Thanks for your reply Corinne76. The link was very useful, at least we know that the journey is possible.
It looks fairly cheap as well.
I read your review and it was really useful. If there was one thing that you would say someone shouldn't miss when going to Zell, what would it be?
Cheers

Hi Simtronic

Glad I could be of some help. If you do decide to get the train then you will probably have to buy your ticket before you board - you can pay by credit card if you want to.

I'm sure that Zell in December is very different from how it was while we were there, but I would definitely recommend going for a drink/meal in either the KupferKessel or the Lebzelter as they both had a good atmosphere. If you get a clear day, I would also recommend you go up to the top of the Schmittenhohe for fantastic views of the whole area - see http://www.schmitten.at/en/default.aspx for more info.

Any other questions, just ask.

Cheers again for the reply Corinne
No doubt I will think of some more questions as the time approaches.
If you have any other links that you think might be useful, please let me know.
Thanks
Simtronic

I completely agree with all the review by Corinne76 about the Seehotel Freiberg and Zell-am-See. The hotel is wondefull and Zell-am-See is a lovely place to spend a relaxing or active holiday. The hotel website has just changed to http://www.seehotel-freiberg.at/

I have booked 10 days at the Seehotel Freiberg again this summer (June). This will be the 7th year running that my wife and I have returned to the same hotel. We always book direct and drive to Austria using our own car, stopping at least one night in Germany each way. This year we are also going to spend 4 nights in Filsur, near Davos in Switzerland on the way.

If anyone has any questions, please ask.

Dave R (h5djr)

Hi Dave R - we wanted to add a week at the Hotel Freiberg onto a wedding in Cologne in July. My husband prefers to travel with tour operators though we have done several successful independent trips in the past.

Is it easy to find activities etc without the tour operators? If we'd booked through one of them we'd have got free bike hire for 3 days and a walking guide for a day. I do speak fluent German so that'll probably help!!

Thanks for your help.

Hi. Yes it should be quite easy to find all sorts of activities in Zell am See itself which is only a few minutes walk from the hotel. There is a boat trip around the lake, you can hire small electric boats and there are several shops that hire cycles by the day or half-day. A ride around the perimater of the Zellersee is very pleasant and there are quite a number a signposted cycle rides depending on how energitic you feel. There are various trips available from firms that have mini-buses in the main square and you can catch a bus or walk to various points to get cable car or gondelbahn access up to the Schmittenhohe moutain above Zell am See. Once up the mountain there are marked paths to other cable car points or back down to Zell.

I'm sure you would be able to find enough to do and it's no problem arranging these locally.

Dave R

The tourist office in Zell is open most days and has train timetables and leaflets for lots of things to do in the area. There are lots of bike hire places around - we got 3 days free hire with our tour operator (Crystal) but it rained a lot so we only got out on them once, plus my saddle was so uncomfortable that I didn't want to get back on it again after one trip around the lake. We did most of our day trips by ourselves with a guidebook and we speak very little German but had no problems. The only other advice I would give you would be to plan some rainy day activities in advance as we were a little short of things to do when the weather turned bad unexpectedly.

The Freiberg is lovely hotel - I'm sure you'll have a great time.

You can read Corinne's review HERE.

Pippy

I'm getting married in Zell am See this September and having the wedding reception in the Freiberg. I just wanted to say its great to hear peoples comments on the hotel particularly but also the area. Neither of us has ever been to Zell am See and I'm a little anxious about the whole event, but the hotel have been extremely helpful with all our requests and questions and really couldnt be any nicer. Corinne76, your review was so helpful and also delighted to hear that Dave R has stayed in the hotel over and over.

Hi Barbsie

I'm sure you won't regret choosing the Freiberg for your wedding reception. The food there was lovely and the restaurant looks out directly on to the lake. If the weather is good then you may be able to eat on the terrace. Like you said, the staff there are very helpful so I'm sure that everything will go smoothly. If you have any questions about the hotel then please feel free to ask.

We stayed at the Freiberg for a week last Summer and it was one of the nicest, friendliest hotels we have stayed in. Our room was in the Seevilla which is the newer part of the hotel. We had a bathroom with bath/shower and a separate toilet, a balcony with steps down to the grassed bathing area.(ground floor)

As mentioned earlier the food was excellent. We were lucky enough to pick a very hot week so we took advantage of the lakeside area quite a lot and swam in the lake on a couple of occasions. It was only a short walk into the town, but we did notice that the streets in the town were quiet on an evening, though there was entertainment in some bars etc. One evening there was a 'Stadtfest' at Zell with street entertainment, side stalls etc and that night the place was heaving, don't know where everyone came from but you couldn't move!!! All the shops stayed open that evening and the atmosphere was fantastic.

We hired a car for 2 days and went to the krimml Falls and Kaprun Dams one day, though we wished we'd given ourselves a full day for the dams as there looked to be some nice walks there and we didn't have enough time. The second day we went to the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse and it was one of the best days out I've ever had, a fantastic place to visit

http://www.grossglockner.com/

You can probably tell from this that we had a wonderful time and want to return very soon

Having visited the Seehotel Freiberg every summer for the last 7 years I agree with Corinne 76 and her review. It is a really nice hotel. One point, if anyone really does want an English type breakfast then they will provide one if asked. But with all the lovely meats, cheese etc available I personally cannot see why anyone would want one! We always make our own booking direct with the hotel by email and travel to Austria using our own car. We usually go B+B only so that we have the choice of eating in the restaurant, on the terrace or at one of the other restaurants in the town.

Earlier this year I made a 2006 calender with photos I have taken of the Freiberg and I took one with me when we visited in June. The girls on reception immediately wanted a copy, together with a elderly German couple who just happen to be in one of my photos. They also have been visiting the hotel for many years. When I got home I had some more copies made and set them both copies. I received a lovely email back from the reception girls who said that they now owed me some drinks so I will have to go back again in 2007 to collect my reward. Roll on June!

Dave R