We loved our stay! My wife had dreamed of a Christmas in a wooden chalet in the mountains, with snow lying all around, sitting in front of a log fire. It ticked all the boxes in this respect, however we might have been lucky with the heavy snowfall one week earlier. The snow was melting throughout our stay. The host was helpful with pre-visit information, including directions, the need for tyre chains, the location of the local supermarket and its closing time on Christmas Eve. He was at the chalet when we arrived and made us feel welcome. The chalet is very comfortable, modern and well-maintained. We loved using the jacuzzi on Christmas Day, celebrating with champagne and Buck's Fizz. We roasted a chicken for our Christmas Day dinner. The log fire is modern, safe and easy to use. My wife especially appreciated it. The host kindly provided the supply of wood. If you overdo it, however, it can make the chalet too warm, which we quickly learned. We hadn't chosen Simonhoehe for its skiing, but we quickly found out that it is popular with families and ideal for beginners and so, on a beautifully clear Boxing Day, my 16-year-old daughter skied the nearby nursery slope while my wife and I enjoyed gluhwein and bratwurst at the kiosk/bar at the foot of the slopes. Rental of skiing kit at Sport-Payer was easy and reasonable and we bought the ski-lift pass online at the Simonhoehe web site. The views from the chalet are breath-taking, especially at dawn and dusk, south and east towards the Woerthersee valley (which was cloaked in fog for our entire stay, while we enjoyed the sunshine above) and Slovenia, which was our next stop.

Shortly after booking for 3 nights, the host contacted me to claim that the minimum stay was 4 nights, which was not a condition stated on the web site. I contacted Booking.com, who resolved the matter to my satisfaction. The host insisted that we check out by 10am, which was the earliest by far of the nine accommodations at which we stayed during our festive tour of central Europe. I think that this time is unreasonably early and it was difficult for my disabled wife. We packed and loaded the car by 10am but we remained in the chalet, to allow my wife to rest, until the cleaner arrived shortly before 11am, when we left immediately. At this time of year, the chalet is plagued by drowsy houseflies, which is not something that the host can do much about other than to provide a fly-swatter, which he thoughtfully did. It was easy to swat them - I must have killed twenty or more during our 3-night stay. This did not spoil our stay. We had a little hiccup with the upstairs shower on the first night, when we found a pool of water below it downstairs, but seems that my wife had not closed the shower door properly while using it. The host responded quickly and explained what had occurred. I've written a lot here but these are minor matters - our stay was very enjoyable and we'd book again.

Everything, what an exceptional place !!!

unfortunately the slopes were closing this week forcing us to move towards other ski resorts in the neighbourhood

The place is quite with a splendid view. The cottage is well equipped and it's very clean. The host(Alex) is nice, gave us hints regarding the area and also guided us to find the cottage (as gps/booking adress is not that precise).