What are you looking for?

If you want incredible views, then stay in Wengen.

If you want luxury in Wengen, then stay at the Regina.

If you want a great chef/food then stay at the Schonegg. The owner, Rene, is a FABULOUS host and the nicest bloke.

If you want a life-changing view of the Lauterbrunen Valley/Staubach Falls/Jungfrau in a very quiet setting outside of town (about a 4 minute walk past the chapel) then stay at the Minotel Bellevue Wengen. Andi, the owner, is very helpful with day-trip ideas. Lots of English people stay here.

The Belevedere is also a great hotel as is the Alpenrose.

I wouldn't stay in Murren. It is a cute little town, but you have to get on the train to Grutschalp and take the cable car down to Lauterbrunnen to get anwhere.

If you are going to be going into Interlaken a lot or up to the Jungfrau, this could be a pain in the neck.

I also wouldn't stay at the Beusite Park in Wengen, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is in the center of town by the tennis courts and I can't think that would be a very charming location, but remember Wengen is TINY.

Do shop at the Coop in Wengen for all of your grocery needs. There is also a Coop in Murren.

Tschuss,
Pepper

Murren is much more isolated and hard to reach than Wengen if doing excursions around the Jungfrau Region - that could be a factor and getting up to Murren from Lauterbrunnen itself can take an hour or so at times. If you do stay in either Wengen or Murren and are traveling around and also taking trains other places in Switzerland then consider getting a Swiss Railpass as it covers in full both the aerial cable ways up to Grutschalp and Gimmelwald and Murren and the train from Grutschalp to Murren and also trains to Wengen are covered 100% - so if doing more trains in Switzerland could be a good deal.
anyway for lots of good info on Swiss trains, cable cars, etc check out these fab sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html and www.ricksteves.com.
But again Wengen is much quicker to reach from Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen so if using Murren as a base it may not be the most convenient. I will take the views from Murren over those from Wengen however - Murren is perched on top of a cliff overlooking not only the deep chasm of the Lauterbrunnen valley but eyeballs the glacier-drenched Jungfrau Massif right opposite it. Murren also IMO tends to be a bit more lively than somnolent Wengen.

ROFL!!!

Please, troll, put down whatever you have been smoking.

WENGEN sits right in front of the Jungfrau.

And you can't see Lauterbrunnen from Murren. You can 't even see Lauterbrunnen if you walk (which I just did in September) from Murren to Grutschalp because if is to far down over the treeline along the cliff.

Tschuss,
Pepper

the views from Murren IMO are just as good and even better than those from Wengen - that is my opinion and I stand by it. Murren sits smack in front of the Jungfrau too - have you been to Murren - seems not!

Thank you guys! I guess I'll have to toss a coin to decide between Wengen and Murren, for both of them seem to be great!

Please, troll, put down whatever you have been smoking.

WENGEN sits right in front of the Jungfrau.>

BS - Looking at a relief map of the area Murren sits smack opposite what anyone would call the front of the Jungfrau - next time before spitting out garbage check a map or facts! Troll - well look at yourself! And yes it seems like you have never been to Murren to say some nonsense like that!

omg...some rubbish has been posted here....

Shame i didnt get here sooner

Murrenlover - and your point is ...... I love Murren?

We stayed in Wengen - Schonegg Hotel
Excellent, they packed us breakfast for our trip to Jungfrau at 6.00AM and we had a 1/2 board with included dinner.
Outstanding views.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g188085-d549457-Reviews-Schonegg_Hotel-Wengen_Jungfrau_Region_Bernese_Oberland_Swiss_Alps.html

Will be very interested to see an answer to the question

My point is some of the information posted above is incorrect which doesn't help little old Mürren.

The travel time from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren via Grütschalp only 23 minutes,hardly isolated but away from it all with a slower pace of life and so worth it !!

If you are wanting to experience the true vibe of alpine life you must stay in Mürren. Its still car-free,amazing views day and night,unspoilt,friendly people and not commercialised like other places are heading.(look across and down...lol)

The view of the three famous mountains and the surrounding area from Mürren is the best...a simple fact but i would say the view from Männlichen above Wengen is also stunning too.

The mountain trails above/around Mürren are very good and will suit all standards and some off beaten trails leading to some unique waterfalls.
Trail map - http://www.alfredssporthaus.ch/images/karten/wanderkarte_hinten.pdf

I suggest staying in the following hotels in Mürren using this brief- views from the hotel room/balcony,quality of room and food,staff and value for money. The standard in the Mürren hotels is excellent but being a semi-local you get to see alot more....

