Please help with accomodation questions for July 2018

While you wait on the guide book, check out a site like booking.com. You'll find lots of reviews there, and (in the case of booking.com, not on TripAdvisor) they all come from people who actually stayed at the property in question.

Edited for clarity.

Not available or no response does not mean that they are sold out. Many of the small hotel don't take reservations until about six months or so out. Go to the library if you need the book now. Last edition is nearly as accurate as the new one except for specific prices that may have changed.

Hi Dani.
Although you did not ask, please forgive me for commenting on your itinerary. The travel times between those places are long and then you only have one night in two places. Pontresina is especially an outlier and far from the other two by train. Basically, you will be in transit then sleeping, with little time to enjoy. If it rains or is overcast (mountains are fickle), you will miss the spectacular mountain views you are probably seeking. Even in Lauterbrunnen, you run the risk that your one full day will not be nice weather. A rule-of-thumb is that the longer you stay in a mountain area, the more likely you will have some clear weather.

I love the Berner Oberland so much I would spend all 4 nights in Lauterbrunnen. I can recommend an apartment there if you are interested. I doubt they'd take a 2-night stay but they would do 4.

I would suggest that you not rely exclusively on any guidebook when you are looking for hotels. Always take unfiltered reviews with a grain of salt, but unlike acraven, I have had great success finding hotels through TripAdvisor. I have personally posted over 150 reviews of hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

I look for the highest rated hotels in my price range within walking distance of the attractions that are important to me. I give the most credence to reviews from people who have posted the most reviews - especially if they have reviews of places I have also been. I tend to disregard negative reviews from the "one and done" crowd - the receptionist yelled at them for no reason, no in-room coffee, etc. Then I google the hotel for other reviews and comments, and check out their website. I always like to see if any of "my" hotels are in the applicable RS guidebooks. Especially in larger towns, my choices are usually not in the RS preferred neighborhoods.

Thank you all for your information. I will look further through the websites recommended. If the small hotels don’t start taking reservations till 6 months out, Should I wait until within that time frame? I just didn’t want to wait too late.
Laurel, thank you for the itinerary input. We are open to suggestions! We only have 15 days in Europe to do highlights of Paris, Swiss alps, castles in Bavaria, Venice, and Rome, so it’s definitely a whirlwind. We will arrive in Lauterbrunnen via train from Paris on 11/17/18, planning on taking Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz on 7/19 and thought it would be easier to stay in zermatt the night before. On 7/21 taking train to Fussen/Munich, Germany to tour castles next day before Nightjet to Venice. So to separate the two long train rides were going to spend 7/20 hopefully hiking around St. Moritz/Pontresina area, enjoying another day in the alps. (I thought Pontresina was very close to St. Moritz.). What would you recommend?

Just email them (or call) now. Ask them for a reservation for your desired dates.

Dani,

July is a busy month for European travel especially around the 3rd week when most of the European schools let out for summer vacation. You need to get booking hotels now. Your schedule is rather rushed and one night here and there is going to be tiring. I would also suggest you spend more time in Lauterbrunnen

Thank you!

Dani, I also think you'd do better to stay in Lauterbrunnen all 4 nights of your Swiss visit. Better to immerse yourself in the most beautiful region (in my opinion) in Switzerland than spend your time checking in and out and getting to your next place to sleep. Lauterbrunnen is in the Jungfrau area, which has (what I think are) the most beautiful alpine hiking paths of all. And each path has different views, each spectacular in its own way.

Hi Dani, if you’re open to suggestions on your itinerary, I’d stay in Murren rather than Lauterbrunnen. It’s just 15 min further and has the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in Switzerland. We were there (for the third time) a few weeks ago and had a great time. Hotels were closing down for renovations, scheduled to reopen mid-Dec for the ski season. Just mentioning that in case there’s a delay hearing back from them. We’ve stayed at the Hotel Alpenruh and the Hotel Jungfrau and recommend both.

I agree with Laurel that one night each in Zermatt and Pontresina will not allow you to see much. By the time you check out of one hotel, make the trip (possibly involving train changes) and then check in and get settled in the new location, you won't have much time in either location. I'd suggest choosing either Zermatt or Pontresina. "Budget" is not a word that fits will with Switzerland, so be sure to allow adequate funds.

You could also substitute Lucerne instead of Zermatt and Pontresina, which would be more efficient and make travel much simpler. While there you could visit Rigi or Pilatus.

It would help if you could post your full Itinerary, as it would be easier to see how the Switzerland stops fit with everything else.

If you're planning on staying in many Hostels, you might consider getting HI Hostels memberships as they have properties all over Europe (sometimes several in some cities). They have a property in Zermatt - https://www.hihostels.com/hostels/zermatt-youth-hostel and Pontresina - https://www.hihostels.com/hostels/pontresina-youth-hostel . A four bed dorm would be a good choice. In Lauterbrunnen the Valley Hostel is an easy walk from the train station - http://www.valleyhostel.ch/ (it's not an HI Hostel though). Be sure to book those well in advance. Also, if you haven't stayed in Hostels before, be sure to pack towels, flip-flops and a couple of small but robust Padlocks.

Thank you for the information. Based on all the responses I think we need to re-think our itinerary plan. I will start a new post for suggestions.

Another question Mürren or Gimmelwald for 4 nights ? One night in Lauterbrunnen before Luzern?

Jeff, stay in Murren. You are in the middle of the two other towns, 15 min from Gimmelwald or Lauterbrunnen. Murren offers everyhing you need in terms of restaurants, hotels, train and cable car connections. Knock out views. Just beautiful.