Hotel Mont Cervin Zermatt Switzerland

Zermatt, the crown jewell of the Valais (Wallis in German) is unique. First of all the entire village is, for practical purposes, a pedestrian zone. Non resident cars are not allowed, one leaves one's car in a guarded parking down in the valley (15 S.F. daily) and takes a mountain railway. The first glimpse of the Matterhorn as one emerges from the last tunnel is unforgettable -- there is no peak in the Alps, perhaps not in the whole world, which rises in such magnificent, isolated splendor. It simply takes one's breath away. A horse drawn carriage picks you up to the station and conveys you and your luggage to the hotel.Alexander Seiler, a mid nineteenth century Zermatt resident and budding entrepreneur recognized its potential to attract both tourists and potential climbers of the mountain and, in 1855, opened the Monte Rosa inn. When, some ten years later, after many unsuccessful attempts by others, the Englishman Edward Whymper finally succeeded in reaching the top, an ascent that ended with a fatal accident on the way down, a frisson went through the Western world and Zermatt's reputation as a must stage on any nineteenth century was made. Seiler built on this to eventually own a group of five hotels in the village of which the Mont Cervin is the flagship. It has everything that one would expect of a five star establishment, an indoor-outdoor pool, spa, sauna, tennis courts and of course skiing and skating in the winter. Zermatt is in the southern part of the country and the number of bright, sunny days that make hiking in the region such a glorious experience tends to be greater than in the Engadine. The finest adventure of all is to take the cable car up to the altitude of 12,000 feet and to walk on the Matterhorn glacier. One can attempt an ascent of the mountain of course, but only after having produced the bona fides of an experienced high altitude climber and even then only with a certified local guide, and those don't work cheap.For dining, there is a so-called eat around plan with which one can chose to take a meal in any of the eleven restaurants in the five Seiler hotels. Unfortunately all this comes at a price, in the offseason in summer one can expect to pay over 500 S.F. a day for the smallest double room and the winter prices are out of sight. One may of course choose to stay at one of the other four Seiler hotels (one is half way up the mountain), all of which are at least four stars, and pay perhaps between half and two thirds of that.