Grichting Badnerhof Swiss Quality Hotel - Leukerbad, Switzerland     

On our recent trip to Umbria, we needed a family room in Wallis and found one in Leukerbad, thru Expedia (€148 a night) . After a long car ride from Holland, we arrived at the Badnerhof around six, with two kids needing to spend some excess energy and looking forward to a dip in the pool. So we were not amused, to say the least, to learn they had no reservation under our name; they had no idea why they had no trace of the confirmed reservations we'd made thru Expedia. The reception was very apologetic and madame Grichting herself set about finding us another place to stay as they had no other, suitable rooms available. She directed us to the (empty) bar, gave us complimentary beverages and then found us another room in Leukerbad, at the nearby Zayetta (another Grichting hotel!). Before checking-in there, we made sure they had our reservation for our return trip. "Ah ja, we do have zat one....." When we retuned two weeks later, on our way back home, we had an enjoyable stay though. Again, something went awry as somehow our confirmed request for extra beds for our children had not resulted in the actual placement of these in the room. They set that right though, before bedtime even, although the fold-ups themselves had indeed seen better times!! The room itself was clean and quite large, with a small kitchen stashed away in a cupboard and a sizable balcony with a great view of the surrounding mountains. The whole room - esp. the bathroom - was very seventies with dark greens, browns and woody floral motives. I imagine this must be quite to the liking of the clientele at the Badnerhof which consisted almost entirely of very, very old people. As old people go to bed early, the fact that the hotel seemingly has quite thin walls and floors did not lead to problems as noise goes. My wife was not very partial to the very small elevator though; it had no light so the slow ride up was made in pitch dark. Something we only found out after the four of us, the receptionist and our luggage were crammed in and the doors closed. There was no explanation from our receptionist, so I'm guessing it was standard. On the plus-side, the breakfast buffet was excellent. Furthermore, the hotel has its own inside (Thermen)pool (15x40 feet) as well as a sauna, hay-therapy room (!) and relax-areas. A masseuse is on duty. As the "spa" is quite small, the hotel also offers substantial discounts on entrance fees to the larger Thermen down the street. Another nice discount was offered on the fare for the cable-car to Gemmi pass (a trip worth taking!!). Normal price is 27 francs, but tickets at the hotel were only 5 francs!! The size of the room in combination with the very friendly staff and the hotel's amenities made the stay at this hotel pleasant enough; just make sure in advance they have your reservation!!