We'll be at Chalet Hohturnen this weekend in their one-bedroom apartment. It's owned by the daughter of the owners' of the Gletschergarten, see their website:

http://www.hotel-gletschergarten.ch/...nwohnung.shtml

Here's an extract from a report from digbydog who stayed in their two-bedroom apartment recently:

We stayed at the Chalet Hohturnen in Grindelwald, which is an apartment run by the Hotel Gletschergarten. We LOVED it! It is at the far end of town from the train station. It is in a prettier, more quiet area than the hotels right in town. Our apartment had 2 bedrooms, one with a single bed and one with a double, and another larger bedroom with two twin beds and a couch. There was a balcony with a fabulous view of the Eiger. The chalet is not fancy, but it was spotless, and it was really nice to have so much room.

Upon our arrival, the owner of the Gletschergarten, Gabriela came running out to meet us and show us to our rooms. She could not have been nicer or more accommodating. She had wonderful suggestions for family activiites, having three boys of her own.

See the entire report for more detail:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34831289

I recently drove in Switzerland and found the roads to be fairly well marked and I had very little problem getting around other than traffic to the Zurich airport to drop off the car before the last night. We didn't have a car for either of our nights in Zurich because that wasn't necessary. I really didn't have any major navigation problems.

We stayed in Lauterbrunnen and really enjoyed our stay, but we have no kids to entertain so I'm not an expert on that. It was a quiet little town to walk around. We were there in the off season though.

Bill

Hello okoshi,

Hotel Residence is well-located, just a block off the main street, near the First gondola lift. They have lots of parking right in front of the hotel. They have apartments that sleep from 2 to 6; last time we were there our had a huge living/dining room, and a small balcony with views out to the Grindelwald glacier.

Thanks everybody.

Hotel Hohturnen has a one week stay requirement unfortunately. She did offer us a couple rooms which could be close to each other but not an apt.

Good to know Hotel Residence was a good experience.Does the apt have a kitchenette ?

Eigergrat may be an option if something closer to town doesn't work out. Is this a big deal ? Since we will have a car perhaps we should not be concerned about being in town.

okoshi,

Yes, the Hotel Residence apartment had a kitchenette---it occupied one wall of the living/dining area. As I recall it was well-equipped. I remember making saltimbocca and risotto, so there was sufficient equipment for that (stovetop, oven, refrigerator, etc.).

But kopp's description of the Eigergrat apartment sounds terrific, and if you have a car the position above town won't be a problem. And you might have a wonderful view from there.

One thing your teenagers might enjoy is renting Trottibikes (mountain scooters) to take up on the First lift and ride down.

Trottibikes sound intriguing !

Thanks.