Ingo

I don't think Innsbruck can give you the real winter vacation experience. As neckervd pointed out, it is a (small) city. It does make a good base for excursions into the mountains, but that still means you have to hop on a bus or train every day to get to the hiking trails or whatever winter activities. The city itself is not snow reliable at all, btw.

Seriously, I thought you want to go to a charming winter vacation place?

Frances

Thirty years ago we took a 10 day holiday in Interlaken in February and didn't ski. We took a package from the UK but it may be that these are not available where you live. It included a train pass for the period of our stay. We spent every other day visiting somewhere different by train and on the remaining days we walked the wanderweg. Beautiful beyond and we had a lovely time.

kenav

Ingo - Didn't know Innsbruck wasn't "charming". Just trying to figure this thing out without breaking the bank and with spending only about 6-7 days there.

Frances - We do know Interlaken and the surrounding Berner Oberland. Been told by neck (poster above) that some of the towns, since being in the valley, don't get much sun. Of course, I watched "The Amazing Race" last night when they were in Grindewald in the winter and it looked gorgeous (and a lot less busy than when we were in the area in September.)

Swandav - I will check on your suggestions.

kenav

HI - I'm back with another question after STILL trying to decide what to do.

I've checked out some hotels in Interlaken and see that they are much less expensive than the St. Moritz/Pontresina/Engadine area. Is there any reason I should choose the Engadine over the Interlaken/Berner Oberland area for a visit in mid to late January?

Ingo

Interlaken is not snow reliable. It's not a skiing destination. Anyone who wants to go skiing (or any other winter fun) in that area stays higher up in Grindelwald, Wengen or Mürren.

There is not really much to do around the lakes (Interlaken) in January. Castles are closed, no cruises on the lake, the open-air museum Ballenberg is closed ...

mokka4

kenav:
Have you considered a vacation apt to keep costs down?
Try www.vrbo.com OR www.homeaway.com IF you don't need to be spoiled!

kenav

mokka4 - Ah, but spoiled (at least a little bit) is what I go on vacation for, when I'm not running around like a crazy person.

However, I will check out the links you sent.

Ingo - Didn't think of Interlaken for the snow just as a base. Thought it would be easy to get to Wengen if we stay in Interlaken and more restaurants open there? What about Gstaad?

Ingo

Gstaad is similarly expensive as St. Moritz.

Interlaken is not really *in* the mountains. If you consider Interlaken, you could easily have a look into Lucerne, Chur, Sion ...

WeisserTee

I have to disagree with you on that point, Ingo. There are several hotels around Gstaad that are modestly priced esp if you stay in nearby Schonried or Saanen. And eating can be a lot cheaper. There are few restaurants I go to in Gstaad that are not bad at all price-wise, no higher than you'd see in Wegnen or Lucerne or Interlaken or anywhere else in Switzerland. There's also a Coop very close in town that has more or less the usual Coop prices.

In addition, the main reason I like Gstaad so much more than St. Moritz is the people. Overall, people in Gstaad are much friendlier and more welcoming than the people I've encountered in St. Moritz. Gstaad still has a village feel to it.

swandav2000

Hi kenav,

I also have to disagree with Ingo on this rare occasion. I've stayed in Gstaad about four times now and have found one or two good hotel bargains. The 4-star Hotel Gstaaderhof is right in town, just around the corner from the pedestrian zone, and has competitive prices; in fact, if you take half-board, it becomes quite reasonable. I also think the 3-star Post Hotel Rössli, right on the pedestrian zone, is well priced!

I also love the landscape around Gstaad. While it lacks the towering majesty of the Engadin or the Jungfrau region, I find its green rolling hills to be very beautiful and inviting. There is lots of great hiking in the area; in addition, it's well located to visit Gruyeres, Bulle, Spiez, Thun, Aigle, Montreux, and Vevey for excursions.

Have fun as you plan!

s

Ingo

How funny that we disagree for once! LOL

Btw, the green rolling hills around Gstaad are hopefully white in January (which is not guaranteed at that elevation, but in this case they are brown/grey-ish, not green.)

Of course we talk about the regions. Not about Gstaad or St. Moritz proper. I found the Upper Engadine to be a popular destination for families and sports folks - especially cross-country skiers. There are Coop groceries/supermarkets in ST. Moritz, Samedan, Zuoz, Pontresina, which have same prices as in the rest of Switzerland. The smaller Volg groceries in Sils, Silvaplana etc. have similar prices. I also found restaurant prices in the Engadine not higher than in the rest of Switzerland (which is bad enough), if you avoid the glitzy places.

No problem. But I stand to my opinion. Let's compare prices. I checked mid January for a week, double room incl. breakfast.

(Through www.gstaad.ch)
4star Gstaaderhof: 2114-2296 CHF
3star Spitzhorn: 1442 - 1772 CHF (in Saanen)
3star Alpenland: 1498 - 1778 CHF (in Lauenen)

(Through www.engadin.stmoritz.ch)
3star Misani: 1271 - 1551 CHF (in Celerina)
3star Chesa Mulin: 1677 - 1744 CHF (in Pontresina)
3star Maria: 1512 - 1680 CHF (in Sils)
3star Chesa Grischa: 1554 - 1680 CHF (in Sils)
4star Schweizerhaus: 1590 - 1911 CHF (in Maloja)
4star Bellavista: 1960 - 2800 CHF (in Silvaplana)
All these hotels in the St. Moritz/Engadin region offer Skipass incl. public transportation (bus/RhB train) in the region for additional 25 CHF per day - which is an excellent deal also for walkers!

