Zermatt/Matterhorn
 

I will be passing through Switzerland by car, and would really like to see the Matterhorn with my own eyes. Any experience with lodging in May in Zermatt? Any recommendations for a cheap (under $50) night?

http://www.zermatt.ch/hotels/kategorie/<BR><BR>Take a look at the above location.<BR>Some of the 1 star hotels might fit your budget. They actually are not too bad. We stayed in a small hotel in Zinal and paid more than some of the prices listed on the web site referenced above. It was a 2 star hotel, but fully acceptable. I think you can be assured of a clean place, but not much in the way of amenities. <BR><BR>

PS On the one star hotels, you might want to make sure you notice where they are. Some of them are up on the mountain side. <BR><BR>Also, the term garni means there is no restaurant associated.<BR>Fr&uuml;hstuck nicht inbegriffen means<BR>breakfast is elsewhere, at your espense.<BR>Which also means a chance to do some creative purchasing at a bakery in town.<BR>

Thanks. Most of the hotels listed seem just fine. I'm taking a sleeping bag with me as well as soap. I just need a bed and a shower.

Annette, the IYHF Hostel in Zermatt is superb, very clean and comfortable with fantastic views of the Matterhorn from the rooms. When I stayed there all I had to do was sit up in my bed to see it. Another amazing option (if you don't suffer from altitude like I do) is to stay at the hotel at the Gornergrat Kulm. Fantastic rates (of course you also have to figure in the cost of the trip up) if you consider it's half-board (great food) and you defintely will have the best view. I stayed there a few years ago in May and there were only 3 of us up there that night. We had the sunrise all to ourselves. I hope the weather cooperates for you...

Annette, 15 years ago we took our 3 teen children to Europe and I have a treasured picture of them hanging out the window of the Hotel Bahnhof. It is as you might imagine from the name across from the train station. VERY clean, pleasant--they let us do some laundry. Zermatt is a wonderful town--hope the clouds don't obscure your view of the Matterhorn.

Annette,<BR>I'm with Chris on the IYHF recommendation, Matterhorn is outside the dining room window, staff are friendly, meals are good & great value. More details from http://www.youthhostel.ch/e/frames/home.cfm?ID=62<BR><BR>If you do get to Zermatt make the trip up to Schwarzsee to see the Matterhorn up close, pictures from my trip at http://gofree.indigo.ie/~kieran<BR><BR>

I hope the weather cooperates too.<BR>One option is to take the Gornergrat train as far as Rotenboden and walk from there to the Gornergrat station. Off to the west, the Matterhorn looms large and beautiful on even a semi clear day. <BR>The day I tried it, the clouds came pouring in and by the time I got to the Gornergrat view point, the ground was white. It was snowing so hard I decided to take the train all the way down. The trail was obscured and nothing in the way of a referencing landmark was visible.

Annette, <BR>We visited Zermatt a couple of years ago in May and were fortunate to see the Matterhorn several times. If the weather doesn't cooperate during normal "day time" hours, I suggest you get up early and watch the sunrise on the Matterhorn. It's beautiful!<BR><BR>Before we went to bed, we looked outside for stars (meaning no cloud cover)--- if you see stars, you'll probably see the peak before the heat of the day builds and produces clouds. Good Luck!

Annette<BR><BR>I checked out Youthhostel.ch and they show that the Zermatt YH is closed Apr15 thru May 31<BR>Sorry, it looked like an excellent value.

I just returned from Zermatt and proposed to my girlfriend at the Gornergrat rail station. The weather was perfect and the Matterhorn was unbelievable. Highly recommend the trip up, assuming weather cooperates. For us, it did.

JUST REMEMBER YOU NEED TO TAKE A TRAIN TO GET THERE

I have written about my switzerland trip at my personal blog (explain with picture) might help you when planning to Swiz
http://impresstrip.blogspot.jp/2012/07/switzerland.html