My wife and I will spend several days in Lucerne in late May before we head to Basel for a cruise up the Rhine with our family. Between Lucerne and Basel we want to spend 3 days in the Berner Oberland area. Primary interests are to do some easy hiking, landscape photography and generally take in this beautiful and scenic area. We are having difficulty deciding where to stay for two nights. Candidates are Lauterbrunnen, Grimmerwald, or Murren. Certainly open to other suggestions. Targeting our stay in a 3 or 4 star hotel. Any advice or recommendations will be appreciated, along with ideas of "must sees" in the area. Thanks!

Of the places to stay in the Bernese Oberland, my favorite is Wengen, and if you are seeking a high-end hotel, that would seem to be the best place to look. In lieu of that, places in Lauterbrunnen with a view of the Staubbach Falls can be nice. I find Mürren too Disney-ish for my tastes, and I thought the mountain across the way from Mürren cast such a large shadow at that time of year as to make it gloomy for much of the day. All of them beat Grindelwald, IMO, which was a mass of tourists and exhaust-belching buses. And Gimmelwald would be much too small for my tastes.

BTW, I was advised against visiting that region in May because many things are closed -- it's a heavy snow melt season -- so before you finalize your plans, you might want to make sure that you can see and do the things that are your priorities.

We stayed in Sunstar Hotel Wengen June 5 . Big enough room for my family of 3 with view of Mannlichen Mountain. Very good breakfast and complimentary daily drinks. Of the 4 nights we stayed in Wengen we only had 1 day of clear sky to take the royal walk. However as kja mentioned, trails to Kleine Scheidegg was still blocked with snow at that time.

End of May I would not stay in Mürren or Wengen, too many hotels/restaurants will still be closed as the summer season just slowly starts then. Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen would be my choices or down by lake Thun (Spiez, Merligen e.g.)

(Unlike me, Ingo is an expert -- I'd go with his advice over mine any day!)

Too kind, kja, but it's all subjective. We all have our own different interests, likes and tastes ;-)

Wow....I sure am glad I posed my question on this forum! Didn't realize we would be in the area a bit too early weather-wise and so early in the season that many businesses are still closed. Unfortunately we are locked in to a timetable between when our time ends in Lucerne on 5/29 and when we need to be in Basel (6/1). Now I'm thinking we should abandon the idea of visiting the high-country villages and perhaps stick to staying in Interlaken and exploring that area. Or, simply plan on visiting the Berner Oberland region on another trip and switch plans altogether and spend a couple of days in Zurich instead. Further comments welcomed! We appreciate all the great advice and information. Thanks!

Late May is a lovely time to visit the villages on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun. There are plenty of lower level hikes to be had in the area, and most shops and cafes will be open. I would not abandon the area!
Brienz is especially nice, with a visit to the open air museum just above- Ballenberg Freilichtmuseum.
Hikes on Rigi will be available as well.

I second my own and mokka4's suggestion to stay at one of the lakes (I prefer lake Thun). Fantastic end of May! You will not run out of things to do and see there and if the weather co-operates you can also do an excursion to the higher Jungfrau region. The cog-trains to Kleine Scheidegg will run, the Trümmelbach waterfalls will be spectacular (snow melting season) e.g. This would also give you the opportunity to visit less frequented places that are equally beautiful - for example Niederhorn mountain www.niederhorn.ch - or the Beatus caves. Thun, btw, is a smaller and not crowded version of Lucerne. Very pleasant with castle, church, museum(s), covered bridges, picturesque old town ... and lots of more castles and churches around the lake.

I agree that either Lake Thun or Lake Brienz could be a great option for all the reasons already mentioned. Or you might want time in Zurich (I'm a fan; not all are) or in Basel or around Montreux or .... well, you have a LOT of options!

Again, thanks to all for the excellent advice. We will not abandon the area, but move our focus to the Lakes region. Will start our search for lodging and activities next week. Appreciate all the help!