My husband, Mike, had been to Zermatt many times for work and had skied there many times. Although I am not a skier, we were recently married and he wanted me to have a wonderful experience my first time there. He had skied by the Riffelhaus many times and had always wanted to stay there. He booked the trip in October 2024 - six days in Murren, at the Eiger Swiss Hotel (FABULOUS - justified five bubbles on Trip Advisor) five days in Zermatt at the Riffelhaus 1853 and three final days in Lusaunne on Lake Geneva at the Chateau d'Ouchey (also quite lovely).
The view was magnificent and access to ski trails could not have been better. Proximity to the train station was excellent, but to get to the hotel, we had to cross several ski trails that were not only slippery, but when you are carrying your luggage, quite scary with skiers flying by at high speeds. The picture provided by the Riffelhaus shows about the distance we had to walk with our luggage, although when booked, we were told we would be met at the station by hotel staff with the equipment to transfer our luggage. No one met us there. My husband tried to call, but couldn't get through, so we hiked, luggage and ski equipment in hand. My husband was almost to the hotel when one of the workers (man from Senegal - very nice, my hero at that moment. I am so sorry I can't remember his name) at the hotel saw us and came to him with the cart and then to me. I was SOOOO grateful!
We got to the front desk to check in and the man covering the desk couldn't find our reservation. We provided him with the confirmation number and he still had to search for it. My husband was trying to provide him information and he kept shushing him and telling him they had a room for us regardless. My husband was trying to tell him that we had specifically booked a room with a view of the Matterhorn. We finally got settled into our room with a partial view of the mountain.
The room was small, but clean, bright and comfortable. The door was broken so if we went out on the terrace for any reason, we could get stuck because of the way the glass vented in. Yes, we knew from the hotel in Murren that it was a matter of putting the handle in the correct position, but the window was actually unattached to the hardware and would fall when the door was open.
It was extremely disappointing that our terrace had no chairs to sit on. We couldn't spend any time out there, but the terrace off of the restaurant had beautiful panoramic views as did the common area where we would sit and play cards and met some very lovely fellow travelers. It was clean and bright with beautiful views. One late afternoon, we were playing cards and I moved a small table to use. The manager promptly came in and asked us to sit some place else. They were setting up for a large dinner party. We moved and played cards for another 2 hours while the area was set up. Two hours later, the party had still not arrived.
Despite the advertising of cards and board games, come prepared with your own. There are no complete decks of cards and the board games are dated and old. They should invest in some quality games and definitely spend the money on a few complete decks of cards!
The food:
We had paid for half board, which meant dinner every night and breakfast every morning. We were 30 minutes by train out of the village of Zermatt so options were limited in terms of places to eat and access food. The menu was fixed and there was not an option to order from the regular menu. Only two options were provided, veal and cauliflower steak. Mike had the veal, which was just okay and I had the vegetarian cauliflower steak, which was awful! Obviously they were short staffed so soup that night was self-serve. The salad was okay-shredded carrots, beets and onions with dressing.
The second evening options were again veal, cooked differently and a vegetarian dish. This time, both soup and salad were self-serve. The veal was okay, but I don't like veal and the vegetarian dish was not appetizing at all. I thought I would be fine with soup and salad. The salad was definitely not fresh. The lettuce was brown on top of an older combination of lettuce and shredded carrots. It was slimy and tasted old as did all of the rest of the items on the salad bar. I love salad and literally could not eat it.
The third day, was Valentine's Day and we opted to eat in Zermatt where we had a wonderful late lunch at the Derby and skipped dinner that night at the Riffelhaus.
The following day, was fondue. THAT was fantastic and was a welcome change! I would have had that every night if available, but again, no one staying there could order from the menu. It was fixed. Salad bar was again tasteless except for that of being in a refrigerator for too long.
One night they did have a very good lentil soup. Desserts were inedible.
Breakfast was basic. Lovely breads, fresh fruit, juices, prepackaged yogurt and baked goods. Coffee makers were great!
If you stay here - have a plan for dinner.
The Spa:
One of the main reasons that I was really looking forward to staying there was the beautiful spa facilities that had been advertised. It was indeed a beautiful spa, well equipped, hot tub outside, very appealing. While Mike was skiing, my plan was to enjoy the spa and perhaps have a treatment. We went together to check it out and learned that the hot tub was kept only at body temperature. It was 0 degrees outside and way too cold for a hot tub kept at just body temperature. When I asked about the steam room and the other parts of the spa, I was told that they don't start them until after 3 pm when the skiers get off the mountains. So, prior to 3pm everyday, this beautiful spa was completely useless and disappointing. After, it was too busy to enjoy.
Julie one of the receptionists was a shining star also. Julie was always pleasant, helpful and cheerful. When our room was not cleaned on the second day (no, the do not disturb sign was NOT on the door), she brought us towels, bathrobes and extras. She checked us out and while we were waiting for the luggage carrier to arrive asked how our stay was. I told her the truth, delicately, but still the truth. She was sweet, helpful and should be compensated accordingly!
Something we learned during our stay was that the hotel is owned by a conglomerate of people. By comparison, the Hotel Eiger, rated a 4 star (we would rate a 5 star) is family owned and operated. Everyone who works there is invested in the success of the business and the comfort of its guests. We felt that was just not the case with the Riffelhaus. With the exception of Julie and the man who saw us struggling with our luggage, staff do not appear to be invested in the work. We often felt like a second thought.
