Grindelwald Lodging Recommendations / Experience

Yes, you will find lots of apartments around Grindelwald. But you won't find many recommendations here about them because RS advises against staying in "touristy" Grindelwald. But we stayed there before we ever heard of Rick and we have stayed there since. For serious hikers' it is a good base with lots of opportunities. However we have never stayed at the kind of vacation apartment you are asking about, so I have no specific suggestions. As far as views go, I would say the south-facing views are morre dramatic and impressive, with the Eiger Nordwand ( The North Face) and impressive peaks such as the Wetterhorn and Finsteraarhorn, depending on where you face. But some places have a view in all directs and that is good too. In late May not all of them may be open, and many apartments have at least a 3 night minimum, so plan accordingly.

Thank you, Lola. All good advice. We are finding a minimum number of nights are required for some places. With many of these places up the slopes a little bit out of the town center, it seems hard to believe it is a place to recommend against. It seems quite beautiful to me. Perhaps it'll seem a little different after Murren, but the area looks very good. And as you said, there seems to be a lot of hiking there. Thanks again!

Thanks again, Lola. Great information and guidance. You should be a travel agent. Great, Nigel! Made me smile on that one. Good reminder for when coming out of the car-free world. Thanks. Rich

Grindelwald has a nice sport centre and other facilities. Hiking and views will be different than the next valley over in Muerren. I understand you will be there too so you will be able to compare. Do be careful of the traffic...

I have to admit I began the trip planning squarely centered on Gimmelwald thanks to Rick Steves. Subsequent research ultimately sent us off on some tangents and in other directions as well. We still plan to hike through Gimmelwald and linger there a bit for part of one day. Nigel, you mention a caution about the traffic. Is that something about watching out for car and bus traffic while walking on some of the road/trails, or perhaps in the town center area? It looks like that without many experiences to be garnered from this site about the smaller lodgings in and around Grindelwald, we will press on with our own process. It does not look like we have anything but good choices. Thank you again! Rich

Grindelwald has a nice pedestrian zone, and the rest of the town has traffic like any other town. It is not "car-free" like Mürren, Wengen or Gimmelwald, but it has a lot to offer in the way of shops, restaurants, lodging, and varied hikes. You can search for apartments/chalets with availability on your specific dates at grindelwald.ch. I picked a random 3-night stay in mid-May and came up with lots, priced from 525 CHF for the 3 nights on up to 900 or so. They list by number of beds (I looked for 6 beds as I believe that is your group).. Click on one and you will get a more complete description, and probably a link to a website for the apartment. Note that they give the count for "rooms" (zimmer), not bedrooms. A 4-Zimmer Wohnung may have 3 bedrooms, plus LR/Dr with a kitchen corner, or it could be 2 bedrooms with a kitchen/dining room and a living room with sofa bed. You'll want to be sure that utilities, linens, and "end-cleaning" are included in the price, or if not the charges are clearly stated. And since you won't have a car, you'll want to be careful of location, so you are within walking distance of town. Most of the websites have links to a map showing the position. My first choice for location would be somewhere along the Terrassenweg above town-great views and a paved pedestrian path to the town center.

The reason I mention the traffic is two fold. First, there is sometimes, to my memory, a degree of traffic. Some of these traffics will be lost, or some oohhing and aahhing looking at the cable car coming into town or looking at the North Face, and they may not be concentrating at you. The other is the other side of the coin - if you have hiked Muerren, Gimmelwald, Wengen, Mannliechen, Allemndhubel, etc., and haven't seen cars anywhere you can get used to that and it might slip your mind that a vehicle bearing down on you has your name on the front. Just want you to be safe.... BTW, that cable car is a lot further from the middle of town than it looks...

Sorry I cannot recommend an apartment in Gridnelwald. However, we stayed in an apartment building in Lauterbrunnen and had a wonderful experience. We were 4 adults and the apartment cost the same as one hotel room. (To stay 3 nights in Lauterbrunnen for $60 per couple per night was a steal) We shopped in town for groceries and used the kitchen for breakfast and lunch. That meant we only ate one meal out...and we made it a good one. I think the apartment idea is great. There were a few differences between the apartment and hotels we have used in the area:
1. No breakfast. Most hotels include a nice breakfast with the room. 2. We had limited hot water. The owner explained that we would have X gallons a day and to be careful how much we used. (apparently the hot water heater heats the water, maintains it warm, but will not heat more until the next day) We were 4 people and we all took showers every day plus washed dishes. We never ran out. 3. The owner did not want us wearing shoes in the unit. (all these things might vary from place to place) Overall, we rented apartments in 4 of the cities we stayed in and it worked out much better (and cheaper) for us. If you find a good one, I would say take a risk.