Hotel review- Schweizerhof Grindelwald.

I spoke too soon in my last post about autumn being here. We had another glorious week at the end of September, just starting in time for my husbands birthday. This was lucky as I had booked an overnight in a 5 star hotel in Grindelwald for his birthday, and so we had 2 glorious days of sunshine.

We do not stay often in a 5 star hotel, in fact I would be pushed to think of another occasion when we have done. Therefore I was excited to see what it would be like. It is the little things that make a difference. The hotel gave us an upgrade, maybe because it was his birthday, or maybe because they were not full. We had a lovely room on the first floor with a view of the Eiger, and a balcony on which to sit and look at it. The bed itself was large, probably 180 by 200, with 2 separate mattresses, and a quality feel to them. In the hotel guide it mentioned that the mattresses were specialist cleaned every 6 months. That is pretty often actually, and probably a lot more than most hotels. We had our own bed mattress cleaned this year, using the same method the hotels use, and the guy doing it suggested every 4 years it should be done.

There was a welcome dish of fruit and chocolate, and a welcome drink at the bar, which we took sitting outside on the terrace. The fruit and chocolate could have been a bit more, to be honest, but still, it was very nice, especially the chocolate. I would have bought some to take home if I could have.

On our floor there was also a pool and saunas, and in our rooms were complementary robes and slippers to use there. This was not the tiny pool and one sauna you often get, but a nice large pool, quite deep and 2 saunas plus a Turkish one. Loungers were set out all around the pool and in the sauna area, which of course being in Switzerland, was a nude zone. We were the only ones using it however, so it was luxury. Massage treatments were also on offer, and while they are expensive, it is no more expensive than anywhere else here.

Dinner that night was four courses, and the hotel had gone to the trouble of decorating the table with hearts and ribbons for my husbands birthday. The staff gave him their best wishes, and our table was to be our table for the duration of our stay, so for breakfast the next day too. The hotel took trouble over my gluten free diet, and had ordered in some bread as well. Of course, I had hoped for bread baked on the premises, rather than shop bought, but that was a small niggle. The food was excellent, and the portion sizes just right for me, and what you would expect in such an hotel. Dessert came with a sizzling candle for the birthday boy, another nice touch.

The location of the hotel is pretty much perfect. Just a stones throw from the station, and 2 stones throw from the town centre, but very quiet, we slept pretty well, other than the ubiquitous hot moments that women of my age get keeping me awake. That said, birthday boy was overheating too, so maybe it was something else.

Breakfast is where it was clear what a 5 star hotel is about. There was so much to choose from, a whole smorgasbord of fruits, hams, cheese, eggs, juices, coffee, teas, salmon, salads etc, plus a menu with pancakes and all possible to choose from. If we had not eaten so much the night before we would have had a lot more at breakfast. I think the only other hotel I have seen such an amazing choice was the Crowne Plaza in Shenzhen, where they had something for every sort of taste.

Our attentive waiter was the one we had had the night before, as was the table of course. In the hotel information they had a list of all the staff members and where they had come from. This hotel has a lot of staff, doing all sorts of roles, but I thought it was a really nice idea to acknowledge them all and their role in this way. I have never seen that in any other hotel info.

So all in all, a great hotel. I can see why those of means would stay several days there. There was  a quiet luxury and quality about the place, but as it is family run, it is not anonymous like some of the big chains. I would go back again – assuming a similar hotel deal to the one we got that time :). Check out their site for more info.