TullahR

Hello All,
My husband and I are planning to visit Switzerland in February or March for our honeymoon. We are going to be flying into Geneva as we have a friend there that we will be visiting with for a couple of days. Afterwards, we would like to go to the Alps and ski for the remainder of the week. We were interested in suggestions regarding which town to stay in and perhaps a nice resort. We are looking for something mid priced ($200-400 dollars a night). We would like to stay somewhere that has great skiing, a good apres ski scene and good restaurants. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thank you!
Kasia

swandav2000

Hi TullahR,

I would recommend one of the wonderful car-free mountain villages of the Jungfrau area, either Wengen or Mürren. From either one, you'll have the choice of about 3 major ski areas, all linked by train, cable car, and, on occasion, bus. The atmosphere is wonderful being in a car-free town, where you can wander the streets and soak up the clean air and incredible views.

You can usually find a great package deal from a hotel with a bundle including 7 nights lodging, 6 days skiing, and breakfasts and dinners. For instance, the Hotel Alpenrose (3 star in Wengen where I've stayed twice) has such a package for 1,200 to 1,300 per person, depending on exactly when you stay.

Staying for less than a week in a ski resort can be more costly -- some hotels require that you stay for a week, and others will just charge more for a room for less than a week.

The problem with staying in a resort town in the mountains is that the apres-ski scene is more low key. I'm not saying it doesn't exist -- it does. There are some nice pubs and bars off in the backstreets of Wengen where the ski instructors party at night. But there are not a whole lot of them. If you want more of a party atmosphere, you may have to be located down the mountain in the flats of Interlaken.

You can find more information at

www.myjungfrau.ch
www.jungfrau.ch

Another town that I love a lot, but where I've never skied, is Gstaad. I'm not sure how long it takes to get from the hotel to skis in snow. But it's a lovely town, beautiful, and full of nightlife and apres ski.

Have fun as you plan!

s

neckervd

Best ski resorts with easy reach from Geneva:

Megeve (F)
Morzine (F) - Avoriaz (F) - Champoussin (CH) - Champery (CH)
Verbier (CH)- Haute Nendaz (CH) - Thyon 2000 (CH)
Zermatt (CH) - Breuil (I)
Saas Grund (CH) - Saas Fee (CH)
Google for these places

Tulips

Megeve is about an hour from Geneva. Lovely village with good restaurants, hotels and shops, and a great ski area. Check the French school holidays - it's very busy when the French have their winter break, especially when Paris schools are off.
The week of February 6 will be busy in Switzerland, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany on holiday.
Many hotels will have a minimum of one week booking during school holidays.

TullahR

Thank you! We will definitely look into Megeve and the others. Any suggestions for hotels?

Tulips

In Megeve the hotels belonging to the Sibuet group are fabulous. The least expensive one is Coin du Feu. You can tell from the rates which weeks are high season. It's just on the outskirts of the village, 10 minutes walk to ski lift (rent your skis near the lift, and leave them there to pick up in the morning). You cannot ski into the village, but the lift ends up in the centre of Megeve.
Hotel Mont Blanc is lovely too - right in the centre of the village.
These are romantic hotels, decorated in 'Savoy style' but not stuffy. Perfect for your honeymoon.
In high season (ie during French school holidays) you will not be able to book for less than a week though.