Advantages: Fantastic Food, shops, atmosphere, scenery and snow
Disadvantages: Nothing compared to the advantages

...“Zermatt is a place all skiers must go to before they die” Well, the guide books that state that are spot on. It’s that time of year again, when keen skiers & boarders start to think about their next winter holiday, and where it should be this year. Well, if you haven’t tried Zermatt, Switzerland, then this resort should be near the top of your list. It’s simply excellent. I have been there several times, and love it. There’s a charm, a magic that runs through the lively and attractive village. The lifts are fast and efficient and the runs which take you through stunning scenery, seem to always be in excellent condition. Zermatts height affords the resort a fantastic snow record with skiing from early on in the season till mid April. The resort has three main mountains. Rothorn, Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn. All three offer fantastic... Read review

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Advantages: Good food & excellent Matterhorn views
Disadvantages: Swimming pool is freezing & swimwear is optional in the sauna!

...I stayed at this hotel in May 2006, whilst 6 months pregnant! It was fantastic! Zermatt is a car free zone so you have to park your car at the large car park outside Zermatt & catch the train. The short train journey will then arrive at the train station where you can pick up a free transfer from the hotels electric powered mini bus. We just walked which was about 10/15mins as it's at the opposite end of the resort. The hotel is beautifully furnished with pine clad on the walls & ceilings in the rooms. You must ask for a Matterhorn view, it will just make your holiday to wake up every morning & see the mountain from your bed. Our room was on the top floor so we had velux windows to really maximise the views. We stayed on a half board & you get a set menu with 2/3 choices. Being pregnant I was limited to what I could eat... Read review

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Advantages: Trafic free, swiss run lifts.
Disadvantages: Price not for a new skier

...I visited Zermatt for the ski season, it is one of switzerlands trafic free resorts so to get there you should be taking a train at some point although there are also taxis availible throughout the day and night. It may be trafic free but do watch out for the horses and milk floats wizzing round the resort. You will find quiet a few high priced clothes stores here, lots of yummy cafes and every other shop sells ski hire (my favourite being glazier sport). As you can imagin life revolves around the mountains and why not their preety good to look at and even better to look down from but Zermatt does not come cheap and although you can learn to ski here people dont find it easy and if you do go for the yellow coats not the red locals. Looking for a hotel my favourits were the Buterfly, Schweiserhof and the Alpenhof. The best... Read review

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Advantages: Cheaper, Less Crowded, Atmospheric...
Disadvantages: May Be Cheaper, But Still Not Cheap!

...-pass. There will be enough to contend with at Val Thorens itself, so it's best to save yourself both the expense and the disappointment, unless, of course, snow-conditions are exceptionally good. The village at Val Thorens is purpose-built and relatively new, and can seem a little bleak and soul-less, especially in contrast to its two more picturesque sister-resorts in the valleys below. It's comprised of a large number of grey, high-rise, apartment and hotel complexes, which appear especially stark against their pretty alpine backdrop. However, it does boast some pretty good nightlife, and as said, is situated at a very favourable altitude, presenting some of the most reliable skiing in Europe from November through to March, or even April. I felt keenly aware of the resorts high altitude the first time I visited, in January of 1991. The first Gulf War had just... Read review

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Advantages: wonderful scenery
Disadvantages: touristy in places and not cheap to buy drinks

...much energy. Zermatt is the main town serving the area around the Matterhorn – perhaps the most famous mountain in the region. We got a little lost in the town finding our hotel, but we got there eventually! It was a small place called Hotel Le Petit. The décor was a bit disappointing after the Bellevue au Lac – rather dingy – but the couple that ran the hotel were very friendly and the food again was excellent. Zermatt really exists only to serve the tourist visiting the regions and was quite a busy place. However, there are no cars at all in Zermatt – just little electric buggies that all the hotels seemed to have. We spend a lot of the time in Zermatt travelling up the different mountains by rack-railway or cable car. The area is very popular with hikers although we didn’t do much walking because of my M.E. The views... Read review

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Advantages: About time I told you who I am
Disadvantages: ...not sure I want you to know