WeisserTee

I don't think that's a fair comparison -- you're stacking the decks in your favor. You don't show a single hotel IN St. Moritz, but you do have a hotel in Gstaad. Also, Saanen is VERY close to Gstaad, with frequent trains or buses taking as little as FOUR minutes with NO changes between the two.

FWIW, I have been to Gstaad in January in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and the hills have always been white.

We will have to disagree. I was in the Engadine last fall and simply didn't resonate with me the way the Gstaad area does. Perhaps they are equally beautiful (although I stand by my opinion that Gstaad itself is much prettier than St. Moritz and the people are much friendlier) but I prefer the beauty around Gstaad. To each his own.

Ingo

I thought we would agree that nobody wanted to stay right IN St. Moritz. It is overbuilt, ugly, crowded, has too much traffic. Avoid it at all cost. I mentioned above and in all my earlier posts that if I refer to the Engadine/St. Moritz region I mean the region AROUND St. Moritz. Thus no hotel IN St. Moritz. Pontresina or Sils are more similar to Gstaad, btw, than St. Moritz.

From St. Moritz to Celerina it takes as little as SEVEN minutes by bus, NO changes. By train it is THREE minutes, NO changes between the two. From St. Moritz to Sils it takes 26 minutes, no changes, but who wants to go to St. Moritz proper anyway?

I did not list a 4star hotel outside Gstaad because the few that came up in the search on www.gstaad.ch were *way* MORE expensive. Examples:
Alpenrose, Schönried: 3626 CHF
Steigenberger, Saanen: 6930 CHF (no typo!)



See, swandav, Weisser Tee confirms that the hills are not your beloved green in January!

swandav2000

Yes,Ingo, I know the hills around Gstaad are not green in January. Please forgive my using my pet phrase for the region -- green rolling hills. It's just how I think of it in my mind. So if they are white, just as good, or even muddy, it's all good. To borrow from Weisser Tee, the area just resonates with me.

I also don't know where you got your figures. For a week at the Gstaaderhof in January (05.01 - 07.02), a double room with breakfast goes for 131 chf per person, or 1834 chf for two people for 7 nights.

Also, please note the **additional** savings if taking half-board, as I mentioned above. With half-board, a week in January costs 161 chf per person or 2254 for two people for 7 nights. That is quite a good deal.

s

Ingo

We can agree on white rolling hills. I think different regions reasonate with different people, to each their own.

I got the figures from the online booking machine on www.gstaad.ch as I wrote in my post above. I guess you got yours from the hotel website, right? I didn't go through each hotel website, that would have been a bit too much effort. I am sure the hotels in the Engadine have weekly offers incl. half board e.g., too. I noticed relatively few hotels came up in the searches, seems that online booking is not yet available through these websites for January. I checked booking.com out of curiosity, and another (lovely) 4star hotel in Celerina came up for 1584 CHF incl. breakfast - Chesa Rosatsch. Now that's a really good deal for Switzerland.

Where did you get your figures? I check the Gstaaderhof website and saw 131 CHF with breakfast and 166 CHF with half board. But that is for a room with French (small) bed, not a double room. The latter is 20 CHF more per person and night.

Btw, almost every hotel in Switzerland offers half-board.

swandav2000

Yes, I got my figures from the Gstaaderhof website. The page for winter prices simply lists 131 chf per person in a double room. T That's how they list it!

Yes, many hotels in Switzerland offer half-board -- but we are talking about Gstaad and its prices.

s

Ingo

The Gstaaderhof pages for the German version and the English version must be different then. The German version clearly lists the different types of rooms with respective prices.

And we're talking about the Engadine, too, no? Considerable savings there with taking half board as well.

kenav

HI again -

Well, a lot of discussion I see.

I was thinking of splitting time in Gstaad and Wengen although I note that it takes 3 hours to get from one to the other and 4 changes! At least by rail. Guess on the map they look a lot closer than the way the train goes. Don't think I'd want to spend 7 days in just one place. So I have to put my thinking hat on, yet again.

kenav

I checked out Gstaaderhof; I got:

131 CHF room and breakfast per person (or $280 U.S. for two) , and 166 CHF for 1/2 board which essentially means they add in dinner. So with dinner it would come out to $356 U.S. a day. That means that dinner costs $76 per day. Would that include taxes and gratuities?

Is it better to decide when we're there whether or not we would want the 1/2 board? There may be other places we would want to eat, not just at the hotel.

swandav2000

Hi again,

I've taken the half-board option on my last stay there, a stay of 10 days. I was completely satisfied with the meals -- they were inventive and delicious, well in competition with the high level of restaurants in Gstaad. The meals included a salad, soup, main, and desert.

You would have a LOT of trouble finding a dinner meal in Gstaad including three courses for 30 chf per person. You might be able to find a pizza dinner or a simple meal in a pub/Stüble (sp??) for that price.

Yes, that is one of the main problems with taking half-board -- that you have to sacrifice exploring other restaurants. However, you could just sample some other places for your lunch meal.

I'm afraid you would have to make reservations either with or without half board -- the chef needs to know how many people to buy and prepare for. But to be sure, you can always email the hotel and ask.

And again, I'm afraid I can't tell if taxes are included in the hotel's price, and I couldn't find that information on the hotel's website. You may want to email them and ask. Taxes are usually in the neighborhood of 3 chf per person per day.

Gratuities are always included.

I don't think you'll feel bogged down with 7 nights in Gstaad because it's so centrally located. In addition to walking in the valleys (to Lauenen, Saanen, Schönried), you can ascend the mountains (Rinderburg, Hornegglie, Wispile), and follow the winter walks. Or you can take the train to visit Chateau d'Oex and Rougemont, or Gruyeres and its castle, Broc-Fabrique and the chocolate factory, Vevey and Montreux and Chillon castle, and Lake Thun.

Have fun as you plan!

s