Hotel des Alpes

There are lots of good reviews for this place, but I notice a few that mention 'displeasure of English speaking people' and 'anti-Brit' and that was, disappointingly, absolutely our experience despite our having booked dinner for 42 people! As a group we were staying 10 minutes walk away at the international scout centre in Kandersteg - 34 Explorer scouts and 8 adults (and any poor reception is unlikely to be because of the abundance of young people - the centre has been intrinsic to the village for 100 years and must contribute massively to the local economy) When we first called from the UK to discuss the booking the owner claimed to not be the best English speaker but his wife picked up the conversation and everything was easily sorted. When we popped into confirm/change some details on arrival in the town the same guy was again reluctant to speak English but once he relented was easily able to do so and, whilst direct, was easy enough to deal with. On the evening of the booking, with the young people shopping in town, the 8 adult leaders planned to go early to the restaurant and enjoy a drink in the bar before the young people descended for their promised burgers (all orders pre-booked for everyone's convenience) The bar was busy with locals and the owner immediately greeted us with a sharp 'in the back' gesticulating for us to go to the restaurant at the rear. We checked out the empty space then made our way back to the bar but on trying to sit down were literally shooed out again angrily with 'English in the back'. The owner was increasingly rude and aggressive, repeating this again and again to our amazement, literally waving his arms in his determination that we don't sit and order beer in his bar, where there were plenty of seats available. Instead we chose to leave (and enjoyed a warm welcome and a cold beer at Hotel Edelweiss just across the road - would highly recommend and have included a picture - you might want to go there instead!) Had we been able to book dinner for 42 elsewhere at short notice we wouldn't have returned. When we did return to meet the young people for dinner, the two female members of staff (we believe his wife and another really hardworking, smily female waitress) couldn't have been more helpful and were clearly embarrassed at the owner's earlier behaviour and relieved to not have lost their 42 covers! The owner was now nowhere to be seen but we were upset/amazed that someone who relies on hospitality for business could be so rude and overtly anti-British. Later in the week one of our young people left his bag on a coach. When we called the driver to intercept it, he happened to drop it off at this same hotel for us to collect. When the young man (with no knowledge of our earlier experience) popped in to collect it, the owner demanded 10 CHF to return the bag. Our lad was alarmed/surprised and explained he had no cash, but was told that he needed to leave 'a tip' to get his own bag back. He grabbed it and ran

This is so truly a family hotel that at first I thought the stairwell was a closet because when I opened the door to go up I saw the family's coats, hats and other clutter. The decor downstairs is very much "family home" and not high end. BUT our room was perfect: uncluttered, comfortable, clean, quiet, spacious enough and had every amenity we might need. Also, the breakfast buffet was pretty good. All this at a very reasonable price and in a year when energy and food cost increases have made running a hotel more difficult. The views all around were beautiful. It's a little further from the station than I would have liked but quite walkable.

A group of friends tried to have a drink in the bar area. We were told in no uncertain terms and in a very rude manner that we were not welcome. We immediately turned around and left and found a much friendly place further down the road. I would not recommend this place if you are a tourist.

Gastfreundschaft vom Chef eine Katastrophe. Zimmer sind ganz in Ordnung und die Dame im Service hat einen echt guten Job gemacht. Leider ist der Chef arrogant und unfreundlich. Wir kommen nicht mehr.