erez lior

We will be in S for two weeks in August. We will be 3-4 days in each of thefollowing bases: near Montreux, in the Vallaise region and near Lucern. Know any good hotel (3 stars will do)? We are looking for a nice small cozy with good food kind of hotel.<BR>Thanks you all for your tips.

Ingo

For Montreux region:<BR>Au Major Davel, Cully, www.suisu.com/aumajor<BR>Bahyse, Blonay, www.vevey.ch/tourisme/hotelbahyse.htm<BR><BR>For Lucerne:<BR>Hotel Hofgarten, www.hofgarten.ch <BR>Hotel Rebstock, www.hereweare.ch<BR><BR>The Valais is a large region. Tell us what you want to see or do and we will recommend any hotels.<BR><BR>Ingo<BR>

Ursula

Erez: I second's Ingo's suggestions for Lucerne. Both absolutely charming places.<BR>Vevey is a very pretty small town. I would stay there instead of Montreux. Stayed at "Les Trois Couronnes" which, however, is a 4-star.

s

e. lior:<BR><BR>More suggestions for Montreux. If you want to stay in the hills above Montreux, try the Hotel Victoria in Glion. Though it's a four star, the rates are reasonable (for Switzerland) and the views are priceless. At least have one lunch or dinner here! But take the train or the funicular up to Glion so you won't have to try to drive those tiny, winding roads after a glass or two of wine.<BR><BR>If you'd like to stay right on the lake, you can try the 3-star Ermitage in Clarens, just outside of Montreux. The Ermitage only has seven rooms and devotes most attention to its restaurant. If you want to stay there, be sure to get a room far away from the restaurant's terrace dining -- no air conditioning and the windows stayed open to the diners below. I didn't sleep for two nights.<BR><BR>You can find more info on all of these hotels at either www.montreux.ch or www.montreux-vevey.ch. <BR><BR>Great luck!<BR><BR>s

erez lior

Thank you all for your suggestions.<BR>Ingo - in the Valais I would like to be in Verbier, Gr. Dixence, Zinai, Brieg, Crans, Montana and of course - Zermatt. Where do you think I should make my base and which hotel do you recommend? <BR>I think I left out a most important base - the one in the BO - maby somewhere between Interkaken and Spiez (but in the cities - the smaller the village - the better).<BR>Thanks again.

erez lior

I forgot the "not" in my last sentence - that should be - "not in the cities" as we prefer a small village with good access to the sights (we will be driving).

Ingo

Erez lior,<BR><BR>Concerning the Valais I am afraid you fell a victim to the marketing. You prefer small villages, but want to see Crans-Montana and Verbier? Crans-Montana, in particular, is a place with large and ugly apartment houses, but not a charming village. Verbier is of similar atmosphere, but not as ugly as C-M. Of course it is your choice, but there are many other places in Valais, small and charming villages.<BR><BR>To choose a base for excursions to those places is not easy. It seems to me you have to stay in a village in the main valley between Sion and Brig. Sorry, this is not the place where I use to spend my vacation. Maybe ***Hotel Sonnenhalde in Ausserberg. www.rooms.ch<BR><BR>For Berner Oberland I recommend Strandhotel Belvedere, Spiez, if this is in your Budget www.belvedere-spiez.ch<BR>Or ***Parkhotel am See, Gunten, www.parkhotel-gunten.ch<BR><BR>Ingo

jw

Hello erez! At last I can contribute. If you are serious about being in a tiny place between Spiez and Interlaken, then I recommend Leissigen and the Hotel Kreuz! But we are talking tiny. If you're considering Brienzersee, then I recommend Brienz -- larger and faces the mountains so you've got the view of the peaks above the lake. J.

bonnie

Erez - I can recommend the hotel "Les Bouquetins in Zinal. A small 3*, phone #027-475-2509. They have a nice little restaurant too. Zinal is a beautiful place with LOTS of great hiking. Grand Dixence is not a town, of course, but a very large dam/lake with a hotel/cafeteria and a little telepherique that takes you to the top of the dam. It's impressive and there's a trail along the lake that connects with the main Haute Route trail. However, if you're looking for 3*'s, I'm not too sure you would like this hotel, it's pretty basic. It's called le ritz, but is no relation to Cesar's. A big concrete structure, more of a place for hikers and backpackers. I had a hard time locating a phone # or getting any info on it, then finally called the Sion tourist office. Wouldn't you know it...now I can't find it in my post-trip junk box. It's also a little disconcerting to (at least to me) to think about sleeping right under that huge dam. You could try Pralong, a village just down from Dixence, the lady in the Sion tourist office recommended the Hotel-Restaurant Val Des Dix there (027-81-1213).I agree with Ingo about Crans-M and Verbier, not much on charm. <BR><BR>

richard j vicek

Good morning, Erez Have not stayed<BR>at this hotel , have passed by it a <BR>number of times on the boat to Brienz<BR>but look into the STRANDHOTEL, in Iseltwald, looks very good and has<BR>a very good ristorante attached...It is a three star with 23 rooms on the Breizersee....<BR>Hope very much to stay there at some<BR>time in the future. See. www.swisshotels.ch/ for further information. Richard of LaGrange Park

erez

Thanks you all for you tips. Any more charming hotels in beautiful spots? Where on the net can I find good hotels in Switzerland?

Ingo

For low prices: www.rooms.ch<BR><BR>For mid prices: www.minotel.ch<BR><BR>For high prices: www.alpineclassics.ch<BR><BR>For very charming hotels: www.romantikhotels.ch<BR><BR>www.relaischateaux.co m/site/us/RechercheLibre?keyword=Switzerland<BR><BR>Ingo<BR>

s

erez lior,<BR><BR>For a *comprehensive* list of hotels, go to www.hotelguide.ch, then select "country" as the search criteria and type in "Switzerland." You'll get a huge selection sorted by city.<BR><BR>Also like to add www.karenbrown.com for charming hotels.<BR><BR>s

bonnie

Hi Erez- will add that the website Ingo gave you for inexpensive hotels (www.rooms.ch) will give you information on a group of hotels called the Swiss Budget E&G Hotels and Restaurants. I thought these were a great value and stayed in several. (Zur Poste in Kandersteg and Hotel de Moiry in Grimentz, Hotel Primavera in Zermatt, etc.) Part of the criteria to be an E&G hotel is small andcharming, and I found the ones I stayed to be very charming. Either on the website or from the Swiss Tourist Bureau, ask for the E&G booklet, it lists all these hotel for the country, divided by region and has color pictures and descriptions. Also, if you stay for 7 nites (al least 3 hotels) you pay for only 6.

Isabella

I traveled to Switzerland with my mother May 2001 and we stayed at the Intercontinental in Montreux. It was more than three stars, but still quite reasonable. I would definetly stay there again. I can't comment on the food, because I generally perfer to sample small local restaurants. What I would highly recommend is the panoramic train that travels between Interlaken and Montreux. It is covered on your Swiss rail pass and the views are spectacular. It was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. That and having the elevator that takes you to the top of the mountain in Luzern break - wear your hiking shoes!

topper

ttt<BR>