see_the_world7

We have now booked our flights to Switzerland and I'm trying to book lodging. We are a family of 2 adults and 2 children (ages 7 and 8 at the time of travel in late May). We were hoping to stay in/around Montreux from 23-26 May and then move to Grindelwald from 26-31 May. A quick search seems to show quite a few self-catering apartments available in Grindelwald so hopefully we'll be ok there.

However, for Montreux I'm having trouble finding anything that isn't over 200CHF a night! We usually stay in self-catering, but I'm open to self-catering, B&B, or hotel since that area is just for 3 nights. self-catering or B&B is preferred, but so far my searches are all turning up expensive hotels. We're also open to using a hostel as long as we could be in a room on our own and have a private bath. We've done that before, but I know it depends on the hostel whether there are any rooms with private baths at all.

Can anyone give me some specific suggestions for locations that are less expensive? Ideally it would be in Montreux or just out of Montreux toward Chillon Castle.

We'll also take recommendations for self-catering apartments in Grindelwald. There seem to be several options there, but having someone give a good review is always helpful.

Thanks for the help!

swandav2000

Hi see the world7,

Which sites have you already tried? Though, yes, Montreux is expensive, and finding four beds is going to take some money! Are you looking for two rooms for a total of 200 chf? Or are you looking for a quad for 200 chf?

Well, here are some sites if you haven't already found them:

www.montreux-vevey.ch
After you change the language, click on "accommodations," and you can search for B&Bs, hotels, or apartments -- by town. When you search for apartments, you can search by number of rooms. I found an apartment in Clarens this way for 2007. Villeneuve or "Montreux/Territet" will be closer to Chillon, and it's my favorite spot along the lake -- untouristed, quiet, and very, VERY gorgeous.

www.bnb.ch
You can search for B&Bs by town, though I don't know if they have a lot because I haven't checked them lately.

Otherwise, I can tell you that I stayed in the Tralala Hotel in 2007 (it was under another name at the time), and it was perfectly fine. The location wasn't spectacular -- UPPPPPhill in the old town, no views of the lake. But it was 99 chf/night for a single, so I liked that! It was clean and comfortable though their breakfasts were pretty dismal.

Have fun!

s

swandav2000

P.S.

Haven't stayed here, but a friend of mine has and likes the hotel. It's the Hotel Masson (www.hotelmasson.ch), and it's in Territet on the way to Chillon. They quote a quad from 230-330 chf, but maybe you can swing a deal with them -- they're running a special now that includes breakfast and dinner for 125 chf person/night. However, my friend says the food isn't so good --

Anyway, good luck!

s

see_the_world7

Thanks for the replies swandav2000.

I've been googling on 'montreux' and 'accomodation' and searching any link that comes up.

We'd prefer to be in a room together. Either a quad or we can make a triple work if it is one big bed and one smaller bed. We've done this before where I share the big bed with the children and my husband takes the smaller bed. If there were 2 adjoining rooms that would be ok too. We don't want two completely seperate rooms since the children are too young to stay on their own and my husband will be up very early to head out for photos and we wouldn't want one child left alone.

Thanks for the link to hotel masson. I just sent an email asking what the rates would be for 2 adults and 2 children during that time period.

I'm now searching on Territet as well. Are there any other towns that you think might have accomodations on that side of Montreux? The map seems to show Veytaux and Grandchamp as well, but they don't look like areas that would have any holiday accommodations.

I appreciate the help.

swandav2000

Hi again,

Veytaux is another small suburb like Territet that really is part of Montreux. There is a 4-star hotel there, the Bristol, but I think it's out of your price range:

http://www.boas.ch/pages/hotel_bristol.asp

There are a few hotels in Villeneuve, though none of them appeals to me (one I stayed at in 2006 is now being made into apartments). Here they are: Hotel au Soleil, Grand Rue 20, Villeneuve; Hotel de l'Aigle, Grand Rue 48, Villeneuve; Hotel la Romantica, Grand Rue 34, Villeneuve, and Hotel du Port, rue du Quai 6, Villeneuve. The restaurant in the Hotel de l'Aigle is one of my favorites in the area.

Grandchamp is actually in the vineyards above Montreux, not really close.

You can also search for Glion, which is a town just above Montreux. You can get between Montreux & Glion by train or by funicular (actually goes to Territet). I've stayed in Glion four or five times and just adore the panoramic views over the lake. You may find a B&B where you can rent two rooms at a very nice price. Just use the B&B site or the m-v site to find them.

Have fun!

s

swandav2000

Well I see I have confused Grandvaux with Grandchamp. Grandvaux is the village in the vineyards; I have no idea what Grandchamp is. I've walked, bussed, ferried, and trained past that spot numerous times and have never, ever seen a sign or a post with "Grandchamp" on it. Have no idea what Google maps is referring to right there, sorry!

s

see_the_world7

Well I just got an automated email reply to my query to Hotel Masson saying they are closed from Nov 1 through April 1.

I'll look into some of the other suggestions you gave. Thanks.

beaupeep

www.duport.ch/fr/chambres.htm

Here you go. Villeneuve, which is the next town after Montreux. In fact, you can bike along the lake to Montreux and they have a quad room for 47 Euros a night with views of the lake. In fact, they are right across the street from the lake. My cousin, his wife and in-laws stayed here a few years ago and were very happy. And there is a bike rental store a few buildings down. There is a nature reserve where you can walk and ride bikes to the Rhone River and there is a path along the Rhone that would be suitable for children.

