Ellmau sits at 820 m at the foot of the Wilder Kaiser, the family heart of the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental, Austria's largest interconnected ski area at 284 km of pistes and 90 lifts. The Hartkaiser cable car lifts you straight from the village onto the linked plateau, with the famous Stanglwirt hotel and a postcard onion-domed church anchoring the centre.
Ellmau is a ski resort in Austria, in the Austrian Alps. The village sits at 820 m and the lifts top out at 1957 m, with 284 km of pistes and 90 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 78/100, and the season usually runs Dec 1 → Apr 14.
How we score and classify resortsRun counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Very good · 1.2k reviews
A long-standing favourite in Ellmau, trusted by thousands of guests before you.
Guests rate this hotel as very good (4.3/5 from 1,183 reviews). A budget-friendly option for Ellmau, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Very good · 710 reviews
Strong value for Ellmau, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Excellent · 591 reviews
Strong value for Ellmau, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Very good · 682 reviews
Strong value for Ellmau, with a high guest rating that punches above its nightly price.
Excellent · 484 reviews
One of the highest-rated places to stay in Ellmau, with guests singling out the service and comfort.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
True ski-in/ski-out is limited in Ellmau because the SkiWelt is reached by the Hartkaiser cable car rather than via runs that return to the village centre. A handful of hotels and pensions sit within ski-down distance of the Hartkaiser base or the parallel beginner lifts at Going, but most accommodation involves a short walk or the free ski bus to the cable car.
Few Tirolean villages stay this picture-postcard with a ski area of this size on the doorstep. The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental links nine villages over 284 km of mostly intermediate piste with 90 lifts, and Ellmau is its most central, family-friendly base. The Hartkaiser cable car from the eastern edge of town lands you on a wide, sun-soaked plateau where 40 km of blues fan out for families and beginners, with 35 km of reds pushing further across to Söll, Scheffau and Brixen im Thale. Black runs total only 15 km, and the area as a whole is built for cruising rather than steeps, which is exactly why families and second-week skiers love it. Above the village rises the Wilder Kaiser, a dramatic limestone wall that gives the SkiWelt its name without ever being skiable itself. Traditional Bauernhäuser, the famous Stanglwirt with its indoor pool and Lipizzaner stables, and a busy non-ski programme of cleared winter walks and tobogganing make Ellmau a strong all-round choice for mixed-ability groups.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Ellmau: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Ellmau offers 284 km of pistes across 90 lifts, from 820 m to 1957 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Dec 1 to Apr 14, with a snow score of 78/100. Snow is usually most reliable in the heart of that window, deep in winter, while the closing weeks bring longer days and softer afternoon snow.
True ski-in/ski-out is limited in Ellmau because the SkiWelt is reached by the Hartkaiser cable car rather than via runs that return to the village centre. A handful of hotels and pensions sit within ski-down distance of the Hartkaiser base or the parallel beginner lifts at Going, but most accommodation involves a short walk or the free ski bus to the cable car.
Ellmau has 284 km of marked pistes served by 90 lifts, between 820 m and 1957 m of altitude.
Ellmau counts about 90 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
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