We will be staying in German-speaking Switzerland, and I like to leave a tip in an envelope for the person who cares for our room. Not speaking German, I ventured into a dictionary, but I found many words for maid or chambermaid, and two instances of thank you. My guess is I should address it to Das Zimmermaedchen, and add either Danke, or Vielen Dank.<BR><BR>What would be the best way to phrase it?

cleveland - I would forget the title and just enclose a card with &quot;Vielen Dank&quot; which means &quot;Many thanks&quot; with your tip on the nightstand. The chambermaid will understand. The tip alone says &quot;Thank You&quot;.

I had the same situation (this was in Mexico with a room maid who had taken good care of me on numerous occasions) and I asked the help of the manager of a restaurant I frequented, explained what I wanted to say. He wrote out a short, sweet note in Spanish for me to copy and leave with the tip.

People in Cleveland must be pretty naive...(no disrespect meant). Your room maid couldn't care less about how imaculate your German will be. She probably doesn't speak a work of it anyway (being east European, ex-Jugoslavian, or whatever). However she will appreciate any reddish Sfr bill - even a greenish US one - and you can write THANK YOU in English (that's right, English!)

But it is still a polite gesture to say it in the language of the country you are in.

I would write Vielen Dank or Vielen Dank f�r den angenehmen Aufenthalt (thanks a lot for the enjoyable stay) or Vielen Dank f�r Ihre Bem�hungen (thanks a lot for your efforts).