Corporate ski trip planners will need to be flexible since Ischgl is incredibly popular. But for those who can take the limited available slots, Ischgl is remarkable.
The skiing is spectacularly good. With a good height, huge bowls, and several valleys to negotiate, it is ideal for all levels. The off-piste bowls are truly fantastic.
Ischgl après ski is the stuff of legend. Many resorts offer thumping après ski, but none can match Ischgl - it is relentless, engaging and utterly withering. Few leave better than they arrived.
The resort of Ischgl is upmarket, with some statement hotels and fantastic resort facilities, from the underground commuter tunnels to the brand-new thermal spa.
Ischgl skiing is as good as its après ski, and that is some statement. Three lifts leave the village to points over 1000m above the resort. Idalp is one of the main hubs of the ski area and hosts beginner skiing and a huge snow park.
Many pistes funnel into Idalp, which is the transit point to the Palinkopf area. This huge steep-sided bowl is served by several lifts and offers fantastic off-piste descents. The top height is over 2800m, and there are ski pistes and routes into Piz Val Gronda, the extent of the Ischgl ski area in this sector and a stunning area of off-piste terrain.
Ischgl has a wide range of ski pistes, from the blues of the Idalp plateau to the reds that wind down into the ski area's many valleys and many genuine (not token) black pistes. The ski lift system in Ischgl is world-class.
The mixed-ability ski area in Ischgl is ideal for corporate ski groups. There are many restaurants that are easy to rendezvous at and the challenging pistes back to the resort can be avoided with a lift download. Après ski bars await at every piste terminus and lift station – there is absolutely no escape.
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Ischgl is ritzy and upmarket. The village centre is full of sports shops, bars, restaurants and designer shops. Once the preserve of the Austrians and Germans, the word is now out and Ischgl is hugely international.
The 2 pedestrianised areas of the village are connected by the ‘dorf tunnel’ a moving walkway that cuts through the rocky section of the resort to connect the 2 zones.
There are many good-quality hotels in Ischgl and some high-end options as well. The resort is pure quality, even though it is more brash than a Lech or Kitzbühel. Pistes run back to several areas of the village.
Three main ski lifts serve the ski area, and while the village is bulging with visitors, the high-capacity lifts shift many people to the mountain.
Ischgl serves the world’s finest après ski each day from early December to the beginning of May. Seasoned après skiers arrive ready to take on the Ischgl challenge, yet their immune systems are invariably defeated.
Ischgl après ski is on another level to anywhere. St Anton, Sölden, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Chamonix – these are all après ski powerhouses but they all fall short of Ischgl.
The list of bars is extensive but Ischgl has a good proportion of the world’s top ten après ski bars within its borders. Some, like the Kuhstahll (cow shed), are basic beer halls with eye-watering amounts of drinks flowing.
There are ritzy bars as well, like Schatzi (darling), which dresses its après ski up a little more. It’s safe to say that corporate ski groups will find all the après ski they will ever need in Ischgl.
Given the temptation of skiing and après skiing in Ischgl, it would be a seriously persuasive manager to get a team sitting around a meeting table in Ischgl.
That said, there are large meeting rooms at over 2600m on the mountain, offering wonderful vistas and a direct lift connection with the village.
Several of the larger hotels in Ischgl also offer meeting facilities, while there are further options in Galtür and Kappl, both neighbouring resorts.
The trappings around a meeting programme are clearly there in Ischgl, with superb skiing, après ski, hotels and dining.
