Carlton - Europe Vintage Adults Hotel — Attraction in Interlaken

Quirky, great location, fantastic staff, would definitely stay again

We had a 7 night stay at Carlton-Europe as part of a 2 week European vacation. The location is perfect, literally 5 minutes from Interlaken Ost, which is the main station from where the transport leaves to go on the various mountain excursions. The weather during the week was capricious, with sudden rain so we appreciated the short dash to the hotel.

The hotel is quirky, every room is decorated and furnished in a different style. We hadn’t paid for the premium rooms but still the rooms were pretty spacious, managing to fit a cupboard, chest of drawers and desk as well as the double bed and bedside tables. The bathroom was small but very clean and had everything I needed. Shower (no bath), heated towel rail and very powerful hairdryer which was a win!! Thank goodness it had “proper” hangers instead of the hideous anti-theft hangers which don’t come off the cupboard bar.

The beds were very very comfy with big fluffy pillows, perfect for the weary bones that had hiked mountain trails. We stayed in four 4-star hotels in 2 weeks on this trip, and hands down these were the best beds we slept in. Just heaven.

The views from our rooms were lovely, mountain views to wake up to every morning. There was a slight issue with one of the rooms but it was sorted out very quickly by Florian.

However we have already given feedback to the hotel that we would recommend adding USB and USB-C sockets to the rooms for charging mobiles and tablets, it would make things easier. (The hotel uses the 3 prong Swiss plugs which you can hire from the hotel with a CHF20 deposit which gets returned when you return the plug.)

Breakfast is in a large room on the ground floor at the back of the hotel, and when it’s warm enough it looks like it will spill over onto the terrace. Breakfast buffet was ok: a few hot items (scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages), cold meats and several delicious Swiss cheeses, yoghurts, cereals, different types of croissants (I think one was vegan), different breads, fresh juices, and then teas and coffees.

And last but most importantly, the staff were really great. As mentioned, Florián sorted an issue very quickly and he and all the staff we interacted with were friendly, efficient and happy to help. Before my arrival Geri and Frederic were prompt and efficient at answering my emails for information. The staff at breakfast never stopped, they were all over the dining room, delivering guest requests, clearing tables, resetting them, and replenishing the buffet. Unfortunately I didn’t get everyone’s names but Elisabeth, Petra and Niko were very nice.

Overall, I would recommend Carton Europe, and would certainly stay there again if I went...

TLDR - If you just focus on best location to Interlaken Ost over everything else, I recommend to choose this hotel, but if you are concerned on other things including the price, then keep reading the full review and please make an informed decision.

Carlton-Europe Vintage Hotel has an amazing location — just a few minutes’ walk from Interlaken Ost, even with heavy luggage. The adults-only setup makes the atmosphere calm and peaceful, and the bed was super comfortable. We really liked the modern touches like the motorized blinds and a well-equipped bathroom with a nice bathtub. Wi-Fi worked reliably throughout the stay, and having a kettle and coffee machine in the room was a plus.

However, there were a few letdowns. The room is very hot during the summer months (we visited in mid June) , and you can't open windows due to dust and flys. And the hotel has no air conditioning but they provide a small fan, and it was enough for us. I am not sure they provide this fan in every room because without the fan, your stay will be very unpleasant, so make sure to check that in advance. The carpet hadn’t been properly cleaned — we found food crumbs from previous guests, and the daily housekeeping only focused on the bed and bathroom. The vintage furniture looked nice but wasn’t comfortable at all. The floors made loud creaking sounds with every step, which felt like walking during a minor earthquake — likely due to the old wooden structure. Breakfast was very basic and repeated every day with little variety, and the TV only had two English channels, which is surprising for a hotel that welcomes international guests.

Also, the large very heavy room key and the open key rack system felt outdated and not very secure (it feels ridiculous). While there were nice parts to the stay, the overall experience could definitely be improved with better attention to cleanliness and guest comfort.

Price was 1249 CHF for 3 nights, which is nearly 416 CHF per night, so for this price tag as well as being a 4 star hotel, they should definitely provide more value to guests. But then again all the nearby hotels in Interlaken has this ridiculous prices so there is nothing we can do about this, if you wanna convenience, then prepare to pay a hefty sum of money. That is Switzerland travel for you...

Dear readers, If you are considering this hotel, please kindly be advised not to stay in this hotel which not only has no integrity but also lack basic responsibility to its guests. To share my experience, I came back in the evening to the hotel and realised there was no hot water. I was not informed beforehand as a guest in the suite and when I called to ask, the front desk manager Florian lied that this is an issue affecting the entire city. However upon checking, we found this was a lie because no other hotels had the same issue. We then asked to check out immediately and speak to the manager to cancel the remaining booking, but Florian said his manager is sleeping and he cannot call him and that he himself had no authority to waive the charges for our balance stay. How un-accommodating and unhelpful is this? Which hotel has no means to contact a decision maker in event of an urgent situation, especially in such circumstances where the hotel has no hot water throughout for the guests as so claimed? Clearly the front desk is lying again.

In addition housekeeping was sloppy, a piece of litter left on the floor has not even been cleared for days. The lobby smells of food constantly due to the restaurant next door. For my suite, when the vent in the bathroom is switched on, the same food smell enters the room, clearly there is some major ventilation issue and this is their so called signature suite. Very unbecoming and poor service of a so called 4-star hotel. Please do reconsider and if you have any choice even a 3-star hotel, do definitely avoid this for...