Recommendations please on a base to use in visiting Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Muerren, Gimmelwald, Schilthorn, etc. Prefer location which facilitates visits to the other places and which has the most restaurant choices, hopefully avoiding being locked in to eating at the hotel each night. Planned stay, 3 nights.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
I would suggest you stay in Lauterbrunnen as your home base. We ( I was 64) stayed at the Valley Hostel for 6 nights and was very pleased. The hostel is probably 1/5th the price of a hotel.
http://www.valleyhostel.ch/pages/en/home.php?lang=EN
Google the places you have noted and click on Images.
Posted by
San Clemente, Ca.
408 posts
David, My husband and I stayed in Grindelwald a few years ago and loved it. The views of the mountains was breathtaking. You can drive to the town which you can't in Wengen and Muerren, Gimmelwald. I have also stayed in Lauterbrunnen and it was nice too, but I prefer Grindelwald. We bought a Swisspass for 4 days and it was a cost saver. Wengen is beautiful, but it depends on what you want to see and do. We did the Schilthorn, The Jungfrau, Interlaken, Lucern and Montroux. The train goes through Grindelwald so it was easy to go to the near by towns. The Berner Oberland is my favorite area.
Posted by
PNW
194 posts
Everyone has their favorites, but since you mention Muerren, Gimmelwald, and the Schilthorn, I would say Muerren. We loved Chalet Fontana, right in the middle of the village and across the path from Stager Stubli Restaurant where we ate 3 out of 4 nights! It would have been 4, but alas, they had a huge wedding party book the entire restaurant on our last night...of course there are other restaurants in town! We went up to Schilthorn from Muerren (very easily accessible). Another day we walked down to Gimmelwald, took the cable car down to Stechelberg in the valley, walked to Trummelbach Falls, to Lauterbrunnen, took the train up to Wengen, and continued on to Mannlichen and did the walk to Kleine Scheidegg. From there we returned by train to Lauterbrunnen and continued back up to Muerren. We also did the beautiful North Face trail from Allmendhubel (also out of Muerren). Beautiful views from Muerren!
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
We stayed at the Hotel Silberhorn in Lauterbrunnen. Excellent stay and 500' from the train station. See www.silberhorn.com. CLICK HERE to see their 6-page restaurant menu. It's a bit more expensive than the Hotel Staubbach but the Silberhorn's restaurant is the best in town. If you plan on visiting the Schilthorn and the Jungfrau, Lauterbrunnen is centrally located.
That being said, both Murren and Wengen are excellent alpine places to stay. Murren is simply one of the best examples of a Swiss alpine village that you can find. Several hotels. As mentioned about, the Stagerstubli is an great place for food. We had lunch there. I believe that its the only restaurant in Murren that's not part of a hotel.
If you want to take the 20-minute train ride back into Interlaken, there is some better night life and nice Swiss restaurants there.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
519 posts
We stayed in Lauterbrunnen at the Hotel Staubbach and really enjoyed it. We paid a bit extra for a view room (of the falls and the Jungfrau) and it was a great view to wake up to! I liked that it was in the valley so you could go up either side depending on your plans for the day (not that having to ride down from one side would be bad, but saved a bit of time). Plenty of choices for food. We had some great meals there!
Posted by
OP
washington
837 posts
Thank you all. Looking at maps, it appears that Lauterbrunnen offers centrality. Larry, I have explored the Hotel Silberhorn and it looks very attractive. My other, almost equal, choice is the Hotel Blumental in Muerren. I looked at the Silberhorn menu and it appeared pricey. However, I do appreciate the comment on the quality. While I am at it, any comments on the Hotel des Alpes in Luzern?