Hotel Eiger, Murren, Switzerland

The Hotel Eiger is family owned and run so everything is very personal, nothing is too much trouble for them. I’d been some years before and I doubt they would have remembered me, but they kept saying welcome back which was really nice. The hotel itself is very traditional but perfectly modernised, with fully en-suite rooms, most with baths which is nice on a ski holiday (but the baths also had a shower fitting if you wanted a proper shower instead). The food was very, very nice, a higher standard than traditional ski food with a proper chef in the kitchen. On half board you get a very large buffet breakfast with everything from cooked breakfast to fruits, yoghurts, museli, pastries, several different kinds of bread and Scandinavian style cold meats – a really big spread. In the evening you had a set dinner, which didn’t include a big choice but you usually had a bit of choice. You got a four course dinner, with a first course followed by a salady buffet course, then a hot main and a choice of dessert or cheese board. It was all beautifully cooked. As well as the resident’s dining room where we ate, there was another dining room which was part of a slightly separate restaurant where non-residents could eat. There was nothing to stop you going down there for something different one evening and if there was anything you didn’t particularly like on the residents menu, e.g. fish, you could pick something else like steak from that kitchen. It’s got an indoor swimming pool and a sauna/steam room. Because it’s a quiet hotel you mostly have the pool and sauna to yourself if you get the timing right. The other very convenient thing about it – Murren is a no cars resort so you have to go up on a mini railway and the station is directly opposite the Eiger Hotel. They know you’re coming and send a chap down to get your bags, so you just have your hand luggage – that’s an example of how good their service is. There’s one lift base in Murren and that then links up with the rest of the ski area – it’s a 5 minute walk away along the main drag and the ski hire place is half way between the bottom of that lift and the Eiger hotel. Most of the hotels in Murren are this kind of distance from the lifts, but it’s the service, family run nature and food that makes the Eiger outstanding.

A brilliant hotel, the staff couldn’t have been more helpful and looked after everything you could need. The food was unbelievably beautiful – roast breast of duck, steak, crème brulee… The value for money was fantastic as it really was 5 star hotel standard cuisine. The hotel itself is beautifully rustic, the bedrooms are really big – we had a basic room and it came with a living area and a bedroom. Great spa facilities with a sauna and a pool that look out onto the mountains. In all, this was one of the best holidays I’ve been on, so well organised, it couldn’t have been any better!