Bellevue des Alpes: Where to stay in the Swiss Alps

By Yolanda Carslaw Published: 1:08PM GMT twenty-two February 2010

The road residence proposed hold up in 1840 when guest arrived by jackass or with bearers

Why nap up a mountain?

Les Marmottes, Switzerland Kulmhotel Gornergrat, Switzerland A ski review with extraction The 40-something ski bum: blog 10 Zermatt on a bill More on skiing in Switzerland

Staying as high as probable on the mountain is an strange and regretful approach to suffer the Alps. It offers the probability of high views from your room, a head begin onto the ski slopes or hiking paths, an progressing glance of the object rising, a after steer of it environment and a bed far from travel or any alternative sort of noise. The majority expected disturbances are utterance winds or the chug of the piste machine. It customarily takes a night to get used to sleeping at altitude, generally over 2,000m: outlay a couple of nights in the review first, splash copiousness of water, don"t do anything as well enterprising and stand the steps slowly. The 3 retreats reviewed here are open both winter and summer.

OLD-WORLD STYLE

Bellevue des Alpes

LOCATION The heart of the Jungfrau segment at Kleine Scheidegg (2,070m), in between Wengen and Grindelwald; the normal starting point for climbers attempting the Eiger, that towers overhead. The road residence is reached by railway, that climbs over to Jungfraujoch (3,454m), Europe"s top station.

CHARACTER Timeless elegance, with a spirit of Twenties English nation house. The road residence proposed hold up in 1840 when guest arrived by jackass or with bearers, and it has given been upheld down the generations. Along the way, seat and equipment have been lovingly looked after, particularly the outsize revolving doors, immature shutters, list lamps, watercolours and essay desks. Guests relax on sofas in the opening hall, that is ornate with photos of climbers, in the inside celebration of the mass room or the welcoming bar.

ROOMS The 60 bedrooms are meagre nonetheless characterful, and definitely restful: there"s not a minibar, time air wave or radio in sight. Our walls were lined with toile de jouy fabric and we had a gigantic and newly re-enamelled roll-top bath.

FOOD An glorious four-course dinner; cakes are laid out for tea.

WE LIKE The feeling of stepping behind in time and being between the elements: when a snowstorm raged we could feel the road residence lean in the third-floor room.

NOT SO KEEN Not for the gadget-crazy.

ESSENTIALS 0041 33 855 1212; scheidegg-hotels.ch. From �220, half board.

Getting there

You can get without delay to the Bellevue des Alpes and the Gornergrat utilizing Swiss trains (sbb.ch/en); both are 3 to 4 hours" rail float from Zurich airport, that is served by Swiss (0845 601 0956; swiss.com) from multiform British airports. For Les Marmottes, fly to Geneva (BA, Swiss and easyJet), afterwards it"s dual hours by car, or a small some-more by sight and bus: you have the last climb by gondola, afterwards skis or on foot.