Hotel Victoria Ritter

The hotel is centrally situated not far from the railway station (to airports) or bus stop to the cable car with shops and post office nearby. You can ski directly from a field adjacent to the hotel. Ski storage in the hotel basement is easily accessible. There are two or three places hiring skis and snowshoes. The village is at the end of a valley with no direct access beyond, so there is little traffic. There are a number of other hotels and restaurants but Kandersteg is not a lively centre for apres-ski - no clubs or casinos! There is an internationally-famous Scout Centre at the top of the valley.

The hotel is spacious and elegant but has a very relaxed feel and no-one seems to mind boots or dogs. The reception staff are extremely polite and friendly. Check in and out was efficient and no mistakes were made with our final bill. The hotel owner welcomed us personally during our evening meal and came around again during the week to ask if all was ok. There is also a weekly reception offering complementary aperitif and a weekly Raclette evening in the Ritter. A snow shoe hike (chargeable) was organised by the hotel owners and even though we were the only ones to book it still went ahead so we weren't disappointed. The hotel runs a mini bus and although we didn't use it personally we were offered it on our departure to the railway station.

The restaurant staff are friendly and welcoming. They smile and enjoy serving the meals. The service is efficient. Breakfast is served buffet style with a wide choice of cereal, fruit, yoghurt, eggs and cold meat, a range of breads, and cheese and jams. The food in the evening is excellent, mainly Swiss-style, imaginative and presented well, with a choice of starter and main (meat/fish/vegetarian), although a couple of main courses were a little salty for our taste. There is a good reasonably priced wine list and a bar in the comfortable lounge serving beers, spirits and coffee.

The indoor pool is well maintained, kept at a comfortable temperature, with a lovely view of the mountains. and towels are available. There is a sauna which we didn't use so can't comment . Massage is available but we didn't book a session. Very easy and straight forward to book a ski lesson. Sledges can be hired at reception. There is a small library and a room with electronic games.

The rooms are large, clean and comfortable with plenty of storage space and furniture and a TV but a full length mirror would have been useful. The beds are comfortable and well maintained with sufficient linen and towel changes. Our bathroom had a bath and over bath shower with lovely shower gel provided along with a hairdryer and bath robes. The room and bathroom were warm enough with an opening window and door to the balcony. The hotel is generally quiet - we were not disturbed by overhead noise, noise in the corridor or outside. There is a restaurant in the hotel but also a separate restaurant and ski- bar, in the Ritter, where it is possible to eat a la carte, if preferred.

Sun cream, lots of light layers with a rucksack as it can get warm during daylight hours. Generally casual clothes for the evening are sufficient. Take swimming things and flip flops but towels are provided. Take good walking boots, and poles if hill walking is in mind. Kandersteg hosts a number of winter events at different times e. g. a "Belle Epoque" week at the end of January, a weekend of ski races shortly after, and the international Dog-Sledding Championships, so it is worth checking well in advance what events are happening in the season. There is also an ice rink where skating and curling are possible. There is a separate charge for use of the cable cars, and the cable car to the Sunnbuel plateau runs to a time table.