Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
people-230 SF, cash preferred, breakfast-15 SF, 2-night minimum, pay Internet access,
free Wi-Fi, low ceilings, tel. 033-855-5488, fax 033-855-5492, www.esthersguesthouse.ch ,
info@esthersguesthouse.ch ). Esther, a bundle of entrepreneurial energy, also rents two four-
person apartments with kitchenettes next door (3-night minimum, see website for details).
$$ Pension Gimmelwald is an old, low-ceilinged farmhouse converted into a family-
style inn, with 12 simple rooms, a restaurant, and a cozy bar. Its six-bed dorm attracts more
mature guests than your usual hostel. Its terrace, overlooking the Mountain Hostel, has gor-
geous views across the valley (bed in 6-bed dorm-25 SF, S-60 SF, D-100 SF, T-150 SF,
Q-185 SF, less in winter, 10 percent discount for 3 nights with this topic, breakfast-12 SF,
Wi-Fi, open June-mid-Oct and mid-Dec-mid-April, 2-minute walk up from cable-car sta-
tion, tel. 033-855-1730, www.pensiongimmelwald.com , tsnewark@yahoo.com , Englishman
David).
$$ At Liesi's Heart Place, friendly owner Liesi rents a little suite in her home with
a view and terrace (Db-120 SF, Tb-150 SF, Qb-170 SF, minimum 2-night stay, at the
town's water fountain find the little house about 100 feet to the left, tel. 033-841-0880,
www.liesisheartplace.ch ) .
$ Hotel Mittaghorn is a classic creaky, thin-walled, alpine-style place with superb
views. It's run by Walter Mittler, an elderly Swiss gentleman, with help from trusty Tim.
The hotel has three rooms with private showers (first-come, first-served) and four rooms
that share a coin-operated shower. Walter's guests-only dinner is the cheapest hot meal in
the valley (S-54 SF, D-86 SF, T-129 SF, 6-SF surcharge per person for 1-night stays, cash
only, simple but hearty 15-SF dinner at 19:30 by reservation only, free Internet access,
open April-Oct, a five-minute climb up the path from the village center, tel. 033-855-1658,
www.ricksteves.com/mittaghorn , mittaghorn@gmail.com —email answered May-Sept
only). It's necessary to reconfirm by phone the day before your arrival. If no one's there
when you arrive, look for a card in the hallway directing you to your room.
$ Mountain Hostel is a beehive of activity, as clean as its guests, cheap, and friendly.
The hostel has low ceilings, a self-service kitchen, a mini-grocery, a bar, a free pool table,
and healthy plumbing. It's mostly a college-age crowd; families and older travelers will
probably feel more comfortable elsewhere. Petra Brunner, who lines the porch with flowers,
runs this relaxed hostel with the help of its guests. Read the signs, respect Petra's rules, and
leave it tidier than you found it. This is one of those rare spots where a congenial atmo-
sphere spontaneously combusts as the piano plays, and spaghetti becomes communal as it
cooks (28 SF/bed in 6- to 15-bed rooms, includes sheets, no breakfast, showers-1 SF, laun-
dry-5 SF, pay Internet access and Wi-Fi, open mid-April-mid-Nov, 20 yards up the trail
from lift station, reserve with credit card through website or by phone, tel. 033-855-1704,
www.mountainhostel.com , info@mountainhostel.com ) . The hostel has a full-menu restaur-
ant, described next.
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