Have a look at what people get up to here -
http://vimeo.com/43315281

1.Hotel Jungfrau (located on the higher road)
2.Hotel Edelweiss (lower road)
3.Hotel Bellevue (higher road)
4.Hotel Alpenruh (lower road)
5.Hotel Eiger (lower road)
Eiger Guesthouse (great Guesthouse and Ema has the cheapest beer in the village)

Mürren also offers a unique guided excursion : Mürren-Gimmelwald via Ferrata
http://www.klettersteig-muerren.ch/
take a look:http://youtu.be/uHpu6MHGjMM

Eitherway the region is beautiful from all the villages but one thing is for sure....don't stay in Interlaken !!

Well that does answer the question about the hotels from the Murren side.

Maybe we should all go to Murren because there are cheesemakers up the hill. Didnt see any local cheese in Wengen

We have been to Wengen, stayed at the Alpenrose and we thought Wengen was great. We thought it was great particularly because it was a good base to hike/explore from and down to. Then there are the views of the E,M and J as well as proximity to the trip up to Jungfraujoch Station

We think that if you want to move around and see the region for the first time then Wengen is very very good.

We did exactly that when we were in Wengen several years ago.
So at the time, we took the wonderful train back down the valley and then travelled up to Murren where we spent about an hour walking around. we have talked about visiting Murren ever since,

It is for that reason that we are going to Murren this time. We know that we can spend at least three days there hiking around and upward without needing to travel elsewhere.

Good_Will.. You can buy local cheese from two shops in Murren. Cheese shop located on the high road next to the Allmendhubel station and the meat shop on the lower road near the Alpenruh.

You can also purchase from the farm shop at Gimmelwald and at Winteregg.

The travel time from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren via Grütschalp only 23 minutes,hardly isolated but away from it all with a slower pace of life and so worth it !!

well yes once the train leaves and arrives - but you also have to figure in the cost of saying just wanting to go down to Interlaken at night - say you are the type that does not roll up with the sidewalks at night in Murren - 46 minutes to Lauterbrunnen but then another 20 minutes each way to Interlaken. I did not mean isolated from Lauterbrunnen but from various day trips in the area is realtively much more isolated than other towns in the area.

But at least the new aerial cableway from Grutschalp is larger so I would assume you do not have the long lines that I once witnessed where you could wait a long time to get on - I do wonder if you can always just walk up to say the Grutschalp funicular or are there still at times waits in long queues to get on in peak periods?

@PalenQ..why would you want to visit Interlaken at night..its awful with only two decent restaurants worth visiting in my opinion

The cablecar going upto Grütschalp was installed in 2007 so hardly new now and has no Q's.

Fascinating discussion. Interested in reading more opinions on this subject.

@PalenQ..why would you want to visit Interlaken at night..its awful with only two decent restaurants worth visiting in my opinion>

ever check out the ornate casino? neat shows there at night - yeh does not fit in with what most folks want in the area - have you ever heard about the Tell Playhouse in Interlaken - evening shows are very very popular - two nice reasons to visit Interlaken at night rather than watching paint dry in Murren or Wengen - now I enjoy those type places for a few hours but otherwise they are like morgues at night - I like streets with folks moseying about, etc. Again whatever turns you on or off is fine.

The casino is Interlaken is nothing to brag about. It isn't even on par with the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, let alone a Vegas casino.

Some of like to watch paint dry.

I don't know where you live, but I live in a large, urban American city--Philadelphia. I go to Wengen to get away from noise and chaos. If I wanted a casino I would drive to the Borgata in Atlantic City.

What is wrong with peace and quiet?

Thin

>some of us like to watch paint dry.<

nothing is wrong with peace and quiet and if you read my above posts I say just that - whatever floats your boat - each to his/her/its own - peace and quiet Wengen and Murren or really Gimmelwald for the ultimate peace and quiet or for folks who like people watching and lively streets Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen or best of all to me, Interlaken. But anyone it is all relative - all those places are really peaceful and quiet just some much more so than others.

Younger folk will love Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen and places like the infamous Balmers Auberge in Interlaken - one of Europe's primo meeting places for youths from all over the world and in a very quiet part of Interlaken that folks who malign it probably never get to - Matten, with glorious views of the Jungfrau Massif from many hotel/guest houses balconies.

Hey everybody,

Thank you for having helped me. We chose Wengen, and we stayed at the Alpenrose. I found the village pretty handy, for it's close to the station to Jungfrau, and also not far from the Lauterbrunnen valley. And the hotel is great. They gave us a ride when we got to the village, and also on our way out. The management, staff (all portuguese people, very very helpful), the cozy lobby, the food, everything was perfect. About the Mürren vs Wengen arguings above, I have to say we also visited Mürren and found it very beautiful (different from Wengen). Unfortunately, it was rainning the day we went to Mürren and, besides, we were there during lunch time, when everything closes. But we managed to go to Schilthorn (the cable car leaves from Mürren). Thank you again!

Cruze-glad you enjoyed the Alpenrose and hope you had wonderful views. We have stayed there several times and will do so again. The hotel has been run by the same family for years. We always get a Christmas card from the hotel family.

Cruzeirense - glad you had a great time in the region