...only prerequisite was that I be granted a year abroad. A year, as it transpired, spent based in Karlsruhe enjoying myself and doing no work in a way that used to be de riguer for students but has since gone out of fashion. From there I toured the country (on the un-remarked “Sixpack” tour ~ if you have not seen Sexy Lexy, you have not lived…ah but that’s another Op altogether)…I also did the, at the time obligatory, Interail trip. Not trying to cram all Europe into a month, I stuck to Italy (Rome, Ferrara, and Florence stand out), Switzerland (Zermatt, walking on the Matterhorn, fabulous train rides in springmelt snow, Luzern), and Austria (Graz because I loved it, and Vienna because I hated it). Of everywhere that month, Venice is where I most want to go back to. Life took over for a while, until I... Read review

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Advantages: Very comprehensive; largely accurate; informative
Disadvantages: Not overly portable; the central tenet of “budget travel” is not adhered to in all sections; significantly more useful for Americans

...a surprisingly comprehensive history of Europe, and rather dubious travel tips, appear to be principally aimed at American travelers. I was not nearly as bemused with this as many might have assumed. If anything, this superfluous advice (most of which is wisely concentrated in an introductory section) was quite amusing – consider one particular pearl of wisdom instructing the traveler to wear “an Adidas shirt” and “tight jeans” in order to “fit in” as a European! The volume was at its most useful pertaining to accommodation. Accommodation details were highly accurate, and were indispensable when phoning ahead to reserve places at hotels or youth hostels. City sights are also well described, complete with entry prices and opening times. Information on restaurants, on the other hand, is often sketchy... Read review

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Advantages: Great hotels and resoanbly priced
Disadvantages: Get booked up quickly!!

...Marriott Hotels and Resorts Marriott Hotels and Resorts is an American based company that offers hotels throughout the world mainly through a franchise agreement. I have stayed in many Marriott’s throughout the UK, Europe and also in the USA and have always found them to be a good standard of hotel providing excellent facilities, accommodation and courteous staff. There are different types and standards of Marriott hotel including Marriott marquis which are the crème de la crème of the chain as well as the cheaper and more cost effective Marriott Courtyard brand in addition to the Renaissance brand and Marriott time share opportunities. As most of my Marriott experiences are based on the standard Marriott hotels I will concentrate on that brand here!! Who are Marriott aiming for? I would say that the majority... Read review

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Advantages: Price. Food. Service. Comfort. Quiet. Location.
Disadvantages: Looks like an Office Block!

...- but it was the best spread that I have ever applied to bread! OVERALL VALUE FOR MONEY 10 / 10 Anyone that has read my previous hotel reviews will know that I very rarely walk away from a hotel totally satisfied. Value for money and English hotels are a direct contradiction in terms - in Eastern Germany it would seem that this is not the case. The very unassuming looking Amber Hotel, all things considered, probably offered the best value for money of any hotel that we have stayed in anywhere. It would thus be unfair to award it anything less than top marks here. HOW LIKELY AM I / ARE WE, TO USE THIS HOTEL AGAIN? Almost certain to is the answer to that. Thanks to its ideal location, travelling east or west through Europe on E40 and the excellent value for money - especially bearing in mind the quality of the food - we actually look... Read review

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Advantages: Area, access from Geneva, skiing, nightlife.
Disadvantages: Expense. Lift queues.

...Probably amongst the top 10 ski resorts in the world. Having been to 2 of the others, Zermatt and Val D’Isere, this ranks as good as any in my submission. Like the other European ones it IS expensive, but class shines through at every corner. This is no longer a small little village. In summer, the population may only be about 2,500, but in winter this swells to maybe 50,000. Having owned a property here, I can tell you for sure that the skiing is top-notch for all but beginners, although this has been a moot point for many years and is being addressed, as is the length of lift queues, but the latter may not be so easy while the community allows the building of more and more chalets. Nothing is cheap here, with ski passes for a week being about Sfr 340.00(you had better check these prices because the latest prices on the website... Read review

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