A few weeks ago we spent a long weekend in Grindelwald. For a relatively small village in the Bernese Oberland, it gets pretty busy. As an international tourist destination in winter, it’s filled with the lovers of winter sports, hikers, those who go up the Eiger mountain or Grindelwald-First to come down on their sled.
When we were looking for accommodation, we knew that we wanted to stay in a hotel that would be family-oriented, had a pool (since Chloe-Sofia loves water), center location and a view of the mountains. Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald ticked all the boxes and surprised us in other areas such as hospitality, client-orientation, spa, and cuisine.
We stayed in a deluxe double room which had a rustic decor and a view of the Eiger mountain, and thanks to the online early check-in service we chose a specific type of pillows, requested a baby-cot, humidifier (helps Chloe-Sofia to sleep better at night), water kettle and a potty.
The spa area is modern, large, and there are two whirlpools (one outside), sauna and steam bath. The pool is large and warm, there are enough lounge chairs for everyone, and in the afternoon you can admire a gorgeous sunset over the mountains.
Instead of calling the reception to reserve a table for dinner we could do it ourselves on an iPad that was in the room. It was easy, fast and convenient. One of the way I measure the quality of a hotel is the food. And here we were pleasantly surprised – the breakfast was beyond generous with enough selection of fruits, lactose-free products, great coffee and delicious local bread (you have to try the cornbread!).
Miso soup and rice cooker were a nice touch showing how the hotel appreciates Asian holidaymakers. And here I am happy to note that the hotel visitors were very international and racially mixed which is something I like to see when I travel. For example, when I was in Ghana, I was happy to see that there are also African visitors in the hotel. Inclusion and diversity are so important and the miso soup & rice cooker showed that cultural sensitivity is important to the hotel.
The dinner was exceptional, especially when Alex choose a yellow chicken curry only to announce that it was the best curry he ever had! Which means a lot, considering that we have a friend from Singapore who bring spices all over from home to make her curry. And HER curry is to die for. We tried several cocktails from the bar and again – the best White Russian according to Alex.
The unique thing about Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald is the people. Everyone was kind, ready to offer advice and naturally pleasant. Unlike Alex, who is a more “warmer” person than I, I prefer when people keep distance and are not too friendly. Here I felt that people were naturally interested and at the same time didn’t pry. We felt at home, and that is a unique feeling. We have visited many five, and four-star hotels in Switzerland and abroad and not every establishment realizes how important it is to create an environment that is warm and welcoming.
Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald is one of a few hotels where we want to come back. Most likely in summer to see Grindelwald from a different light. There are also plenty of summer activities one can do and this time, and we’d like to hike up to the Bachalpsee lake.
In case you missed it, here is our video we shot in Grindelwald:
