Interlaken, Hotel Chalet Swiss

The Chalet Swiss Hotel is located in the pretty Unterseen area of Interlaken - a short 5 minute walk from Interlaken West train station. It is really conveniently located for the trains and the steamers.

The hotel is chocolate box pretty - a typical Swiss chalet building - wooden with window boxes full of bright flowers. There is a lovely little garden at the front and an annexe building to the back housing more rooms, a small but friendly bar area and in the basement a whirl pool and children's toy room.

Reception and check-in was efficient and friendly - all hotel staff were really friendly, helpful and knowledgable about the area. Our room was located in the annexe. The rooms, although not decorated in the latest fashions, are comfortable, cosy and spotlessly clean. Our room was split-level with a very large comfortable bed upstairs and downstairs a single bed, 2 chairs and settee, television and small balcony area. The bathroom had a bath and shower and was adequate for our needs. We needed a travel cot for our toddler - this cost in the region of £40 for a week - suggest if you need one bring it along. There are no tea or coffee making facilities or fridge in the room.

The television had a couple of English speaking channels - a tip is to look at the tourist information channel - it has lots of information - in German, English and Japenese - on the local area and things to do, weather forecasts and cameras at the tops of the mountains and other viewpoints so you can see current weather and viewing conditions and decide whether a trip up is worth it that day or not.

We were staying on a half board basis - breakfasts are continental style, dinners were 3 or 4 courses - no choice, but menus were displayed each morning and if there was something you did not like, they would serve an alternative providing you informed them by 10:00 am. Food was fairly basic but filling.

The hotel has a large toy room in the basement filled with all kinds of toys and a table football game. Our son loved it there.

Interlaken itself is a great place for a holiday - very beautiful with its location on the River Aare between the 2 lakes of Thun and Brienz. There are stunning views of the snow capped mountains in the distance. It has lovely riverside walks, quaint shops and fantastic transport connections to all other places in the area.

We particularly enjoyed just strolling around the town, and also a horse and carriage ride - around £30 for half an hour around Interlaken. It was relaxing and fun and we had a friendly and knowledgeable "driver". Harder Kulm and Heinweh Fluh are 2 viewpoints above Interlaken at different ends of the town - both reached by funicular railway and both have lovely views of the town, the lakes and the mountains. At Heimweh Fluh you can descend by tobaggan - a fun, thrilling and fast way to get back down again.

Other trips we especially enjoyed were a trip to Lauterbrunnen Valley - 15 minutes by train from Interlaken and one of the most beautiful places ever - sheer bluffs each side and 72 waterfalls cascading down into the valley. Take the funicular and railway at the top to Murren - a delightful, small, traffic-free village high above the valley with picture postcard chalets, flowers and amazing views of the mountains.

The steamer trips around both Lakes are fun and the scenery is lovely. You can hop on and off at the different stops - we most enjoyed Spiez on Lake Thun - little boats, lovely bars and restaurants and a quiet relaxing atmosphere.

The Alpine Gardens at Schnige Platte are also worth visiting - you get there by cog wheel railway - the journey up is lovely, the views at the top awe inspiring. The gardens are hilly and steep but you see all sorts of local flora and fauna - we saw edelweiss growing.

All transport links are wonderful - everything runs on time, is really clean and efficient and easy to use. The steamers have a family area with toys, colouring pencils and books and some of the trains have family compartments which have slide and climbing frame and a play area for children. We used the fly rail system - checked our luggage in at the airport in England, it was then transferred for us directly to the hotel - we didn't have to wait around to collect it at the airport or transport it and could just enjoy the rail journey to Interlaken. The same in reverse on the way back - it worked a treat.

All in all a wonderful holiday - Interlaken is a beautiful place with something for everyone, the hotel is lovely and well located and I would recommend it to anyone.