Behind the Scenes: Chalet Photo-Shoot in St Anton

Whenever we open a new chalet there’s always race within the office to be the first to visit it in person. No matter how much you pore over the floorplans, examine the photos and check the exact location on a map, there’s no substitute for getting out to resort and seeing the chalet in real-life, technicolor glory.

With four chalets in St Anton and an entire hotel in St Christoph new for winter 2019/20, it was high time for a trip to the Arlberg. The sales and marketing team were lucky to spend last week touring all five properties and familiarizing ourselves with the layout of this brilliant resort. Truly deserving of the “cradle of alpine skiing” accolade, St Anton is just as spectacular in the summer as in the winter.

VIP CLUB Fritz and chalets Rohtang, Montafon and Silvretta are all located overlooking the town, in an elevated position above the Galzigbahn and Rendlbahn gondolas. The walk downhill takes 6 minutes (we timed it!) and you can make it back up for afternoon tea in 6 ½ minutes (if you’re walking with purpose). Rather than walking, all four chalets will be serviced by our chauffeur service which will operate between 8am and 8pm for those who don’t fancy another hill at the end of the day. The spectacular views from the balcony will look a little different once the resort is covered in snow.

…from St Anton lies the village of St Christoph and the Hotel Arlberg. Everyone was blown away by the charming interior of this traditional Austrian hotel. The three family suites are large enough to cartwheel around without ever hitting the walls and several of the bedrooms have original wood-burning stoves (not pizza ovens, as one sales team member suggested). We couldn’t believe quite how close the Christophbahn chairlift is to the hotel. This photo, taken from a second-floor balcony, takes “piste-side” to a new level. 

Once we’d familiarized ourselves with the chalets the real hard work began: the photoshoot. We’re lucky to have worked with Rob, our talented photographer, since the early days of VIP SKI. Whenever there’s a new property to photograph we can let him loose with confidence that the images will portray the very best of each chalet. After a couple of late nights getting the all-important evening ambiance shots with the fire lit and champagne popped, we wrapped the shoot with a day to spare. It’s always fascinating to look at chalets from the camera’s perspective. The attention to detail which goes into arranging and lighting each shot is second to none and really does bring the property to life on the computer screen. 

With a spare day in Austria we even managed to fit in a trip to the charming Swiss town of St Gallen on the way back to Zurich airport. After a week of delicious Austrian cuisine, excursions to peaceful alpine meadows and being woken each morning by cowbells gently chiming down the valley, we agreed that summer chalet holidays certainly do have their perks!

The photos are on their way, so check back soon for updated images of Chalet Rohtang, Chalet Silvretta, Chalet Montafon, VIP CLUB Fritz and the Hotel Arlberg.