Hotels in Grindelwald

I prefer to stay in the next valley over, and stay in Mürren. Sorry I can't help with Grindelwald.

I had a very nice stay over a Christmas holiday at Hotel Spinne. The room was surprisingly large and had a great view of the imposing north face of the Eiger. Not that I made much use of it in Decemeber, but most of the rooms also have a balcony.

Grindelwald is a large resort town complete with lots of vehicles and especially large tour buses. Grindelwald is very very close to Murren and Wengen (both car-free) which is where I would recommend you to choose.

I guess I am an outlier here as we like Grindelwald, and have stayed there twice. For ambiance I prefer the car-free villages like Mürren, but Grindelwald offers great hiking opportunities.

We have stayed at two places--Hotel Resicence ( budget option) and Hotel Alte Post (on the main street, frequented by locals, including a yodel club when we were there). Both were fine. But if I were to go back, I might choose Hotel Bodmi, above the town, with great views.

http://www.bodmi.ch/

We had dinner on their deck and really enjoyed it.

We have also dined at Hotel Spinne---classy, and expensive. Not sure I would stay there. There are several other options above town, reached by lift, such as Berghaus Bort. Worth a look.

Just finding this post, and I want to know why folks are so staunchly supportive of Murren? We will be in the region for two nights planning to stay in Grindelwald as it is proximal to the quiet villages but still in the "mix" as far nightlife and tings to do after the hikes and bikes.

Any suggestions where to stay? I get that some like the sleepy mountain side villages but we want to stay in Grindelwald.

Thanks

My suggestions for Grindelwald are in the post directly above. I will add another place I would consider---Berghaus Bort----but it is up the First gondola so would not give you access to nightlife in the town.

Nathan, to be very honest with you I think the reason why everyone on this board recommends Murren is because its in Rick's guidebook. Frankly, I don't get it (or the overwhelming endorsement of the Schilthorn either). There are many other great villages (and mountaintops) in the region - all with far better transport options than Murren. Taking this one step further, I can't understand the draw of Gimmelwald either - I've been there a few times and it seems like everyone that was there was carrying a blue book.

Personally I'd choose Wengen over Grindlewald. You're going to see the same price structure as Grindlewald, but you'll be away from all the tour groups because there are no cars in the village. The view is better and you can get up to Kleine Scheidegg or Mannlichen much easier. Also, its only a 15 min train ride down to Lauterbrunnen where you can either head towards the rest of Switzerland or up the other side of the valley to Murren. If you need to park a car, there's a ton of car parking at the station in Lauterbrunnen - all you do is walk over to the station, hop the train and you're up in Wengen.

Also, I second Cooper's questioning of Gimmelwald. I just dont get it, whats the draw of that village? Is this another place thats become a "must see" place just because Rick recommended it?

Murren - yes we found it by the RS book recommendations. But we've been drawn back year after year because there's just no place like it. If RS removed it from their travel book I would still go there.

taking this one step further, I can't understand the draw of Gimmelwald either - I've been there a few times and it seems like everyone that was there was carrying a blue book.

Mr. Steves finds Gimmelwald fascinating enough to devote an entire chapter to the place, so that's probably what draws the crowds. The village itself is not remotely as unique as Mr. Steves implies, except for the location... which to me, is the attraction of the region anyway, not the towns themselves.

I personally prefer Grindelwald above all the rest, but probably for different reasons than most of the other posters. I found the skiing on First the best in the region, by far. It takes quite a bit of effort to get to the First lift from the other towns, but it's within walking distance of many of the hotels in Grindelwald... even while wearing heavy ski boots. Oh, and Grindelwald has more dining and apres-ski options.

We're headed to the BO for 4 nights in July and picked Wengen because it appears to be centrally located up the mountain with easy access to parking in the valley. It's our first trip to the area.