Hotel Alphorn - Gstaad, Switzerland 

This is a very small hotel on the ski slope of Wispiel. This is a family friendly ski slope and is comparable to American green, blue and black. My husband is an expert skier and enjoys going to some of the other hills in the area like Wassengrat. I learned to ski as an adult and enjoy American green and blue trails. The hotel is of the typical swiss chalet look. Also you will smell cheeses downstairs. There is a breakfast available with your room. It is bread, toast, fresh juices, meats, cheeses, fruit, coffee, tea, cereal and milk. It was perfect for us. Also there is a bar and resturant in the building. We found the hot drinks at the bar to be great. We picked this hotel because I learned to ski on this slope and wanted a reasonable ski in/out place that had a hot tub. The hot tub here is a two person tub and it was like $8 for a use. You get tokens at the front desk. We never saw a tub that filled up for a use. It was very clean in the spa area. We found it hard to get a hotel in europe that has a hot tub available. In Geneva our hotel wanted $80 for use of the hot tub. The sauna is free. There is a tanning bed available for $5 for 15 minutes. The hotel is very small but does have an elevator. Also there are some rooms with balconies that face the ski slope. The beds were firm but they feather duvets were nice. The rooms have been renovated and our bathroom was very new. I liked the storage room for skis and boots on the main level. Also this hotel has a small ski shop onsite.

We rented a lovely two bedroom apartment at the top of the hotel for a good rate. We had a small kitchen and comfortable living room with a balcony. A satisfying breakfast is served each morning and the restaurant served good food all day. There is a small apres ski bar (stuebli) as well. We went with a large group of families and all enjoyed the experience. The staff is friendly and helpful. The location cannot be beat as it is on Wispile slopes and with the ski school just behind the hotel. A great ski rental shop is in the hotel. The Eggli gondola is a short walk away and there are several restaurants there - the Arc d Ciel has a play room and game room for kids and serves good food. Great choice in a lovely place. Gstaad is beautiful and the car-free main village is a 20-minute walk.