As part of my recent holidays to Switzerland, I spent six nights at the Hotel Belvedere in Wengen, Jungfrau Region, Berner Oberland. The Hotel had been recommended to me by the wonderful people at Railbookers, who helped designing and planning and booked everything for me.
The hotel is only about a five minute walk away from Wengen railway station, for the not so fit people it might be ten minutes, also if you need to acclimatise to the higher altitude as Wengen is 1,274 m (4,180 ft) above sea level.
I received a warm welcome after Google maps had pranked me sending me half way up and down through the village, received a guest card and two maps with local walks along with some explanations during check-in.
My single room on the fifth floor was very cosy, almost like a little suite with a little corner to sit by the windows and an en-suite bathroom.
I always enjoyed the variety of the breakfast and dinner buffets and occasionally I sat in the bar area enjoying a coffee. There were no tea or coffee making facilities in my room, but that didn’t diminish the quality of my stay in any way.
On the Swiss National Holiday, everyone got given a little special cake for breakfast (I forgot to ask how it’s called) and guests were invited to join for a complimentary drink downstairs in the evening.
All staff members from the Director to the waiters were always welcoming, friendly, very approachable and helpful and they contributed to making my stay an extremely pleasant one.
Wengen is a very special peaceful and car-free place. You only ever see smaller vehicles from hotels or other mostly electric transport vehicles driving along the streets. There are plenty of restaurant options, some sport facilities, a swimming pool, crazy golf and playgrounds for kids.
Wengen is also ideal for hiking and as a base for trips to the Jungfraujoch, to Grindelwald, the Schilthorn, Muerren and of course Lauterbrunnen to mention just a few. The whole Lauterbrunnental is so lovely I could quite happily settle there (but Lauterbrunnen itself is not car-free).
However, if you have mobility issues, Wengen may not be such a great area as it situated on a hillside with sometimes steeper roads and paths. And the hotel doesn’t offer special accessible rooms for wheelchair users.
I highly recommend Wengen and the three-star rated Hotel Belvedere for a longer stay in Switzerland, it’s excellent value for money. And they have good COVID guidelines and practices in place.