Hotel Seiblishof, Ischgl

The Seiblishof doesn’t look like a hotel. It looks more like a museum, a space-ship, a wedding cake, or even a mosque with its arched windows, pillars, balustrade and domed roof. But step inside this striking yellow, tardis-like building, and you will find yourself inside Ischgl’s most family-friendly hotel. And it’s full of surprises…

Family-friendly Hotel Seiblishof, Ischgl

It’s not just the exterior of the hotel which is striking. Everything is slightly out-of-the-ordinary at the 4-star Hotel Seiblishof.

At first glimpse, my suite look like a regular hotel room, albeit very spacious. Then I started opening the various doors. I first found a snug bedroom off the main bedroom, with bunk beds, and access to a wrap-around balcony. The bath was in the main bedroom – not everyone’s taste, but all the rage these days, and it did contain a thoughtful ‘bathing bag’ with fluffy robe and slippers. Bizarrely, though, I couldn’t find the toilet. I opened every cupboard, every door. I was just about to go down to the reception to ask if I was sharing a toilet (heaven forbid), when I opened what I thought was the wardrobe to hang up my ski jacket… and, lo and behold, there was the toilet – yes, indeed, inside the cupboard. A first for me.

Next I made a beeline for the hotel pool, only to find there were actually two. The indoor pool area is cleverly designed so parents can relax enjoy a soak while keeping an eye on their kiddies in their very own mini pool, at a warm 32°C, complete with slide and mini chalet-Wendy-house, or have them in with you. The main pool has water jets too, to ease achy ski limbs. Bliss.

Hotel Seiblishof indoor play pool

Beneath the pools, in the basement, there’s a peaceful spa and wellness area with Finnish sauna, bio-sauna, herbal steam room, brine steam bath, an infrared cabin, massage centre, waterbeds, bridge… yes, a bridge over a small pond, with soothing water. Very zen. There’s also a gym; a Kneipp contrast foot bath, where you plunge your feet into alternating hot and cold water – one of my all-time favourite pleasures after a day on the slopes – and an chill zone – quite literally chilling, given that you step outside into a small, bamboo-clad zone to relax. I’m assured it’s good for you but I wasn’t convinced, even wrapped in my bathrobe.

So where do you put your children when you’re on the slopes?… or enjoying complimentary cake in the lounge?…or the weekly live music in the hotel bar?…

Soft play at the Hotel Seiblishof, Ischgl

Well, the hotel’s free play zone is open daily from 1pm-9pm (it assumes your children will be in ski school during the morning, or with the hotel babysitters, see below).

Situated just off the main reception area, the play zone is on two levels with a slide joining the main playroom with the soft-play climbing-frame zone. Try and find me a child doesn’t enjoy sliding.. the kids simply love it.

There is different care available, depending on the age of your children:

For babies

Babies and toddlers up to 3 years stay free at the Seiblishof. The hotel also provides all the baby utensils you could possibly need, from baby beds to changing mats and bottle warmers. Each room has a baby care set in the room on request, and you can rent prams and push-chairs for free. Cots, high chairs, baby baths, night lights, even potties are all available to rent for free during your stay.

If you’ve forgotten vital baby supplies, you can buy various items such as nappies, swim nappies, pacifiers, wet wipes and feeding bottles at the hotel reception

The children’s restaurant at Hotel Seiblishof

When it comes to catering for baby, there’s no need to worry. Hotel Seiblishof has a dedicated children’s restaurant (with 24-hour access) with a microwave, kettle, vaporizer and fridge for all your baby-catering needs, plus stacks of bibs and baby-friendly feeding utensils. The restaurant also serves a special Hipp Baby Menu for breakfast and dinner.

Trained staff offer babysitting for €15 per hour (€35 for three hours, €55 for six hours) in the crèche. That means you can have childcare during the day or in the evening, depending on your programme and the reception even offers a free babyphone system which can be redirected directly to your mobile phone.

Hang out with holiday mates in Hotel Seiblishof’s teen zone

For older kids

The Seiblishof ‘Hits 4 Kids’ club is for all children from 3-12 years and runs daily from 1pm-9pm. It includes a soft play area, a climbing wall, an arts and craft area and a teenage chill out zone with table football, billiards (for a fee), Playstation, Wii and other computer games, plus free rental of numerous age-appropriate games from the hotel reception.

The staff I met were welcoming, sweet and attentive, and they offer an extraordinary weekly programme of events including craft and painting lessons, night walks with lanterns, pizza baking (and eating!), face painting, cinema evenings, discos, tobogganing and ‘snow saucering’, learning about different countries and cultures, talent shows, a mini Pentathlon and table football tournament. They even encourage all the kids to make mementos to take home as a souvenir of their stay. It really is an impressive offer.

The hotel has its own children’s playground with free rental of toboggans, and there’s even a cinema and theatre room for movies, shows and parties. The supervised children’s restaurant serves special children’s menus or buffets, and offers an all-day juice fountain.

All aboard the Seiblishof Express!

But the icing on the cake has to be the hotel’s very own tourist train, the ‘Seiblishof Express’, which takes all guests young and old to the cable car (daily Sunday to Friday between 9 and 9.30am). The hotel is well-situated in a quiet corner of town, slightly out from the lively centre, but it is a few minutes’ walk from the slopes – it’s easily walk-able, but if your child doesn’t want to walk it, the whole family can just hop aboard. It’s great fun.

Oh, and did we mention?… for skiing children, Ischgl offers free VIP ski passes and free ski rental for children up to 10 years if accompanied by an adult.

So what are you waiting for?… come and ski one of the Tirol’s finest ski resorts, and stay in its most family-oriented hotel – the Seiblishof!

For further details and the latest prices and offers, check out Hotel Seiblishof’s website HERE.

To find out more about Ischgl, see our report “Family-friendly Ischgl” HERE or visit the resort website HERE.