Christmas in Switzerland in luxury
 

My wife has recently won a trip to Switzerland and she has always spoken of a white Xmas (Australian Xmas is usually about 40 Degrees C )As we dont have to pay for airfares I would like to make this an experience of a lifetime and stay somewhere really special. We have the flexibility to be in any town/city over the xmas period. Some thoughts to date from my internet searches are Lucerne(Grand Hotel or Palace Lucerne)Interlaken( Victoria-JungfrauGrand Hotel).Any other suggestions? Thankyou in anticipation.

Samuel, Check out the Grand Hotel Regina in Grindelwald. It is a lovely 5-star hotel just across from the train station. The staff is wonderful. Our room looked out on the Eiger, what a way to begin a morning and end a day. When we were there, there were guests from USA, England, and Germany. Everyone in Grindelwald seems to speak English. It is a beautiful area that looks even prettier covered in snow. We highly recommend it. Good luck planning your trip. Linda

Thanks Linda. I just had a look at the hotel rants and raves for this hotel and you have not put your thoughts in. The only two reviews were not all that complimentary. You could boost its current rating with your good experience .Thankyou again.

I stayed in the Grand National last December and was very satisfied. Try to get a lake view room if you can. I had a street view room and some of the noise from a nearby disco leaked in. Not enough to be disturbing though. The staff and service were excellent, as would be expected in a luxury hotel. The Grand has an excellent Thai restaurant, including live music, and there's a very good cafe across the street. The bar is pleasant and attracts some well-heeled locals as well as guests. The hotel is within an easy walking distance of the train station, but I would ask the hotel to arrange a pickup if you can. My only bad experience during the trip was at the train station taxi stand--I waited nearly half an hour for a cab and just as one came up, some people ran over and pushed me out of the way to steal the cab.

Have a look at the Engadine. Very snow reliable. There is an absolutely charming, magnificent five star hotel in Sils near St. Moritz: Hotel Waldhaus<BR>www.waldhaus-sils.ch<BR><BR>Be sure to make reservations soon. It is usually booked months, if not years in advance.<BR><BR>Ingo

Samuel: I was going to suggest the Engadine as well. Ingo's advice is always great. As for the snow, hm...<BR>remember this year, Ingo? ;)<BR>Anyway, I would definitely choose a winter resort rather than a town, even if there are some nice hotels too.

Samuel, Wow, I looked at those hotel reviews for Grand Hotel Regina and both my husband and I thought they were very unfair. So I took your advice and rated the hotel. Also, you might consider looking at www.luxurylink.com. This website allows you to bid for luxury packages around the world. Some of the Swiss packages are amazing. Have fun planning. I have a feeling that wherever you chose in Switzerland, you will not be disappointed. It is a beautiful country.

Some thoughts: if you want a white Christmas, then go high (in altitude): Zermatt has probably the best combination of (authentic) rustic feel and high-tech infrastructure in any one resort that I can think of - there's Hotel Zermatterhof and Hotel Riffelalp, the latter up at ca. 2'200m of the Gornergrat mountaintrain, you won't be for a lack of white Christmas, mountain aura with that choice. Otherwise, try Arosa, a resort tucked high into the eastern Alps: Hotel Tschuggen sits up on one of the hills, it looks on the outside like a high-rise but the service there is A+; plus, you've got a charming village atmosphere - they even have horse-drawn sleigh rides at night!