Hotel Astoria — Hotel in Zermatt

I would like to know the difference between 3 stars and 4 star hotels. I also wonder how often hotel requirements are reviewed…

This was apparently a four star hotel - but everything about it is outdated. It does have a rustic feeling, like staying at your great grandmother’s house (see photos).

We asked to be picked up from the train station, which was very convenient considering we had all our snowboard gear and luggage. The staff is super friendly and always willing to help. Apparently there is a restaurant, but it’s not even listed on Google maps.

Upon arrival, we were asked for our COVID certificates and checked in. The taxi driver took our bags and put them in our room. When we got to the room, we kept waiting and waiting and eventually went down to reception to ask where the bags were. Apparently our room was changed (I guess we were upgraded?) so the person at reception brought our bags to the room.

About the room: if you are a light sleeper like me, you will wake up. You will hear the people partying at the bar next door, you will hear your neighbors opening their door, you will hear the upstairs neighbors walking around their room, you will hear anyone walking in the hallway. Bring earplugs.

The metal shutters that you have manually roll down cover the outside of the windows to block the sunlight out didn’t work fully. One of them didn’t even move. The balcony was huge, and also the ash tray was filled with cigarette butts from the chain smoker staying in the room before us. Our heater wasn’t very hot, more like lukewarm, but the comforters are so warm you wake up sweating. The room gets quite stuffy so you need to open the windows to put in fresh air.

The one thing I seriously hate are shower curtains. The shower has a wooden window with curtains, a metal shutter to manually roll down (on the outside), and in order to preserve the wooden window, you have to cover the window with shower curtains. There is no possibility to shower without the shower curtains touching you, as the shower door shut makes the width of the shower area super small. If you are an average or overweight person, there is no chance to shower comfortably. I’m a thin woman and little space.

There is an old school safe inside the wardrobe, but you need to go down to the reception to get the key.

There is a ski room, which is very convenient. The hotel is also located directly downtown near all the restaurants and bars, which is a plus.

The only toiletries provided were: 1 shower cap per guest, 1 nail filer per guest, 1 small soap, and 2 small hair/body wash packet (plastic). I had to keep bringing the small circular soap into the shower to use, then back to the sink to wash my hands.

Reception isn’t available at all hours, and you need to remember the code to get inside the hotel after reception hours.

There is no room service, but there is a mini bar, a water kettle for tea, and glasses to drink tap water. There is a shoe cleaner and shiner at the entrance. There is not fitness center, but there is a sauna room (at this time it was 2G+ so no one used it).

There aren’t that many plus if you need to charge devices. There are two on each side of the bed, one at the door, one inside the bathroom cabinet, and more if you unplug some lights or water kettle.

Breakfast is pretty standard: various types of non-special bread, corn flakes and chocolate cereal, super sweet jams, Nutella and ovalmatine spread, overnight oats, various fruits, teas, coffee, eggs upon request, tiny glasses for when you inconveniently want to drink 2L of water, yogurt, and random dried meats and cheese. It isn’t a very memorable breakfast and I didn’t eat much any of those days and went elsewhere for food.

The one positive thing for pet owners, is that dogs are allowed. They also have a doggy sitting service. I guess it’s harder to allow pets at a nicer hotel…

Honestly, if you want a more modern four star hotel experience, don’t stay here. Go somewhere like Firefly or even the 3 star hotel Carina.

It was a nice experience, but I wouldn’t...

Our MN Sitzmark group of 38 took over Hotel Astoria from 1/14, checking out early 1/21. The staff at this small hotel were attentive, cordial, helpful & enthusiastic about their service & town. I can't say enough about their daily hospitality. ||Our package included breakfast & dinner every day & the food was fresh, delicious & on-time. ||Mark is the hostest with the mostest & even played a bit of piano for us when he wasn't busy taking care of drinks & food or managing other details in the afternoons/evenings. Marta, Andrea & most of all, Margarida who was a brand new employee, made sure we had everything we needed at meals, made accommodations where necessary for food sensitivities, etc, checked to make sure we were comfortable in our rooms & in the new Wellness Ctr. ||Our room 305 was perfect on the top floor with a wrap around porch which unfortunately we didn't have much opportunity to use. It was not facing the Matterhorn but the views were still wonderful. I loved the high, wood vaulted ceiling, all the windows with the quaint white ruffled curtains, the armoire/closet storage & our sitting area that included a couch, 2 chairs & coffee table. ||The bathroom might be a bit dated but was perfectly functional, including good water pressure & plenty of hot water for a bath in the tub. ||The lighting was a bit dim which probably improved how we looked ;-). ||The Ski Room was a nice convenience with boot heaters & ski storage. ||The hotel location was convenient with the Slalom Ski Shop for equipment rentals & the elevator to access ski resort transportation around the corner. It is a couple of blocks from the Zermatt church & main street & about 10 blocks from the train station back to Tasch. We found many places to drink & shop close by. ||The outside bar on the corner & across the street can get loud if you have the windows open. I ALWAYs travel with ear plugs so it wasn't an issue for me. At least these establishments seem to turn off their music around 9p or so. ||The staff at Hotel Astoria made our stay so pleasant & easy I might consider...

Yesterday, when we arrived on the first night, we asked about the use of Sauna. We were told that the sauna may be being cleaned and we are not sure whether it can be used because of the use of chemicals, but the receptionist asked me to ask the receptionist the next day. The use time is from 16:00 to 21:00. After breakfast the next day, I asked the hotel employee. The hotel employee told me that she needed to ask the boss. She told me that usually their sauna is only opened when the weather is very bad. After I finished hiking, I asked the same receptionist again as yesterday. He said that the sauna could be used, but it would cost 15CHF/ per person. The same receptionist said it was free yesterday, and the staff said it was free in the morning, but they all had different reasons why we couldn't use the sauna, and then it became available, but for a fee! I booked this hotel just for the sauna. I didn't see any need to pay extra when I made the reservation, neither on Booking.com nor on their own website. Today on Booking.com I saw that they have Sauna "Additional charge" 21, Oct 2024

The only good thing is that the room is clean, but the shampoo & body wash in a three-star hotel come in two small...