Winter in the Großarl Valley comes with snow-heavy forests, white slopes and the kind of bright Alpine sunshine that makes a mountain lunch terrace hard to leave. Behind it all rise the peaks of the Hohe Tauern National Park, and in the valley sits Moar Gut, a five-star, family-owned resort in Grossarl, Salzburg, built entirely around children and the grown-ups who travel with them.
This December, the resort is leaning into the season with two festive packages, Advent Magic and Pre-Christmas Magic, that fold traditional Austrian Advent rituals into a ski holiday. There’s wreath-making, Christmas cookies warm from the oven, a torchlit walk through the snow and an evening at a mountain Christmas market, with expert childcare on hand should parents fancy a few hours on the pistes alone.
Here’s what’s included, when to go and how the snowy side of things works.
A slower kind of Advent
Both packages share the same programme of seasonal activities. Families bake Christmas cookies together, make their own wreaths and head out to the Großarl Mountain Advent market. There’s a torchlight hike, and everyone goes home with a Christmas family photo as a keepsake, which may well end up on the front of next year’s cards.
Wreath-making and cookie baking were already part of Moar Gut’s Christmas season back in 2024, when a horse-drawn carriage ride also featured.
The market itself is part of the Salzburg Mountain Advent, which runs in Großarl from 20 November to 20 December 2026. It opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus 7 and 8 December, from 2pm to 8pm, so the visit falls on one of those afternoons and evenings rather than any day of the week.
The two packages differ only in timing. Advent Magic covers stays between 28 November and 12 December, while Pre-Christmas Magic runs from 12 to 19 December. Both require a minimum stay of five nights.
Everything taken care of
The festive stays are all-inclusive, covering gourmet meals, childcare, access to the resort’s water and wellness facilities, and ski shuttles to both the main ski area and the children’s practice slope.
The resort’s standard included services give a flavour of a typical day: a breakfast buffet, lunch, afternoon cakes and desserts, a six-course dinner alongside a separate buffet for children, and a fountain serving non-alcoholic drinks for topping up between activities.
Childcare is where Moar Gut really sets itself apart. Care is available for babies from just 30 days old, and according to the resort’s FAQ, baby care runs daily from 9am to 9pm. It needs to be booked by the evening before, which is worth building into the rhythm of the stay, particularly on days you’re planning a long morning on the mountain.
Snow days, together
The resort’s family ski area is Skischaukel Großarltal–Dorfgastein, linked to Moar Gut by a private shuttle that takes around five minutes. The valley gondola station is about 3km away, so there’s no hauling skis and sleepy toddlers into a car.
Moar Gut puts the ski area at around 80km of pistes, while the regional tourism board lists 70km of runs and ski routes. By the tourism board’s figures, 29km are easy and 37km intermediate, with just 2km rated difficult and another 2km of ski routes. It’s terrain made for confident cruising and first parallel turns, with modern lifts, cosy ski huts and mountain restaurants with sunny terraces for long lunches.
Lessons can be booked through hotel reception, and they start remarkably young. According to the resort’s winter guide, there are mini taster sessions from age two, play-based lessons from age three and full-day courses from age four.
The littlest skiers don’t need to leave the grounds at all. The resort’s own practice slope comes with a magic carpet, a rope lift, a snow carousel and snowmaking, so snowmaking can help improve snow reliability when conditions allow. Right next to the resort there’s also a dedicated toboggan slope, which tends to be where the whole family ends up by late afternoon.
For more seasoned skiers looking for something quieter, a 25km cross-country trail runs directly alongside the resort and through the entire length of the Großarl Valley, about as peaceful a way to take in the scenery as there is.
Host Thomas Kendlbacher sums up the thinking behind all this on the resort’s website: “As an enthusiastic winter sports lover, I know how precious shared time in the snow is. At the Moar Gut, we create a place where families learn to love skiing, make memories and experience winter at its very best.”
A farm in the snow
Away from the slopes, Moar Gut is very much a nature resort. Its 10 hectares are entirely car-free, which means children can roam between the suites, the pools and the outdoors without a road to cross. There’s an adjoining organic farm, a small animal enclosure and a full-service riding stable, giving the whole place a rural, rooted feel that suits the season beautifully.
Accommodation comes in the form of 46 spacious family suites and two double rooms, designed with multigenerational holidays in mind, so grandparents can join without anyone feeling squeezed. With a team of 110 looking after a resort of this size, there’s a reassuringly generous staff-to-guest ratio.
We’ve written before about how Moar Gut brings the stillcation to family holidays, with its spa, pools, baby equipment and full-board dining making it a year-round option. And if you’re weighing up where to ski with children this season, it also features in our round-up of new and renewed Alpine ski stays for winter 2026–27.
Who it’s for
These packages make most sense for families who want December to feel properly festive without the logistics: the cookie dough, the wreath frames, the market trip and the ski shuttle are all arranged, and childcare from a month old means even the youngest family members are catered for. The five-night minimum suits a relaxed pace, with time for a few ski mornings, a sledging session or two and an afternoon at the market.
Advent Magic, earlier in the season, takes in the market’s extra weekday openings on 7 and 8 December. Pre-Christmas Magic lands in the final week before the holidays, when the countdown is at full tilt.
Booking information
Moar Gut Family Nature Resort is in Grossarl, Salzburg, Austria. Advent Magic is available for stays between 28 November and 12 December 2026; Pre-Christmas Magic for stays between 12 and 19 December 2026. Both require a minimum of five nights and are all-inclusive, covering gourmet meals, childcare from 30 days old, water and wellness facilities, and ski shuttles. Find out more and book at moargut.com.
