The urge to fly south to the Mediterranean for our summer holidays is so deeply embedded in the British psyche that to question it seems almost heretical. We all pile down to the same overcrowded and noisy resorts every year, various members of our party coming down with sunburn, heatstroke, mosquito bites and alcohol poisoning. ’Twas ever thus, wasn’t it?

Actually, no. The Victorian upper classes would spend their summers in the Alps. If they did go to a beach resort, such as Nice or Cannes, they would do so in winter.

So, should we consider a return to Victorian values? Well, thanks to you-know-what, the past few summers in southern Europe have seen soaring temperatures, widespread droughts and forest fires. Two years ago, half of Spain was affected by water rationing; in Portugal, 15 people died attempting to put out fires; and parts of Italy and the south of France were hit by plagues of locusts.

If you are persuaded to head for the hills, one destination to consider is Austria. It’s home to some of the most eye-poppingly beautiful Alpine scenery and it’s also inexpensive: summer is low season in the resorts and a good four-star hotel can be had for half the price of its equivalent in the Med.

Austria doesn’t have beaches, of course. You can’t run across dunes and make sand castles with your kids. But it does have some good family hotels, many aimed at young children.

The majority of these belong to a group called Kinderhotels (literally, child hotels), which runs its own grading system based on smiley faces. To be awarded the maximum five, a hotel must provide, among other things, an indoor swimming pool, a bouncy castle, a no-smoking restaurant area, baby monitors, free soft drinks for kids on demand, and 60 hours a week of free childcare.

Members of Kinderhotels are independent and owner-managed, so each is different. We decided to check out the Hotel Theresia in Hinterglemm, a farming village-cum-ski resort in Salzburgerland. The Theresia has four stars and four “smileys”, making it, in theory, ideal for all the family, including our nine-year-old son, Callum, and 16-month-old daughter, Helena.

The drive to Hinterglemm from Innsbruck airport was so eerily quiet that I began to suspect something was wrong. This was a Saturday in August. Where was everybody?

We found the hotel wedged into the floor of a steep-sided valley, surrounded by lush meadows, rustic Alpine houses, and cows with bells around their necks. It had a look of Teutonic tidiness to it: neat rows of BMWs and Audis in the car park, window boxes bursting with flowers. We discovered a good way to put a “family-friendly” hotel to the test: check in at 5.30pm with a hungry toddler and ask for tea.

“Dinner isn’t served until 6.30pm,” said a receptionist in flawless English. “But wait, I think if you go to the restaurant now, you can get something.”

There, the maître d’ sat us down. “Whatever we want, chef will make it,” he said. Ten minutes later, a child-sized bowl of spaghetti bolognese arrived. Helena scoffed the lot with her fingers, wiping tomato sauce all over the freshly laundered linen. The maître d’ smiled like an indulgent uncle. Top marks.

There is nothing flashy about the Theresia – the Austrians aren’t flashy by nature – but what it does deliver is friendly service, outstanding food and attention to detail. The facilities were impressive: indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a table-tennis room, PlayStation consoles and safe play areas for tots.

In August, the Theresia charges from £68pp a night for full-board. Kids’ prices start at £9. If a hotel of similar calibre set rates like these in Britain, it would have a waiting list longer than an NHS dentist’s. But, according to the hotel’s owner and manager, Marianne Brettermeier, few Brits know about it. “They don’t come in summer. They seem to think the mountains are only for old people rather than families,” she shrugged. “Tour operators have the same attitude. It’s strange, there is so much for families to do here.”

She was right. Within a short hike of the hotel were cable cars leading to marked hiking routes and more than 450 miles of cycle trails. There was tennis, mini-golf, whitewater rafting, summer toboganning and paragliding.

One day, with Helena safely tucked up in the hotel nursery, we had a go at rafting. Layered up like Michelin men, we paddled down a 10-mile section of the Salzach River, through steep-sided gorges and past waterfalls, as the railway line crisscrossed overhead. “That was the coolest thing I’ve done in my entire life,” gasped Callum.

ANOTHER WAY to experience Austria in summer is to stay in a chalet run by a UK tour operator. This is rather like a skiing holiday without the skiing. The accommodation tends to be functional rather than fancy, staffed by young Brits who can knock up a few decent meals.

This kind of holiday is tremendous value. The operators make their profits in the winter, so in summer they’re happy just to ensure the chalets don’t gather dust. A week’s half-board in August for a family of four can cost as little as £1,000.

We stayed for a few days at a chalet run by Esprit, in the village of Kaprun, a delightful place with a church and a castle, apple trees, fountains and neatly trimmed hedges.

Four other families shared the chalet and we ate together in a small dining room. Our rooms had balconies and ensuite bathrooms.

The only snag with a chalet holiday is that you tend to become cocooned; our fellow guests only ventured out for dinner once during the week – when the staff had a night off. It also means you don’t mix much with the locals – a shame, as they are immensely likeable and most speak excellent English. One popular topic of conversation is taxation. Austrians pay one of the highest rates in Europe and like to moan about it. But it means the roads are excellent and the trains run on time.

Within easy cycling distance of Kaprun is the genteel resort of Zell am See, where rolling, forested hills meet the shores of a large lake, the Zeller See. The best place to hang out in Zell is the municipal baths – much nicer than it sounds. Outdoors on the lake shore, it has a large heated pool, a water slide, a toddlers’ pool, a cafe and comfortable sunbeds arranged on lawns of thick, springy grass. We spent many happy days there, for which I offer the taxpayers of Austria our humble thanks.

Mark Hodson travelled as a guest of the Austrian National Tourist Office and Esprit

Travel brief

How to get there: Hinterglemm and Kaprun are about 90 minutes’ drive from Salzburg. Airlines serving the city include Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) from Stansted, British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) from Gatwick, and Thomsonfly (0870 190 0737, www.thomsonfly.co.uk) from Gatwick, Coventry and Manchester. BA also flies from Gatwick to Innsbruck, about two hours away by car.

Where to stay: as well as family rooms, Hotel Theresia (00 43 6541 74140, www.hotel-theresia.co.at) has self-catering apartments that sleep five and cost £124 per night in August. For other family-friendly hotels, contact Kinderhotels (0845 0822 422, www.kinderhotels.co.uk). In Ireland, phone 1850 930 430.

Tour operators: Esprit (01252 618300, www.sun-esprit.co.uk) has a week in late August at the Chalet Mara in Kaprun for £389pp, half-board. One child in their own room costs £249; a second costs £289. A car-ferry crossing costs £119 per vehicle. Undertwos go free.

Alternatively, try Alp Active (0845 120 9872, www.alpactive.com) or Crystal (0870 402 0293, www.crystalholidays.co.uk).

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