Green Check-In: Explorer Hotels And Skiing In Gaschurn, Austria

Vorarlberg is the smallest province in Austria and it's where I grew up and still live. The region is not only very well known for its skiing destinations, but also for its hiking possibilities during the summer, its lakes and rivers (for example Lake of Constance), its castles, beautiful mountain villages, unique architecture, music festivals and urban vibes in the towns. It's a place I have left several times and always return to, appreciating this piece of earth each time a bit more. And yes, indeed, I am happy to call this place my home.

Living here, it's never far to one of the skiing areas (the closest one is just up the hill from my house, only a few minutes away by bus or car). So yes, I am lucky. 

When Doris from Doris World and I got the invitation to stay at Explorer Hotels in Gaschurn, I was excited to experience a skiing vacation in my own region. I won't say it all now, but let me tell you this: It is such a different feeling to be able to unwind and to relax after a day on the ski piste, and there's no rush or worries about any rush hour once you're on the highway.

Now, wait, let me tell you the whole story about our stay. 

There are many ski resorts to choose from in Vorarlberg, but my destination choice was Gaschurn in Montafon because I wanted to go skiing in the ski area Silvretta Montafon. The last time I was there was probably as a kid?! To be honest, I can't even remember. You can imagine I was VERY excited to finally experience it by myself. 

To get there, you have a few options. If you come by plane, you can arrive either in Munich, Memmingen, Friedrichshafen (Germany), or in Zurich, Switzerland. From there you can take a train or a rental car and get to Gaschurn. Many hotels offer a pick-up service. In Gaschurn itself, you don't really need a car, as there's public transport that brings you to the skiing resort and it works perfectly fine. 

If you arrive by car, the hotel charges you 1 € per day for the parking lot for in the covered car park, it's 3 € per day. 

I left my hometown Hohenems and as soon as I passed Bludenz in my car, the sun came out and accompanied me all the way into Montafon. Only an hour later, I arrived. At the beginning of the village Gaschurn, lies the Explorer Hotel. I immediately recognized the hotel (first by its wooden look but also by its size) from my last stay at the Explorer Hotel in St. Johann in Tirol. 

In case you want to know where this region is located precisely, here you go. 

There's a new category here on the blog, named green check-in. As my blog is about mindful traveling, I want to share my experiences here as well about green hotels. The latest green hotel I stayed at was in Lisbon.

Arriving at the hotel in Gaschurn, I packed a few things together and walked all the way around the building to enter through the main entrance. It's easier, though, if you walk through the covered car park, open the door at the very end, and use the elevator to get to the hotel lobby. 

Now, wait, yes, I came by car because I didn't have much time and no shuttle service was provided by the hotel. If I'd stay in a hotel with a shuttle service, I could imagine taking the train. (But first, I'd need to invest in a ski bag where I can put all my gear inside). Then it's just a huge suitcase and this bag, and yes, I think I'd be able to handle it all by myself). 

The hotel lobby looked exactly the same as it did in St. Johann in Tirol. Being a franchise company, all of their hotels have the same look and therefore you already know what to expect and where to find what. To the left is the reception area, where I found a woman with a bit of a Swiss accent welcoming me warmly. I have to say, her check-in was beyond perfect. Compared to the check-in at St. Johann in Tirol, here the receptionist explained me everything that I needed to know and told me some of the most important things (breakfast times, and where to find the spa and the opening hours). 

The Explorer Hotels are not only green with their design, but they have also taken several measures to be a sustainable hotel. By using green energy, the hotel is a climate-neutral and zero-emission building. 

Like in St. Johann in Tirol, the room is spacious and has big windows that allow you to soak up the view even more. In Tyrol, the view was over the village and to the ski lift, and this time the view included a few houses and ...MOUNTAINS! I had some time to spend on my own until Doris arrived, so I took my time to settle in the room. I unpacked a few things, and read a few pages in my book at the reading nook by the window. Hands down, this is my most favorite place in the room. 

The rooms are spacious. With 21 square meters, there is enough space for two people (even three, because at the window there is a bed drawer where a third person can sleep). The hotel is not just about design; it does a good job in functionality. Although I have already stayed a night in St. Johann in Tirol, again, what immediately caught my eye were all the hooks on the wall and the many shelves. I believe you wouldn't need that much somewhere else, but here it's perfect. You can hang your sports clothes after a day on the slope to let them dry and there is enough space to unpack your sportswear, camera gear, shoes, etc. 

The room also offers several plug-ins which allow you to work and charge your phone and/ or camera battery at the same time. This is so valuable, not only for bloggers but for any kind of person who has a lot of equipment. 

Needless to say, there is free WIFI, but we were not that happy with the connection in our room during our stay. A reason might be that it's open and everyone uses it without a password, but I am not sure if this is the only reason. It was doing well in the lobby, though. The WIFI in Tyrol worked better. 

The bathroom in our room was very colorful. Now, I was a bit surprised to see different colors compared to the one in Tyrol, but the team of Explorer Hotels explained it that the colors they used, are the colors of the winners' jerseys from mountain bike competitions. Just as in Tyrol, we were sleeping in the mountain bike room. 

After my check-in, I decided to go for a walk while the sun was still shining to explore a bit more of Gaschurn. It is a very picturesque mountain village with its alpine scenery and its unique mountain village character. 

