hours.

Earlier, at 5 pm, the Salzburg Philharmonic plays its New Year's Eve concert "Dancing into the New Year" at the Ferry Porsche Congress Center, about 120 minutes with an interval. For what else is on in town, see Hotel Latini's guide to New Year's Eve in Zell am See.