3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat — Hotel in Zermatt

My wife have grown quite fond of mountaintop lodgings for our ski holidays and they don’t come much more emblematic than 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat. Perched atop a peak facing the iconic Matterhorn, it exemplifies the panoramic views and towering location that we adore. ||Make no mistake, despite my issues raised below, this is a truly magical property. But it isn’t cheap and it comes with a number of limitations that you should be aware of marooned in the middle of nowhere.||• COMFORTABLE ROOMS WITH STUNNING VIEWS – Especially the Matterhorn view rooms where the image of this iconic promontory fills your window.|• NICELY PRESENTED FOOD – Not quite gourmet, but a clever effort to dress it up with alluring ingredients and garnishes. But the food is tasty and the portions are ample.||HINT - GETTING THERE IS VERY COMPLICATED – Do not just put the hotel in your satnav as it will not be able to help you and you will hit lot of problems. Here is a step-by-step guide to getting there:|• AVOID THE CAR-TRAIN: The satnavs will give you the fastest route that takes you on a route where you load your car onto a train to be transported through a shortcut tunnel, BUT that train runs very irregularly. So you end of up waiting an hour for a train that saves you 30 minutes of driving time.|• GO TO TASCH, SWITZERLAND: Tasch is where you park your car. In fact, I think that the town’s sole purpose in life is to be a giant parking lot for Zermatt. You see Zermatt itself is CAR FREE. So you have to park in Tasch and take a 12 minute shuttle train into Zermatt. I recommend the underground parking lot just to the left of the train station (facing it) which had reasonable prices (12 euros/day), plenty of spaces, but most importantly was the shortest walk to the station (very important when lugging luggage full of ski equipment).|• RENT SKI GEAR AT BAYARD – Unlike most ski resorts, the ski rental shops are not obvious. We had to ask to find one. Several people recommended Bayard and they gave us great service. Most importantly, they are on the block adjacent to the train station again minimizing lugging distance.||LIMITATIONS - It is a stunning, bucket-list worthy property, but its pricey rack-rates also command a bit of discernment…|• OBSERVATORY NOT AVAILABLE – When you read about the place, one of the first things that gets mentioned is its observatory heritage which includes still operational telescopes available for public use. HOWEVER, the observatory is run by a separate company and viewings are only available by prior and separate arrangements. This situation could be better communicated and coordinated.|• LOUNGE NOT AVAILABLE – Unfortunately, the hotel doesn’t yet have a common area lounge where you can relax and have drink. You can go down to the dining room and sit at one of the tables with the view of the Matterhorn, but nothing more comfortable. So it is either a table or your room. They are in the process of remodeling the facility and hope to have a lounge within the year.|• ROOM LAYOUT – Not sure which jobs-worth design flunky laid out the rooms. The standard for any resort with an amazing view is to position the beds facing the window so you can lounge in bed facing the view. They have plenty of space in the room to shuffle the beds into the centre of the room. That would allow them to position the room desk at the headboard of the bed so that while you were working at the desk, you too could gaze out the window (if we came back again, we would re-arrange the furniture ourselves).|• SPA – Getting down to Zermatt is not all that easy as it is a 20+ minute train ride with an irregular schedule (and an expensive 42 euros each way without a ski pass). The resort needs to squeeze out a little room for a sauna for exhausted hikers and skiers to relax in. Also, recruiting a list of mobile massage therapists willing to do treatments at the hotel by appointment...

