Two stars describes my opinion of the hotel's facilities. It would take fewer stars to rate my experience with their deceptive advertising and the poor customer service which I experienced.
It's unfortunate that yelp! reviews for hotels outside of the U.S. are scarce, which makes it so much harder avoid mistakes. This is particularly true when you are making a special vacation to Switzerland. On such a special trip you deserve and expect that distinctive atmosphere, service, decor, and hospitality that are unique to Swiss culture. In my experience, this place truly lacks such attributes or qualities.
In terms of facilities, the room had a fly though it was the middle of winter. In my particular room, spotlights in the parking lot shone directly at my window and hit my eyes while I was trying to fall sleep. Also, the bathtub was dangerously high, hard to climb into, and easy to fall out off. The place gave me a general grossed-out feeling.
Even more disturbing was their deceptive description on booking.com stating "The Alpenhotel features a restaurant serving Swiss and Italian specialities and every day you can start with the complimentary buffet breakfast." However, after you make your reservation, the booking.com website prompts you to respond whether you are interested in breakfast at CHF10 per person. I immediately called booking.com (call cost me nearly $9) and was promised they'd resolve this with the hotel owners and call me back. To date, they have not called back. At that point it was not possible to cancel my reservation without incurring a penalty of CHF 120 (over $133).
Upon arriving to the hotel, the clerk asked me how many breakfasts I would like to purchase. I explained her the ad of complimentary breakfast and she said that under no circumstances would she honor that ad. She again inappropriately demanded 20 Francs from me. I declined breakfast, since at that point why would I want to eat with these folks?
Almost week later, the false advertising still on ad hasn't been taken down from booking.com on the Internet.... Hello?
Unlike other hotels in Switzerland where the staff has an excellent command of English (the language of travelers) and German (the official local language), the desk person at Alpenhotel exhibited proficiency in neither, which made it impossible for them to understand my complaints and me explaining the unfairness of their advertising.
There is nothing Authentic or Authentically Swiss about this hotel, thus even the name "Alpenhotel" is deceiving and misleading. If you're on a budget, you're better off going to a "Jugendherberge" where you pay less for better facilities and enjoy an Authentic Swiss experience.
Again, their facilities get two stars. It would take fewer stars to rating my experience with their misleading advertising and lack of integrity in their customer service. read more