Hotels in Unken

Travellers staying here find the swimming pool's mountain view genuinely earns the description, a proper reason to linger rather than just tick off a lap and leave. The bowling alley saved a grey-weather afternoon that would otherwise have meant a forced ski day in poor conditions for everyone. Being deep in the Heutal valley meant real quiet in the evenings, the open-air bath under a clear sky becoming the unexpected highlight of the whole week away.

Travellers staying here find Dietrichshorn feels closer to staying with a local family than checking into a hotel, in the best possible sense of the word. The restaurant's high tea sitting and traditional Austrian dinner both felt genuinely home-cooked rather than a set hotel menu repeated nightly. Outdoor dining on the terrace on a clear afternoon, mountains all around, made the small scale of the place feel like an advantage rather than a limitation on the trip.

Travellers staying here find the breakfast lives up to its reputation, a real reason to get moving before a day of skiing out of Lofer's lifts. The mountain-view balcony room felt more elevated and scenic than some of the village-centre options found in Unken proper. Having the restaurant and terrace on site meant evenings stayed simple, no need for a second transfer after the one back from the slopes that afternoon.

Travellers staying here find the playground right outside genuinely matters after a long day of skiing and a transfer back from Lofer's lifts. Kids run it off before dinner instead of bouncing around the room all evening long. Being in the middle of Unken's village centre meant a quick walk covered anything the hotel didn't, from a forgotten item to an evening coffee break. The sauna became a reliable end to the day once the kids were settled with the playground behind them.

Travellers staying here find the indoor play area earns its place fast on the one grey-sky day of the week, when nobody wants to transfer out to Lofer for skiing. The sauna after a day on the slopes became the evening habit, a proper reset before dinner most nights. Having Italian and Austrian dishes both on the menu meant the group never argued about where to eat, unusual for a hotel this size in Unken's Heutal valley.

Travellers staying here find the garden hot tub is worth building the evening around, especially after a full day of skiing out of Lofer and the transfer back into Unken afterward. The high tea sitting solved the usual problem of young children needing dinner earlier than the adults want to eat that night. Private check-in on arrival meant we were unpacked and in the garden within the hour, no front-desk queue after a long travel day getting there.

The first lift of the Heutal is a 100 m rope tow, and every lift above it is a drag lift, with no chairlift to a summit: for young children, that is the setting I look for. From Almrose it is roughly 700 m to the bottom of the Wildalmlift I, so small skiers will walk or ride in the car to the start. Once they leave the rope tow, the Wildalmlift I is the first proper drag lift; the Gimpinglift and Sattelkurvenlift start higher up. The guesthouse adds family rooms, a playground and an Austrian restaurant, so nobody drives out at night. Drag lifts can upset small children until they master them, and teenagers will run out of terrain in a day or two. Guests give it 8.8 out of 10 across 58 reviews.