Holiday house or apartment? What actually matters in Carinthia
“Holiday house” sounds like more than “apartment”. In practice, though, it is rarely the type of building that decides, but the location, the floor plan and how often you want to close a door behind you.
What the words actually mean
A holiday house is a detached building you have to yourself. Nobody walks across your ceiling, but you generally look after everything yourself – from clearing snow to the heating.
A holiday apartment sits inside a larger building. You share the stairwell, often the garage and sometimes a ski room. In return the infrastructure is usually better: a cleared driveway, reliable heating, someone on site.
A chalet apartment sits in between: the look and materials of a chalet, but within a building of several units. Our Almzeit apartment at Turracher Höhe is one of these – with a sauna you do not have to share.
When a house is the better choice
When there are eight or ten of you and you want to be loud in the evening. When a dog is coming that does not cope well alone. When you need a garden because small children are involved.
For entire houses, our sister company Luxalps is the right address – in Turrach, in Sankt Englmar in the Bavarian Forest and in Inzell in the Chiemgau.
When the apartment wins
For two to six people, a well-planned apartment is almost always the more sensible sum. You are not paying for square metres you never walk into.
The second point is location. Detached houses are rarely right next to a top station – simply because there is no room for individual buildings up there. Our two apartments on the Gerlitzen Alpe are at 1,440 metres, inside the ski area. You walk out of the door and you are at the piste. No car, no parking, no ski bus.
The third point is winter. A driveway at 1,700 metres needs clearing after every snowfall. In a complex, somebody else does that.
What to check instead
How many real beds? “Sleeps 6” sometimes means four beds and a sofa bed. Ask who sleeps where.
How far to the piste or the water? Ten minutes on foot with children and ski gear is a different thing from ten minutes by car.
Is there somewhere for wet things? Ski boots in the living room are unpleasant.
Who answers if something breaks? With us, the same number you booked on.
Our three locations compared
Turracher Höhe, 1,763 m: chalet apartment with its own sauna, two bedrooms each with a double bed and a loft bed, parking by the house. For families who want snow and quiet.
Gerlitzen Alpe, 1,440 m: two apartments by the Kanzelhöhe top station, each with a bedroom, a sleeping alcove with bunk bed and a sofa bed, plus free underground parking. Short distances, big views.
Lake Ossiach, 501 m: an apartment with balcony and mountain and lake views, plus a second apartment and a mobile home. For everyone who wants to swim, cycle and take day trips.
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