There is also this but I can't tell you if it is good or not. www.delaigle.ch/html/hotel-chambres-tarif_.html

wrenwood

Hi see_the_world7

When in Grindelwald the fall of 2007 we stayed at Chalet Pfingsteggsunne, which is owned by Hotel Kirchbühl. It met or surpassed our every expectation. It was quiet and the mountains seemed almost touchable from the balcony. There was a Bakery up the hill for breakfast breads, and it was a nice walk into town. We ate dinner at the Hotel several nights, it was very good.

However I don't remember what we paid. If in your price range I can certainly recommend it. Hotel Kirchbühl has several apartments they rent.

http://www.kirchbuehl.ch/index.cfm?〈=e

http://www.kirchbuehl.ch/index.cfm?n...7358〈=e

I'll be watching this thread as we're hoping to go back to Switzerland for a second time this fall, and the area around Montreux is one we haven't visited. I'm thinking of checking out Glion and Vevey.

Good luck!

see_the_world7

Thanks,

I've sent emails to everywhere I could find along this area, including those two you listed beaupeep. Hopefully someone with reasonable rates will have availability!

swandav2000

Hi again,

As wrenwood notes, Vevey is a good possibility. Many folks enjoy it more than Montreux because it has less of a vacation/resort feeling and more of a real, residential, normal feeling. There are some inexpensive hotels near the train station, and it would open up a lot more possibilities.

There is a city bus that runs from Vevey to and through Montreux, to and past Chillon, all the way to Villeneuve. You get a free bus pass at your hotel (called the Riviera Card), and the journey is really pleasant -- I liked to do it once or twice just to see the route!

Anway, best of luck!

s

see_the_world7

Thanks for the reply shubhranshu. I'll send queries to those you listed. I have an offer from one B&B for 260CHF a night. It's a little more than I wanted, but we might be able to swing it if we can't find anything else.

Christina

Montreux is very expensive, the hotels cost a lost more than you'd expect from what they are like.

I stayed at the Suisse Majestic, though, and it is not remotely a budget place, it's a nice 4* hotel and a basic double room is around 250 CHF. You won't be able to house four people there for that.

enzian

The Riviera Lodge is a hostel in Vevey that has family rooms. I don't know if they have ensuite bathrooms, but you could ask:

http://www.rivieralodge.ch/

see_the_world7

Thanks for all the suggestions. We were debating between Montreux and Luzern and chose Montreux (and booked flights in and out of Geneva) without checking the price of lodging. I guess that's a big lesson learned. I had checked a bit in Luzern and also in Grindelwald and just assumed Montreux would be around the same.

carolyn

A number of years ago, our son-in-law was stationed in Germany, and we went to visit him, our daughter, and the grandchildren. While there, we all spent a weekend in Switzerland.

While planning the trip, I saw a magazine ad where Holiday Inn was advertising hotels worldwide for $89 a night (this was mid 90s). I called and asked if they had a hotel in Montreux and was told they had one three miles away. Well, I booked it right away; and it was a true statement. What they didn't tell me was that it was three miles straight up in Leysin. Leysin was, however, a pretty town; and we enjoyed the trip.

If you are up for a curvy mountain drive up a road with no guard rails, you might check it out. The American University is in Leysin, but it is a small town. It was July, there was snow on the mountain tops, and cattle, complete with cow bells, were grazing on the slopes.

One of my all-time favorite memories is of being awakened at 4:00 am with the church bells chiming the hour, a cool breeze blowing in the balcony window, and a full moon shining into the room. It was glorious. I got up and went out on the balcony and wanted to wake everyone up to join me, but good sense prevailed since the kids were 7 and 12 years old.

see_the_world7

I have queries out to several small B&B's in the Vevey, Veytaux and Villeneuve area so hopefully something will work out.

We aren't set on that area, but we wanted our first few days to be along the lake. Is there a different town that we'd pass as we take the train from Geneva airport that people would recommend? or is everything going to be just as expensive?

swandav2000

Hi see the world7,

Yes. Vevey, which wrenwood, enzian, and I suggested in the above posts --

Hey, please let us know what kind of offers you get -- I'm on the edge of my seat!

s

see_the_world7

Has anyone heard of the B&B just called Richard? It's in Veytaux and is on the www.bnb.ch site so I'm assuming that means it should be ok. They only have an outside picture of the place on the website.

We've had offers so far from Hotel du Port ranging from 260FR per night to 400FR per night depending on the type of room.

By the way...are FR and SF and CHF all abbreviations for the Swiss Franc? I'm assuming yes, so if not can someone please correct me?

We also had an offer from Hotel de l'Aigle for a quad room for only 140CHF a night, but it is not ensuite. Toilet and bath are on the main floor. I really prefer an ensuite when we're travelling with the kids in case they need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I don't like the idea of them going off to find the toilets by themselves and possibly getting confused. Even if we ask them to wake us up first, they might try to be independent or might just forget.

We also have an offer from Villa Toscane ranging from 230-350 a night (without taxes) depending on the room.

We've sent emails to about 4-5 other places. We looked at the hostels in Vevey and Territet, but none of them have ensuite bathrooms. A few other places were listed as booked on their websites. I'm hoping for some more responses from those I emailed. I'll keep you posted on the offers.

wrenwood

I'm kind of picky, but I never book a place unless it has it's own website with pictures of the bedrooms and baths. I don't like surprises.

I do agree, ensuite with the kids would be preferable.