Aste´s Hochegg Pension

We have just returned from a ten day summer stay in Das Hochegg and wanted to share with you what a positive experience it was. We are keen mountaineers and have been coming to Obergurgl for our summer trips for about five years and Das Hochegg is our favourite place to stay so far. Our room was a perfect size for the two of us, and was clearly recently refurbished with a noticeably premium finish in the bathroom and bedroom. The beds have comfortable medium-firm mattresses with a soft mattress topper and the bathroom has a large shower with excellent water pressure. The living area is small but a perfectly workable size. The kitchenette contains a microwave, two electric hobs, a fridge, dishwasher and a coffee machine. There is also a Bodum filter carafe for those like us who prefer to use fresh ground coffee. The knives in the kitchen were sharp, which is a rarity for a holiday let, and we found the facilities perfectly good for cooking our evening meals. Sometimes you have to be a little inventive, juggling pans on the two hobs if you are cooking something more complicated but that is part of the fun of being on holiday, right? The apartment and the rest of the building is impecably clean, even by traditionally high Austrian standards. Sandra, the current generation of the Aste family to operate the guesthouse, is kind and welcoming and clearly has an interest in tourism and hotel management and how to make guests feel welcome and at ease. Sandra's partner Gabriel is a well respected mountain guide, whilst he was away with a client in Switzerland during our stay, he can be available to take guests on ski tours in winter or on mountaineering days in the summer. We are also keen skiers and whilst we visited in the summer we thought that the location of the property would be ideal for winter visits, seemingly in a perfect ski in/out location. The boot room was spotless with good sized boot dryers. For those that have not visited Obergurgl in the summer, expect a very quiet and laid back vibe. All of the sports shops appeared to be open, with a choice of two small supermarkets and a handful of excellent restaurants at your disposal. Larger supermarkets and a greater variety of shops are available twenty minutes away in Soelden although we found everything we needed in Obergurgl, including some technical climbing gear that we needed. There aren't many places in Europe with a comparable range of walking, hiking (of all difficulties) and climbing (on rock and glacier) but without the crowds of the other traditional mountaineering centres such as Zermatt and Chamonix. On one day we spent 11 hours hiking and climbing including a glacier crossing to a 3300m summit literally without seeing a single other person, although we did also see some vultures, eagles, chamois and ibex that day. Where else in Western Europe can you do that whilst having good amenities on your doorstep? If we had to make one complaint, and it is a push, we'd say that the internet speed needs to be improved. Unfortunately, with our jobs, we need to be occasionally in contact with the office and the internet speed is not usable for anything other than basic browsing. If we're honest, that probably did us a favour and gave us the perfect excuse to relax although you will have difficulty using a Chromecast or Firestick for Netflix etc if that's your thing. All in all, very highly recommended.