Walking along the street, I saw a very few traditional Montafon houses, mixed with a few big hotels with modern architecture. Every few steps, I saw another fascinating motive for my camera.

Another benefit of taking a acation close to your home is that you have time to soak it all in. Otherwise, it's all about getting up early, driving straight to the parking lot, get a ski ticket, going up and spending all day skiing, and driving back home again. 

This time I just wandered around with no real goal in mind. Wait, oops... there was just one little thing in my head the entire time. If you know me, yes, sure, coffee was number one and number two? If you know me even better, CAKE! 

I made sure to ask the receptionist where to go for coffee and cake before I left and she recommended Posthotel Rössle. Excellent recommendation because the other cafés were all closed on this Tuesday afternoon. The selection was small but nice and I went for an apple strudel with vanilla sauce and a cappuccino. So here I was after a walk through the village, spoiling myself with coffee, cake, and a book. 

Later, when Doris arrived, we had another drink together and then we went back to the hotel to try out the spa area. Unfortunately last time in Tyrol there was no time to try out the spa, so I was happy to find some time during this stay. 

If you want to go to the spa at this hotel, don't forget to bring your own flip-flops and your bathrobe. I missed my bathrobe to be honest. I actually packed it into the trunk but I was too lazy to bring it up to the room. As soon as I saw the size of the spa towels though, I wished I had brought it. It's a normal shower towel so it's a bit short - that's probably also the reason we didn't take any pictures from the spa.

If you think of ski vacation, what else do you think of? Skiing, obviously, followed by après ski, fun, spa time, ...treating yourself to delicious food? Yes! 

We walked past a few good looking restaurants but ended up at the fancy Sporthotel Silvretta Montafon, where we were super lucky to get the last spot available in the restaurant. Better reserve a table if you plan to eat there! 

'Laughter is an instant vacation.'

-Milton Berle- 

No point in lying, whenever I go skiing I need to eat a lot in the morning so I don't end up starving by 11 AM. By noon or 1 PM, I am ready for lunch again anyway. You see, I enjoy eating.

Breakfast at the Explorer Hotel starts from 7 and is open until 10:30 AM with a big buffet in the Explorer lounge. Here you can mix it all together from bread to many different jams, spreads, cereals, milk to yogurt and some cheese, and also meat products (which I am not eating). I try to eat fewer dairy products, but the breakfast at the Explorer is a bit tricky if you follow a Vegan diet. 

I enjoyed the breakfast station a lot. Here you find 3 stove plates. Below are pans and on the upper side, you find organic eggs, chopped onions, and tomatoes. I loved this station as it allowed me to create the kind of breakfast I like. I went for scrambled eggs, but you can do whatever you feel like (sunny side up, omelette...). On the right side of the station, you can also boil eggs. By cooking my own eggs, I started with some onions and roasted a bit more tomatoes. It tasted so good!  

While I prepared scrambled eggs, Doris went for sunny side up. 

To my disappointment, the fruits at the buffet, which were in a bowl, tasted as if they were sugared. When we asked the breakfast lady, she said they weren't but maybe they just came like that out of the can. Next time, I'd take some fruits and cut them by myself to have the true fruit taste. They were so fully loaded with sugar, that I couldn't finish my fruit bowl. And usually, I am not the type of person who leaves food on the plate as I hate to throw away food. 

After our breakfast, we headed back to the room to get ready for a day in the ski area. We packed our backpacks, filled up our bottles of water, and went downstairs. Just in front of the hotel is the bus station. Busses leave almost every 15 minutes to the ski resort and it's only 3 bus stops away. 

Montafon reaches from Bludenz to the glaciers of Silvretta and to Piz Buin. Therefore it's one of the widest skiing areas in the Alps. Silvretta Montafon is one of the 10 largest ski resorts in Austria. Here, you find over 140 kilometers of pistes and 36 ski lifts. The pistes in this area are well groomed and range from easy to difficult, so whatever your level is, you'll find some pistes for sure. 

If you need to rent your equipment, the rental shop is located just next to the ticket counter. Together, with the Explorer hotels, you get a discount. Just ask at the reception for more information. 

Day pass: 52,50 € adults, 30 € children 

2 days: 101 €, adults, 58 children 

afternoon ticket from 11:30 AM: 47 € adults, 27 € children

afternoon ticket from 12:30 PM: 39,50 € adults, 23 € children 

Here you can find the entire price list. 

The weather and the snow conditions were perfect and I had so much fun skiing. It was actually one of the best days on the slopes this season. In between, we took some time for a few fun shots in the snow, and used the breaks to enjoy some good food and the perfect mountain atmosphere at Bella Nova restaurant. On the side is Europe's largest ski bar, so make sure to not miss it out. 

'What good is the warmth of summer,

without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.' 

- John Steinbeck -

Have you been to Vorarlberg, Austria? Where would you like to go for your next ski vacation? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed this blog post, feel free to share it with friends and family. 

I'd like to thank the entire Explorer Hotel group for this wonderful experience in Gaschurn. By booking through the links, at no additional costs to you, I will receive a small commission that helps me to run this blog. Also, a big thank you to the receptionist at Sporthotel Silvretta Montafon for her effort to organize a table for us. We had an amazing evening! And last but not least, thank you Doris, for the time we spent together. My opinion is my own.