Alpine holiday summer 2011: Mürren or Gimmelwald for home base?

Murren has my vote. There are more places to stay, more restaurants, a small grocery store, a few shops etc but still a charming village feel. Gimmelwald seemed more like a gathering of home and not so much a town. Very pretty setting, but too small for me.

I vote for Murren as well, for all the reasons Janet mentioned... Gimmelwald is very close to Murren, you can easily walk there... it's a paved, downhill path from Murren... You can walk back or take a cable tram (or whatever it's called)... so even if you don't stay in Gimmelwald, you won't miss out... We love Murren and being at that atltitude, surrounded by the Alps is a thrill.

Definitely go for Muerren. The walk from Muerren to Gimmelwald is one of our favorite treks. Then take the gondola back up to Muerren from Gimmelwald. A Swiss Pass will get all the way up as high as Muerren for free. From there on up to the Schilthorn you will get a 50% discount.

Thank you for all of your responses! I think you have all been quite persuasive about Murren and we did a little more research online and agree that it would be the best choice. Any favorite hotels, B&Bs or restaurants there?

We've stayed at Hotel Eiger twice and like it a lot.

Lise - the Hotel Jungfrau in Murren is very nice - super views, helpful staff, good restaurant.

We have stayed at Chalet Fontana, in the apartment, all 4 times we have gone to Muerren, so I guess that makes it my favorite. But I do miss having a balcony with a view, and a hotel will give you that. There are a number of nice ones in Muerren. In addition to the ones mentioned above, look at Hotel Bellevue; friends of ours stayed there and loved it. . . As for restaurants, there aren't many stand-alone restaurants; most are in hotels. But there is Stager Stubli for traditional Swiss food and atmosphere, and an Asian restaurant which is charmless but offers decent food if you are craving a change from Swiss cuisine. Our favorite place for a nice dinner is Hotel Bellevue; they have a nice dining room and a cozy Stubli. Also look into half-board at your hotel, as that is usually a good buy and the food is generally very good.

We stayed in Murren and it was perfect as a base. you can walk thru enjoy and have a meal in Gimmelwald.

Beware of the Stager Stubli and their Dynamic Currency Conversion. I've been to Mürren several times and have eaten at the Stager Stubli and really liked their food. This past June we again ate at the Stager, but this time they automatically converted my bill to US Dollars without informing or asking me. The fine print on the credit card receipt was so tiny I didn't even notice it until we got back to the hotel. We dined there again on another day and the waitress "informed" the table next to ours about the automatic currency conversion and asked their preference. So I guess sometimes they tell you and sometimes they don't. It's usually better to just pay in the local currency and let your credit card give you the best conversion rate as opposed to allowing a merchant to decide their own conversion rate.

Thank you all for your input! We are getting excited about our excursion into new territory next summer, even though it is so many months away.