Fall visit to Eastern Switzerland
 

Please give advice and suggestions regarding our planned Fall visit.

We will fly in and out of Zurich, and use public transportation. We are seeking scenery, and can walk, but our days of strenuous hiking are over. We have a flexible schedule, and like to spend at least 3 days in any place we unpack. I've read that weather in October is usually better than in November, but that many hotels close in the fall.

We plan to stay in Zurich, Chur, Sils, and Soglio, and possibly Guarda, but plan to stay in Zurich last, since some of the hotels I have read about in the mountains close fairly early in October. So the rough plan is to go to Chur for our first days, then Sils, then Soglio, possibly Guarda, and finish in Zurich.

Many of the web sites I have found are unclear in some aspects, so I am unsure of the data I have. Also, we have never tried half-pension as my impression is that one is limited to a few choices, rather than the entire menu. On the other hand, I've read that half-pension is often a good option.

So here is an extract of the information I have found as to hotels. It is not always clear from the sites what the rate for two people in a double is, as some list a room price, while some list a room price per person, and since I can't read German, I have made some guesses. Our plan is for two weeks starting about 27 September, but we would add a few days if we decide to include Guarda. We stayed in Chur one night and liked the hotel/restaurant, so plan to stay there again. I am inclined to Pensiun Val Tuoi over Hotel Messier because is looks less formal, although both look nice.

Zurich
Hotel St. Josef
190-250 with breakfast
No closing listed
Chur
Romantik Hotel Stern
290 per room
No closing listed
Soglio
Hotel Palazzo Salis
200 to 300 per room
No closing listed
Sils
Hotel Edelweiss
340 per room, dinner included
Apartment 160 plus dinner
Closes Oct. 11
Guarda
Pensiun Val Tuoi
Apparently closes 9 Novembert; double 144(?), half pension 60 for 2
Hotel Messier
Closes 24 Oct; 280 double with breakfast
360 double with half pension

Thanks for any information and suggestions.

I would stay in Pension Val Tuoi instead of Hotel Meisser. However, half board comes with VERY limited choices there and I would not opt for it. Though the food is good there I would keep my decision open - there are other very good restaurants in the village, like the Piz Buin's, the Crusch Alba and ... the Meisser.

As for Hotel Edelweiss - try to book through www.neckermann.de - would save you tons of money. They offer the double room incl. half-board for 77 Euro per person. Min. stay is 3 days if I recall correctly. However, not sure if it is possible for non-Germans. Btw, the Edelweiss offers the option to give you back 25 Sfr. if you decide not to have the dinner there.

Don't worry about closings - early October is still main season. Perfect for hiking.

I.

Hi CB,

From my trip report:
"Based on a review I had read, we asked for room 414. We were very pleased with this large corner room on the 1st floor. The hotel is modern, with relatively spare furnishings. Friendly, helpful staff; spotlessly clean, good bkfst, good restaurant (My Lady Wife rated it one of the best of our stay) and central location not far from the Hauptbahnhof and the Old Town."

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

???? Which hotel, Ira???

Ira's information relates to Hotel St. Josef in Zurich. Thanks for the information.

The Neckermann site is in German, but I struggled through and found the excellent rates. However, it balked when I tried to enter my USA address, so I concluded that they limit their service to Europeans. I didn't even get to put in my credit card data, which is often a barrier in using overseas sites.

I tried some of the discount travel sites like Travelocity and Orbitz, but they couldn't seem to find Sils-Maria. Expedia did have an offer for Hotel Edelweiss of the equivalent of 266 CHF, but warned that that did not include some fees and taxes. I suspect that I will continue my practice of booking directly with the hotels, as I'd rather have my money go to them than to a booking agency, although it would be nice if they gave you a little discount for booking directly.

Hi clevelandbrown,

Try this site:

www.hrs.de

You can change the language to English (you may also want to change the currency to chf); they have great rates.

Good luck!

s