Between Samedan and Pontresina, do you recommend one town over the other? What are the differences? I plan to spend one night here before taking the Bernina Express route to Italy.
I'm looking for hotel that's convenient to explore St Moritz and the nearby town for a half day in August. It would be great to have a single room with a view (and perhaps a balcony) for $200 or less.
We enjoyed Pontresina very much. Quite charming. Had an apartment so can not recommend a hotel, but it is a very short train ride — or bus — to St. Moritz. We thought St. Moritz a bit “cold” feeling in terms of ambiance. Sort of buttoned-up and unapproachable.
We stayed two nights in Samedan at Laagers Garni. A room for one in August is 135 CHF including breakfast ( whichnis very good, since the place is actually a bakery and café). Transport pass is included even with a one-night stay. It appears from the photo that there is a door out to a balcony but I cannot tell for sure. I cannot say about the views as we had the apartment and it faced a different direction.
https://www.laagers.ch/hotel-garni/#&gid=1&pid=4
Samedan is very small. We chose it because it was less expensive than Pontresina, and the Laagers Garni is an easy walk from the train station.
Thank you. The pass to use local transportation is a nice perk for only staying one night plus that's one of the places on my list.
I enjoyed my stay (and view) at Hotel Bernina in Pontresina and they will pick you up at the train station if you plan that ahead. Samedan is the smaller and more picturesque town to explore the local architecture and decoration, which could also be a reason to sleep there. St. Moritz is a sizeable city, where the main attractions are the mountain lifts or perhaps the local art museum.
Well if you are happy to go up to $200 per night, then I can highly recommend the Laudinella in St. Moritz. There are multiple restraunts on site and their breakfast buffet is always very good. They also run a free shuttle bus between the hotel and the train station, just let them know when you need it and they'll be there.
I usually stay there a couple of times over the summer and the prices are usually around CHF150 - CHF160 per night.
