Alpin Palace Murren

I just stayed at the Anfi Palace Hotel October 7 - 9, 2005. Having never been to Switzerland, my husband and I were blown away by Murren - the location, and views from this hotel. The staff was very nice and accommodating - we found they all spoke at least enough English for us to get by. The hotel was in some pretty serious need of updating, but our room was large and relatively comfortable, with dishes, a mini-bar, etc. The towels were frayed and patched, giving the whole place a bit of a lower quality feeling.

We had an amazing view of 3 of the peaks right outside our room, which was facing the train station. Although the hotel is conveniently located right next to the train station, noise is not an issue. We never heard the train pull up, even when we were waiting for it. Cows, however, are taken up hill to higher pastures with their loud cow bells around 9 in the morning - right outside the hotel (during fall at least). That's the only noise you'd have to worry about & it's kind of a cool experience anyway.

The pool in the Sportzentrum next door was nice, and there is a connecting hallway, so you never have to walk outside to reach it. The hot tub next to the pool was not very exciting... lukewarm. We were disappointed that the sportcenter has limited hours - only open for a few hours in the afternoon/early evening. Before we arrived at the hotel, we were told that massage services were available. In actuality, the sport center offers it... but only had 2 ladies available with limited availability (none during the 3 days we were in town - Fri, Sat, Sun). So, if you are planning on using that service, it would be best to reserve well in advance.

We did not have dinner at the hotel, but the breakfast buffet was pretty extensive... several different meats, cheeses, breads, yogurts, nuts, cereals, and juices... as well as eggs, sausages, and pancakes. Much better than we'd had at other hotels throughout Switzerland.

Dining and nightlife options are very limited - this is a place to relax. The Balloon bar was deserted when we were there - had to grab one of the waitresses from the restaurant to pour us a drink so we could use the $3.50 vouchers they gave us for our stay. The nearby grocery store is great for snacks and picnic materials, but it's closed on Sundays.

When we checked out, our bill had a bunch of extra charges and then credits... with no real description of what had happened. We're not sure why it was so messed up, but the whole thing ended up being about 50 CHF lower than expected, so we didn't complain about the details. It does suggest the staff may not be 100% on top of things.

Overall, I would recommend this hotel, primarily for the location. The engineering of the trains and funiculars is truly amazing. From Murren, you can visit the Top of Europe - Jungfraujoch with approximately a 2 hour train ride (expensive, but worth doing at least once), you can paraglide (not scary; highly recommended) or do any number of similar activities with companies based in Interlaken, and any number of other activities. This is one of the most beautiful, accessible parts of the world - it will blow you away.