Description: This is a small (60 rooms, five stories) hotel by big-city standards but relatively large for Interlaken. It’s an easy 8-10 minute walk from the Interlaken Ost railstation and three blocks from the city’s municipal swimming pool and sports center.
The hotel is family-operated, so if the front-desk person is busy somewhere else you may have a wait to check in. Otherwise, service is prompt, pleasant and attentive. They treat you as a guest rather than as a customer. It’s a place for the basics: Clean, comfortable room, oversize bed with traditional northern European comforter, private bath and shower that -- surprise -- offers full water pressure. There’s a comfortable, invitingly furnished lobby and lounging area featuring live TV monitoring of weather conditions at Jungfraujoch and other popular sites. You’ll have to walk to the municipal sports center, at SWF 8/day, for a swim or workout.
Interlaken abounds with appealing-looking restaurants, but having a superb restaurant on-site was a huge plus the night the rains came.
The Hotel Interlaken is rated at four stars under the five-star Swiss tourism agency system -- more generous with its stars than some independent rating organizations might be. However, given the sky-high prices caused by a strong Swiss Franc and weak dollar, I considered it very good value for the money. The room lacked air-conditioning -- something only very expensive Swiss hotels have, I’m told -- but since my room had several windows facing west toward the prevailing wind, I had no trouble sleeping at night despite near-record daytime temperatures.
The huge Best Western chain seems to lease its name to any place that offers rooms for the night and accepts credit cards. Some properties that carry the name don’t deserve such world-wide brand recognition. This one DOES.
The Hotel Interlaken accepts American Express, Master Card, Diners Club and Eurocard brand credit cards and rates vary according to season. I wouldn’t hesitate to book here again.
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