Summary

The villages of Serfaus, Fiss and Ladis and their impressive shared ski area are virtually unknown in the UK, but surely not for much longer. All three are charming villages of chalet-style buildings set on a sunny shelf and kept largely traffic-free by various devices. Serfaus, much the largest of the villages, has an underground railway running the considerable length of the village from the arrival car parks to the lifts. Most of the accommodation is in apartments, although there is no shortage of good hotels.

Although the villages are close neighbours, the slopes of Serfaus were kept separate from those of Fiss and Ladis by warring mayors until 1999. Together, they form an impressive area, with 160km of pistes (a realistic, not inflated figure) mostly of genuine red gradient, but with a good sprinkling of blacks, some quite serious. It the area has a weakness it is a shortage of long easy blues, though there are a few. The altitudes are high by Tirolean standards, but the natural snow record is not great – like the St Moritz area not far away over the border, this is a place noted more for its sunshine hours than snowfall metres. The snowmaking covers 80% of the pistes, but not the many ungroomed ski routes, so these and the abundant off-piste are a bit unreliable.

The vast kids’ facilities at mid-mountain level and ample nursery slopes are key attractions for families. A lack of English speakers may be a drawback though

Blogs, features and news

• Crystal offers Austrian ski resort Serfaus
• Never heard of Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis?