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Zermatt Reviews
18 reviews of Zermatt in Switzerland.
Voted 4th out of 14 reviewed ski resorts in Switzerland
- Superb(10)
- Good(8)
- O.K.(0)
- Poor(0)
- Awful(0)
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My favourite place to snowboard
Reviewed 24 May 2016
Zermatt is my favourite place. Out of five I would give it ten, twenty, a hundred! It’s very traditional and picturesque, not like France. It has a lovely character. If you’ve never been you must go! It’s a long journey from the airport but I think that adds to it.
The ski area is quite big, and I’m an advanced snowboarder so it’s good for my level. It has some very good off piste which was one of my reasons for picking it.
I’d been to Zermatt seven years ago. The first time the snow was fantastic and I was blown away! It was different this time because the weather was disappointing (it was very cloudy and we only had one fantastic day). It got a little windy and they shut the mountain a couple of times. Then it snowed the last day as we were leaving which was heart breaking! We actually considered staying!
We still had a really good week, we made friends and there are plenty of bars to visit if you’re not on the slopes. It’s very expensive in general, but because we had a catered chalet we didn’t end up spending too much. The lift pass price is extremely extortionate though, £320 for a week!
A masterpiece
Reviewed 24 May 2016
If you have a chance to go to Zermatt I would highly recommend it. I can’t fault the whole holiday. The way it was organised – from the airport, to the trains, to the resort - was very impressive. It was a masterpiece. There are so many things to do, I would definitely recommend visiting the glacier – you can ski from there all the way down. I’d also suggest visiting the chocolate shops, where you can ask for whatever kind of chocolate you like, select berries, nuts, anything you want, and they make it for you. In general it’s a very nice place and the village is very well organised.
Summer Skiing
Reviewed 11 May 2015
As a 30th birthday present, my girlfriend organised a summer skiing trip to Zermatt. We arrived in Zurich at the end of July and had a couple of days in the city sunbathing in balmy temperatures by Lake Zurich before taking the train up to the mountains. The journey itself was incredible; the mountain train snakes its way up to the pretty, traffic free Alpine resort whereupon it reaches the end of the line right in the middle of town. I've done a fair bit of spring skiing, but I've never been to a mountain resort in the summer months. It's slightly disconcerting when there's not a speck of snow in sight, but the sheer beauty of Zermatt and the towering Matterhorn distracted me from dwelling on this. I was also reassured by a knowledgeable local that the glacier (not visible from the centre of town)was in good nick so skiing would ensure. To travel up to the glacier is a good 30-40 minute gondola ride. The runs are limited obviously, and the lifts close up there around 2pm to save the snow for the next day. That said, I was more than happy lapping the half dozen, well-kept reds and blues and mucking around in the excellent glacier park. To mix it up, we had some incredible walks from the centre of town. Most marked paths are quiet, making you feel truly connected with the stunning surroundings. And the wondrous sight of the Matterhorn seems to edge its way into the line of sight whichever way you turn. Zermatt is pricey, but for a special occasion, I can't imagine anywhere better.
A proper town
Reviewed 21 Apr 2015
Zermatt’s great, I liked it because it’s not a ski resort as such but more of a proper town. The weather was a bit windy on occasions so some of the area was closed. The ski area’s quite mixed and well groomed, there’s a lot of off piste but the snow wasn’t amazing. I would recommend the itinerary runs, though they’re not easy to find! There seemed to a quite a lot in the town, not the same level of après ski you find in Austria but a few decent bars.
We'll definitely ski here again
Reviewed 20 Apr 2015
We were recommended Zermatt as somewhere that’s a bit different to France and is properly Alpine, it’s a lovely place and we will definitely be back. We had some really good days on the mountain, you get completely different skiing depending on the area you’re in and can go over to Italy. The slopes are long and wide so intermediates can pick up some speed and there were some nice blues for the beginners who managed to pick up the basics quickly. In the town there are loads of bars and restaurants and the shopping’s alright (if you have a credit card!).
Spectacular scenery, don't miss the Gornergrat train ride
Reviewed 24 Jun 2014
We really liked Zermatt. They say it’s traffic free, but it’s not really. There aren’t any cars but there are lots of electric buses – we almost got run over a few times! Not quite as tranquil as you might expect. The scenery is spectacular. You can see the Matterhorn from everywhere in town and on the slopes.
We had fantastic snow while we were here. Zermatt isn’t as user friendly as some French resorts, you generally need to walk or take the buses to get around, you can’t really just step out of your apartment and onto the slopes, which is more what I’m used to. The skiing is generally quite difficult, there are some easier runs but they tend to be traverses which I found quite boring. You can’t really rely on the grading – even the blue runs have steep or narrow sections. I really recommend taking the train up to the Gornergrat area, the train ride is very beautiful and my favourite runs were up there. There were about 4 or 5 really good runs that weren’t too difficult. There are also some easier runs up high on the plateau but you have to take several lifts to get up there. I didn’t ski over to Italy but my husband did – he said he preferred the skiing on the Zermatt side.
We didn’t have a guide, I think this would have really helped us find the areas which were best for us.
It's astronomically expensive to eat out so make sure you get a hotel with half board. The food up on the mountain actually wasn't that expensive, we were suprised, but we did just have a sandwich and a drink for lunch.
Expensive resort, extensive skiing for experienced skiers
Reviewed 5 Jun 2014
It’s quite an expensive resort. The skiing was excellent, it’s a very extensive area. You can go over to Italy to Cervinia, which we did quite a lot. We actually preferred the food over on the Italian side (despite Zermatt being renowned for having good cuisine), and the food/drinks over in Italy were cheaper.
It’s not really a resort for beginners, we thought that our friend who didn’t come, and is a lower intermediate skier, would have struggled with the skiing. We’re quite experienced skiers so it was great for us.
I remembered Zermatt from a summer holiday years and years ago and it has developed a lot since. I think it’s outgrown itself a bit, there were a lot of new chalets.
Brilliant resort
Reviewed 20 May 2014
The skiing was amazing! We had powder every day and the slopes were empty, we will go back at the same time next year. We went on the itinerary runs which are unpisted/unbashed routes – they were completely empty apart from us which was fantastic.
The ski area is good all round for all abilities. Some people we spoke to in the chalet downstairs from ours went across to Italy to ski Cervinia with the extended pass, which we will probably do next time. The only thing was that the weather was a bit windy and snowy, so if you’re going over the border you have to be careful about making sure you get back before they close the lifts. The one thing about Zermatt is that the lift pass and food are quite expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for.
The town itself seemed good and had loads of bars and restaurants.
I don’t have any complaints for any kind of holiday, it would be good for young people as there’s quite a lively nightlife, it would be good for families as there’s a good variety of pistes and it’s a good place for couples too.
Loved it – would go back
Reviewed 18 May 2014
The place itself is probably the nicest town I’ve been to as it’s not a purpose built resort. As 2 couples it was nice being there with a Christmassy feel, we spent most of the time snowboarding but we were quite interested in the old village and had a look at some of the historic buildings that were hidden away. Most of the shops and things were open on Christmas day so there was plenty to do and there were people selling wine on the street which was nice and festive. We went out for drinks etc in the town and there are absolutely loads of nice bars.
We’d seen all the pictures of the Matterhorn and were thinking they must just be taken from different angles but it really does dominate the place from both the town and the slopes. Up on the Italian side it just looks like any other mountain but on the Swiss side you have fantastic scenery because on the whole it’s so high.
I’d stay here again without a doubt, but if I had to say a downside, I’d say that the snowboarding isn’t as extensive as some of the big French resorts - we could only get to the Italian side on one or two days because of the winds. Even though we were here in December which is quite early, it had snowed really early in November which put down a good base so there were no rocks poking through. On a couple of days it snowed quite heavily and they didn’t bother to get the place back open which was frustrating when we just wanted to get back out there. My mate’s wife was a beginner and had lessons while the other 3 of us were experienced snowboarders. Overall the resort is probably less suitable for beginners but having said that she was really happy.
Also, the lift system pass is dead expensive – the fact that you use lifts and trains is great and we enjoyed it, but for some it might be annoying to spend so much time on the train when in other resorts you can get straight up and away.
Snowboarding 4/5
Everything else 5/5
We would definitely go back to Zermatt
Reviewed 18 May 2014
There was good snow even though it was early in the season. We have done it before (to Les Deux Alpes) where we went the week before Christmas and it always seems to work quite well. We were lucky, it wasn’t cold either. It was so uncrowded, there were hardly any people out on the slopes. We would definitely go back to Zermatt. There is lots of après ski – so much choice. We went to one restaurant with really nice pizza, and then there is a great bar just off the slopes where we used to all meet up. We whizzed around the resort with different groups, it’s a very good place to meet up with people and they allow ski hosting there. It’s easy to find people on the slopes and everything leads down to one central point in town, a bit like St. Anton. There’s a vast expanse of skiing, and it’s a good place for skiing off-piste. There weren’t any moguls when we were there and I missed that but we skied dawn till dusk some days, it was so much fun!
A once in a lifetime place to visit
Reviewed 18 May 2014
Zermatt is a lovely town, stunning. We were total beginners and we learnt to ski here. I’m not sure if it’s best for beginners, I think the resort is more suited to people who can already ski, but this was a once in a life time trip with family from Africa, so we really wanted to go somewhere impressive. If you only go once then go to Zermatt.
Next time we will probably go somewhere with some green runs, there weren’t any greens and I found the blues and reds quite daunting. We had a nice young guy as our instructor and he was very patient, I would recommend the ski school.
In the evenings we were way too exhausted to go out (learning to ski is tiring!). There were nice places to go out though, although it’s not a very big town. It’s good but expensive – we ate out for lunch a bit and that was fine but not cheap. Our favourite bar was the ice bar, over the main square, right by the museum. The whole place was made of ice and it was pleasant to go there for some champagne after skiing. We went over New Years and I would avoid Christmas and New Year next time because there were children everywhere! I didn’t like them whizzing past while I was skiing. There were New Year’s celebrations like fireworks in the main square, but it’s difficult to enjoy them fully when you have a young child with you, it was nicer to stay in at the hotel. I was surprised there was no traditional singing of Auld Lang Syne.
Excellent week
Reviewed 16 May 2014
Zermatt is great, it’s got a real Swiss, hedonistic Alp feeling and some great shops that are really buzzy. The whole place is very beautiful. We took a guide one day which was excellent, it’s definitely worthwhile no matter what level you are as the guides are quite intuitive as to what level you can ski and what would suit you. We did plenty of off-piste and it was nice to find some really good tree runs considering it’s such a high resort.
The weather was great; it snowed most days which I love even though most people don’t like it when that happens!
Absolutely brilliant place
Reviewed 6 May 2014
Zermatt is a fantastic resort; we really like the scenery as it’s all very picturesque with the Matterhorn there. Also like the quality of the ski slopes, everything is generally very well maintained. The fact that you can ski over to Italy is a big selling point and I’d certainly recommend doing this at least once. We were a little concerned about the snow conditions at the beginning of February as at that time of year it can go either way, but we were actually really lucky.
Beautiful - we loved it
Reviewed 25 Apr 2014
We loved Zermatt and had a really good week. The place is really beautiful, the village is so pretty and “olde worlde”, with horse and carriages taking you around and no cars at all. I wouldn’t say the skiing is good for beginners, probably more for intermediates and above - it’s lovely to be able to ski over into Italy.
Great snow in March, must ski over to Cervinia for lunch
Reviewed 20 Mar 2014
I thought Zermatt was nice, part of the reason we went here in March was because it’s so high.
We had good snow while we were there, the snow only got slushy right down towards the bottom so as long as you skied up high you were fine.
The ski area is good although it takes a bit of getting used to as it’s divided into three sections, which is a bit different to other places. There’s reasonable variation on the piste, not the most challenging runs we’ve ever had and we tend to like the hard runs. You have to go up high and then the steeper parts are when you’re skiing back down. If you’re an on-piste skier and like to cruise around you’d be happy here.
We didn’t eat in the town as we stayed half board in a hotel, but it looked like there were lots of nice places to go to in the town and on the mountain. There are one or two really nice places but they’re very expensive.
It’s definitely worth going over into Cervinia if the weather’s good, we had a couple of meals over there that were about half the price you get in Zermatt.
Brilliant skiing over to Italy too - choose a catered chalet
Reviewed 13 Mar 2014
Zermatt is expensive so the best way to stay here is with a chalet holiday where you don’t have to eat out much in the week!
It has brilliant skiing and we had a really good week here.
We skied over to Cervinia and did the longest run in Europe which was really nice.
This is why we love skiing and Zermatt
Reviewed 20 Jan 2014
This stunning chalet looks out onto a breath-taking panorama of the Matterhorn and Zermatt village itself. If you’re feeling adventurous you can even follow an off-piste track and ski all the way home at the end of the day. A really special little spot in perhaps the world’s greatest alpine town. Sno wonder we love Zermatt so much!
My dad still raves about it
Reviewed 16 Dec 2013
I was literally a baby when I visited Zermatt so all I did was ride in a baby carrier on my Dad’s back and say “goo goo” and “ga ga” a lot, but I’m sure it’s a fantastic place because my dad still raves about our Swiss ski trip so I’m writing his opinion here really. From what my father tells me, the snow in resort is brilliant because its so high and has the glacier. It is not a cheap resort though and there are plenty of glitzy shops and expensive mountain restaurants. The clientele is generally a little older as they are the only ones that can afford it! Because of the strength of the Swiss France it’s worth pre-booking as much as you can rather than buying lift passes and ski rental once you’re out there. It does also boast stunning views of the Matterhorn mountain and you can get a cable car that will take you even closer to it for excellent panoramic views. Coolest of all is that you can ski across the border into Italy and have lunch in Cervinia. It doesn’t have to be expensive here, but its hard to holiday here on the cheap… which is a good thing if you feel some resorts are a bit uncouth!
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