My wife have grown quite fond of mountaintop lodgings for our ski holidays and they don’t come much more emblematic than 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat. Perched atop a peak facing the iconic Matterhorn, it exemplifies the panoramic views and towering location that we adore. ||Make no mistake, despite my issues raised below, this is a truly magical property. But it isn’t cheap and it comes with a number of limitations that you should be aware of marooned in the middle of nowhere.||• COMFORTABLE ROOMS WITH STUNNING VIEWS – Especially the Matterhorn view rooms where the image of this iconic promontory fills your window.|• NICELY PRESENTED FOOD – Not quite gourmet, but a clever effort to dress it up with alluring ingredients and garnishes. But the food is tasty and the portions are ample.||HINT - GETTING THERE IS VERY COMPLICATED – Do not just put the hotel in your satnav as it will not be able to help you and you will hit lot of problems. Here is a step-by-step guide to getting there:|• AVOID THE CAR-TRAIN: The satnavs will give you the fastest route that takes you on a route where you load your car onto a train to be transported through a shortcut tunnel, BUT that train runs very irregularly. So you end of up waiting an hour for a train that saves you 30 minutes of driving time.|• GO TO TASCH, SWITZERLAND: Tasch is where you park your car. In fact, I think that the town’s sole purpose in life is to be a giant parking lot for Zermatt. You see Zermatt itself is CAR FREE. So you have to park in Tasch and take a 12 minute shuttle train into Zermatt. I recommend the underground parking lot just to the left of the train station (facing it) which had reasonable prices (12 euros/day), plenty of spaces, but most importantly was the shortest walk to the station (very important when lugging luggage full of ski equipment).|• RENT SKI GEAR AT BAYARD – Unlike most ski resorts, the ski rental shops are not obvious. We had to ask to find one. Several people recommended Bayard and they gave us great service. Most importantly, they are on the block adjacent to the train station again minimizing lugging distance.||LIMITATIONS - It is a stunning, bucket-list worthy property, but its pricey rack-rates also command a bit of discernment…|• OBSERVATORY NOT AVAILABLE – When you read about the place, one of the first things that gets mentioned is its observatory heritage which includes still operational telescopes available for public use. HOWEVER, the observatory is run by a separate company and viewings are only available by prior and separate arrangements. This situation could be better communicated and coordinated.|• LOUNGE NOT AVAILABLE – Unfortunately, the hotel doesn’t yet have a common area lounge where you can relax and have drink. You can go down to the dining room and sit at one of the tables with the view of the Matterhorn, but nothing more comfortable. So it is either a table or your room. They are in the process of remodeling the facility and hope to have a lounge within the year.|• ROOM LAYOUT – Not sure which jobs-worth design flunky laid out the rooms. The standard for any resort with an amazing view is to position the beds facing the window so you can lounge in bed facing the view. They have plenty of space in the room to shuffle the beds into the centre of the room. That would allow them to position the room desk at the headboard of the bed so that while you were working at the desk, you too could gaze out the window (if we came back again, we would re-arrange the furniture ourselves).|• SPA – Getting down to Zermatt is not all that easy as it is a 20+ minute train ride with an irregular schedule (and an expensive 42 euros each way without a ski pass). The resort needs to squeeze out a little room for a sauna for exhausted hikers and skiers to relax in. Also, recruiting a list of mobile massage therapists willing to do treatments at the hotel by appointment...

We stayed at the Gornergrat hotel for two nights and it was spectacular.

The views on the way up (and down) on the train are out of this world and from memory I think the trip up and down is approx 40-45 mins. The train adds a considerable level of cost to the trip but totally worth it in my opinion.

The rooms were very comfortable and warm, no issues with the accommodation at all and there was plenty of hot water for a shower at the end of each day. The room was very clean and exceptionally easy to relax in with tea/coffee making facilities. To be honest though its the views that are the highlight of each room and to be bale to sit with a warm drink and look out over the Matterhorn really is priceless. In terms of the accommodation the only thing I would change is to add a place for guests to use during the day away from the general restaurant area as it can be very busy and it would be nice to have a quiet sitting place outside of your room. I appreciate that space is tight at such a location but it is very busy during the day. After 6pm you have the entire place to yourself and at that point it really feels very special.

Each and every member of the hotel team that we came into contact with were very friendly and helpful, especially in the evenings when only residents remained on site. Even the chefs made an effort to say a cheery hello when they came front of house. We felt well looked after.

It would be prudent to consider the altitude and conditions when visiting. We underestimated the effects of living at 10000ft for a few days v's a short visit. I was amazed at how the lack of oxygen gets to your legs and drains your energy. A day acclimatising in Zermatt would help if you had that opportunity. It really all comes down to how you are personally affected. We had a difficult night of sleep initially but the second night was much better.

I think it would be wise to check with your travel insurance company to make sure you are covered should something go wrong at that altitude, I suspect that emergency help at the top of the mountain could be very, very expensive if you need it after the trains have stoped running. We visited in mid December, when we left Zermatt the temperature was -5, on stepping off the train at the hotel it was around -20 so be sure to dress appropriately. With the correct clothing the experience is exhilarating.

There is absolutely no handholding and you would be free to wander off into the roof of the alps if you took a wrong turn!

There are lots of viewing areas and some other leisure activities, shops etc. There is also a decent sized cafe with hot food and drinks during the day.

Breakfast and an evening meal were included in the stay and the food was fantastic, especially on the first night where there was a huge buffet and cheese fondue. Probably one of the best meals I've ever had. LOVED it.

Before arriving we had to give a list of food requirements which we appreciated as i have a nut allergy and my wife is vegetarian. Unfortunately I was served food with nuts twice, on the first occasion a bowl of nuts and the second time in a soup which was thankfully noticed by a member of staff who whisked the food away and replaced it. My wife was served a vegetarian desert which we suspected probably contained gelatine, we asked if the desert was veggie and were told yes, when we asked to confirm with the kitchen our suspicions were confirmed. Getting important food requirements wrong in such an isolated location is asking for trouble so if you stay I would double check if you are not sure.

Not a cheap trip, but it is a once in a lifetime experience so you'll have to decide if it's worth it for you. From the experience we had I can highly recommend the train trip and the hotel, it was an...