After completing our German leg of Europe trip in Freiburg IM Briesgau, where we enjoyed our stay in Friedrich Boutique Apartment (read full review here), our next destination was Switzerland. And we chose Interlaken as the base for our 4 days in this beautiful country. So in this article, I will give feedback of my accommodation and also recommend where to stay in Interlaken (Switzerland).
As usual, recommendations are based on my real-life experience as we had stayed in these places. Alternate recommendations are based on what I think will be good.
Why Interlaken
We chose Interlaken because it has direct train connectivity from Freiburg IM Briesgau (3 hrs), has the charm of being a laid back typical Swiss town, is less crowded & less commercialized than Lucerne, is relatively cheaper and is a base to many great tourist attractions like Jungfrau, Heiderklum, Lauterbrunen, Grindleworld, Thun, Spiez and Brigg. Plus you can enjoy Panoramic Ride trains to Lucerne (every hour with ride time of 1 hr 50 min) and Golden Pass train going all the way to Montreux. Hence, choosing Interlaken as your base makes lots of sense.
My Recommendation Of Best Accommodations In Interlaken
Interlaken has 2 stations – Interlaken West and Interlaken OST. OST is the main railway station which is about 10 minutes bus ride from Interlaken West.
The place I am recommending for stay in Interlaken is Adventure Guesthouse located in Interlaken West.
USP of this apartment
The best thing about Adventure Guesthouse is that it is literally 2 minute walk from bus stand or 6-7 minute walk from Interlaken West railway station. The guesthouse is situated on a quiet and safe street and has beautiful views of mountains and people paragliding.
Hiking/Sports/Winter Cloth rental shop is located at corner of the street and there are many restaurants in walking distance.
Added advantage is that Interlaken West train station has just 2 platform which means you don’t have to carry luggage over stairs! (trust me it is a big relief when you are traveling with family and have large suitcases). You can just stroll them to either of the platform.
Type of Accommodation
This is a hotel cum guest house. Hence, you will not find kitchen in the room. But there is dining area at basement where breakfast is served and you can use the common kitchen there to cook your food after taking permission of the manager.
Coming to the stay, Adventure Guesthouse has 4 floors with each floor having about 4 rooms which are either 1 or 2 bedroom. The top floor is a family room and can accommodate upto 6 people.
What To Expect In The Apartment
Before you arrive, you will receive mail from Adventure Guesthouse inquiring about your arrival time and instructions on how to collect the key. There are only 2 people in the name of staff – Sylvia who manages reception and breakfast while other lady who cleans the rooms). Sylvia is available mainly in morning (upto 10 or 11am) and then in evening (between 5-7pm). If you come in these time, she will show you to your room. If you come at other time, you will get instructions on how to check-in.
Check-in time is usually around 4pm and check-out is around 11am.
Unfortunately there are no lifts in this guesthouse and you have to carry the luggage on your own via stairs.
Rooms are of decent size. Ours was the family room at top floor. It had 2 rooms and one bathroom. The first room had a double bed while the other room had 2 single bed (near attic) and one sofa cum bed. Bathroom had bathtub, shower area, w/c and basin with 24 hour hot/cold water facility.
Even though rooms do not have AC, we felt comfortable as weather was pleasant. If required, you can also open the roof window and other windows of the house to enjoy fresh air from Alps😊
The Wi-Fi worked fine and we never bothered to switch on TV as there is so much to do in and around Interlaken.
Room floor was vacuum cleaned daily and bathroom towels were changed if requested. Note – they did not make the bed during your stay.
There were ample of charging points in the room. Note that Switzerland has different charging sockets compared to rest of Europe. So if you are not carrying such socket, you can borrow one from reception.
People not comfortable with tissue paper for w/c can also borrow bidet for cleaning themselves by paying a small security deposit (refundable). Similarly, you can also borrow umbrellas from the reception during rainy weather.
Each floor of the building has drinking water jug, tea/coffee/milk sachet, hot kettle facility for guests to use.
Going by the name, Adventure guesthouse also conducts adventure activities and gives additional discounts on these for guests staying with them. Just speak at reception guests to book them in advance.
Each guest staying with them also gets city pass allowing them free public transport in Interlaken area and discount on few restaurants/destinations (though they may not be of much use if you already have Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Fare Card).
There is parking space available for few bikes/cars at the entrance.
The breakfast area also has few board games and books to keep you busy if you just want to relax.
Note that bathroom cannot be locked from inside. So either inform others before going in or just close the door and practice bathroom signing to maintain your privacy 😊
There is NO washing machine and we were fine with it since we had washed our clothes in Freiburg itself.
Breakfast is provided until 10am in the basement. These contain mainly items which do not require elaborate cooking. For vegetarians, options include juice, milk (hot and cold), fruits, salad (cucumber, carrot), bread, cheese, croissants, chocolate powder, corn flakes, dry fruits, honey, different type of jams, Nutella chocolate spread, flavored yogurt, tea (via teabags) and coffee (from vending machine). You also get boiled egg if you are an eggetarian.
Have a look at the inside view of this apartment:
What I liked about Adventure Guesthouse:
- Location –
- 6-8 min walk to Interlaken West Railway Station
- 2 min walk to Bus Stand
- Walkable to major grocery stores like Coops and Migros
- Lots of restaurant options within 10-15 min walking radius
- Decent market to purchase souvenirs, electronics, grocery
- Breakfast
- Daily cleaning of room
- Parking facility
- Discount on adventure activities booked via them
What can be improved
- How I wish they had lift facility
- Locks for bathroom
- Washing machine
Alternate Choice
If you don’t find availability in Adventure guesthouse, you can look for Adventure Hostel, Ferrari apartment. Both are in the same area to this apartment and hence will offer nearly same benefits.
All these rooms can be booked via Booking.com. Hope you enjoy your stay here. Looking forward to your experiences .
