Holiday review: Ski fun at [PLACES] hotel Obertauern of Beatles fame

Here I am, wrapped up in thermals, in Obertauern, the highest ‘snow sure’ resort in Austria. With the wind chill it’s -10. Snow sure means that despite not having a glacier, it’s climate-change-proof, so snow will always fall here, and it’s got the best snow record in the country.  

Kimberley Barber (Image: Kimberley Barber)

I am here to check out the newly-opened [PLACES] Hotel, formerly the Hotel Marietta, made famous by the Beatles when they filmed Help! there in 1965. It was the only hotel they actually performed in and Ringo Starr’s drum kit is still proudly on display.   

Despite arguably the biggest band in UK history doing their best to put Obertauern on the map, amazingly only a small percentage of guests today are Brits. The resort is mainly made up of German or Croatian guests, with Brits just fewer than 10 per cent on the last official tourist board figures. It’s a world away from some of the French or Swiss resorts.  

Beatles stayed here (Image: Kimberley Barber)

The hotel I am staying in has recently been taken over by Croatian brand Valamar, which has renovated it and turned it into a modern trendy place to stay, with flexibility and ease at its heart. It’s the third hotel in Obertauern for the group, each with its own style – Kesselspitze for a luxury stay, the 4* Valamar for families and [PLACES] is going for the more modern younger traveller.  

While the hotel is amazing, and I could spend a whole week within its walls (more on that to come), it is in a ski resort so I feel obliged to get out on the mountain and attempt to throw myself down it. I am standing at the top of one of its lifts, the Grünwaldkopf gondola, at 1,974 m, while the wind whips past flicking fresh snow from the slope into the many skiers whizzing past. 

The sun does come out for a bit, long enough to take some excellent pictures to show off online to my friends sat at their desks in rainy Blighty. The freshness and the freedom of being standing on top of a mountain is liberating. There’s nothing quite like it. 

From this point it’s easy to see Obertauern’s appeal, it’s a great ski area for intermediates, its bowl shape means it’s relatively easy to work out where you are and how to get home. It has 100km of pistes to explore, and goes up to a height of 2,313 m above sea level, making it one of the best bets for snow in Austria.  And 2023/24 has already got off to a good start, with the resort welcoming lots of snow already. 

Among its pistes are 61km of easy blue slopes, 35km of medium red slopes and 4km of difficult black slopes, with 26 lifts, including a very nifty cable and chair lift combo on one line. The set up allows skiers to complete a circuit, skiing the entire Tauren round, with either a red or green option – meaning some great days for those who want to spend a lot of time on the slopes.  

There’s also the black run that begins at the top of the Gamsleiten 2 lift. It’s one of the steepest in Austria – and enough to terrify me, but at the same time excite the more advanced skiers in the group. Obertauren really is a great place for people in groups or families of mixed abilities.

I am more of a ‘ski for a bit then stop in a bar’ kind of person, and in Obertauren, there are many hexagonal bars dotted around the mountain, which welcome people in while providing an excellent social atmosphere with the bar in the middle. Sit around the edge, enjoy a beer, and take in the splendid views.  

After spending a day on the hill, using muscles my body genuinely forgot existed, [PLACES] Hotel welcomes me home with its wonderful lounge and roaring fire. Everything is easy at [PLACES] (yes it’s the correct spelling with capitals and square brackets, maybe strange to an English eye but it’s their branding - ed). Guests are given a watch-style wristband which gets them into their rooms, and other places at the hotel like the spa and ski locker, but it is also loaded with €30 credit per day, which people can either exchange for dinner or use in the bar. I must say though, the dinner was a real treat, the word buffet does not do it justice. There is every type of food for every type of person, a huge pizza oven, grills turning out sizzling meat, woks cooking up Asian delights, an impressive salad bar, plus so much more. And that’s not to mention the exceptional dessert table.  

Breakfast is part of the deal too, and once again, buffet breakfast does not adequately describe this veritable feast for the senses. All nationalities are catered for – and that includes those who fancy starting their days with oysters and Champagne.  

The hotel is large – 120 bedrooms – and it takes a while to get used to where everything is, but once you've found the roof-top terrace, the indoor swimming pool, the amazing spa (note here – be prepared to be confronted with the British prudishness you didn't know you had as Austrians and Germans do not wear swimsuits in the spa areas) or the huge play/games area – you'll be desperately trying to find your way back.  

For fun outside the hotel, there’s also lots to do. We visited mountain restaurants for traditional fondue, took a beautiful calming nighttime horse and carriage ride through the snow, and also hurtled down a purpose-built-for-speed piste on a sled. What a rush.  

We also took a snowshoe trip with the hotel’s ski mastermind David. David knows the resort inside and out, and if he’s not giving advice in reception, he’s leading ski tours, testing snowboards, hosting night skiing, or taking guests climbing up the mountain on racquets. A laid-back guy, he casually takes us up the piste, where German skiers call out “you’re going the wrong way” or at least I think that’s what they said, as they shoot past. As the sun sets, we reach a perfect point where we stop and take in the beauty of Obertauern.  

With its traditional Austrian chalets, vast slopes, towering mountains and wonderous blanket of snow, it’s easy to see why the Beatles were so happy to promote the resort in the sixties. Obviously, time has marched on and the resort has expanded, but with its latest [PLACES] addition, a trip here is sure to leave guests itching to Get Back...

Games room (Image: [PLACES] Hotel)

FACT BOX  

4* Obertauern [PLACESHOTEL] by Valamar  

To book go to valamar.com/en/hotel-obertauern/obertauern-places-hotel  

Obertauern [PLACESHOTEL] by Valamar, Ringstraße 8, 5562 Obertauern , Austria  

+43 6456 7262 

Doubles from £339 per night  

Fly Easyjet, Gatwick to Salzberg, transfer to resort time approx. 90 minutes.