The Bad Gastein, in its transformation into a new ski resort, has luxury hotels that provide lavish and comfortable accommodations. These hotels are complemented by mountain restaurants that served traditional Austrian cuisine. With this setting, how is it then that few skiers are aware of Bad Gastein's existence?



The reason is simple. The Austrians do not advertise. At the same time, the icy slopes of Bad Gastein are not for every Julia Mancuso hopeful. Beginners will not want to practice on the challenging pistes of this new ski resort.

However, the intermediate and expert skiers will find the new ski resort of Bad Gastein a skiing paradise. There are 102 individual long and tough pistes. There are more than 155 miles of ski runs and most of them are classified as reds. And there are pistes found above the tree line for a genuinely exhilarating ski experience.

If the winter skiing vacation is longer than a weekend, the skiers can obtain a Lift Pass that can provide access to nearby ski resorts, such as the Bad Hofgastein, the Graukogel, the Dorfgastein, and the Sportgastein. This lift pass is called the New Ski Alliance Amadé tickets. But there is a great chance that skiers will find the new ski resort in Bad Gastein enough for an exciting winter holiday. It is a low-altitude location but snow is assured because the new ski resort uses 120 snow cannons to supplement the natural snow. Aside from skiing, the place is also great for snowboarding.

After skiing for several wonderful hours, there is a unique feature in the new ski resort of Bad Gastein that skiers will appreciate. It is the existence of a network of off-slope facilities. These facilities continued the spa resort tradition of providing comfort, tranquility, and relaxation. Skiers can unwind and chill out in these off-piste facilities. They can be reinvigorated to take on more of the new ski resort's challenging ski runs.

There is, however, one logistical setback that skiers must go around when planning a winter holiday in the new ski resort of Bad Gastein - the transportation. The area has a bus service but it is not efficient enough to handle the needs of the skiers. Thus, skiers will be stuck with expensive taxi fares if they want to go to all five mountains in this valley. There are two possible solutions. First, the skiers may bring or rent their own car. If this is impossible, the skiers may choose a base where they are likely to ski most of the time. For example, if the skiers like to cruise, they may want to stay close to the Schlossalm sector.

Despite this little difficulty in the new ski resort of Bad Gastein, it is easy to reach the area because of several nearby airports, the Klagenfurt (1,5 hours away), the Salzburg (1,5 hours away), the Munich (2,5 hours away), and the Innsbruck Airport (3 hours away). And when skiers reach the new ski resort of Bad Gastein, they know that the traveling was worth it. The mountains with their snow-covered peaks not only promise but provide exhilarating skiing experiences. This new ski resort is not yet as popular as other European destinations but several trinket shops have started to appear. These shops, obviously, will cater to more and more tourists.