Kitzbühel is a medieval town and slightly larger than other ski resorts in Austria with a population of around 8500. It’s about 1 hour and 20 minutes drive from both Innsbruck or Salzburg.

The village has a reputation for being posh with finer dining, bars, and shops and feels like its an Austrian version of St Moritz Switzerland. It is upmarket and has a high quantity of 4-star and 5-star hotels. Most of these hotels are larger in size and has both restaurants and nice spas and wellness areas within its premises.

The town center is within the walls and has a square area of around 200m, where most independent restaurants and bars are situated. The main street has many upmarket brands and shops. The buildings are painted in various colors and looks and reminds us a bit of how it looks in Nyhavn in Copenhagen.

The ski area is called KitzSki and is linked through a few mountains. It’s a modern and fairly large area and is more for the intermediate skier and snowboarder with more challenging runs. There is also plenty of nice off-piste routes similar to St Anton. It never seems to get busy here and you can almost be all alone at certain spots, especially in the afternoons and in and around the westside by Jochberg. So a great ski area for passionate skiers who want to keep going all day long.

The mountain restaurants and bars are very nice and the vibe and style are more towards bottles of Champagne rather than beers and shots. The apres-ski is nowhere near as lively as in St Anton, Ischgl or Mayrhofen but there are a few spots that get busier in the late afternoon in the mountain. The village has a couple of bars open to late but most places will close early and the village is pretty empty after 10 pm.

We stayed in the very lovely

Kitzhof Hotel

It’s just a few hundred meters from the main centre and ski lift. It has great amenities. The rooms are modern but decorated in a traditional style with a lot of wooden features. Most rooms having balconies with stunning mountains views to enjoy. There’s a lovely cozy lounge with fireplaces, comfy chairs, and sofas where you can enjoy drinks into the late hours. There’s also a great spa area that has 4 different saunas and there’s also a lovely pool to enjoy as well. and it’s an adults only area, so just pure relaxation there. Breakfast has a large variety and many options and there’s also free Ruinart Champagne!