Hi Everyone,
A sense of Narnia engulfed us as we drove up through the curvy, snow-covered, pine-lined road guiding us to Les Diablerets, 1’200 m above sea level. It was as if we were slipping quietly into another world. A world that is a mere 3 hour drive from Zurich and under 2 hour drive from Geneva.
Mr FunkyForty and I were ever so lucky to spend Valentine’s weekend here. Fun fact – our first ever date was on Valentine’s day – smile!
As we pulled into The Glacier Hotel entrance we were heart-fully met by hotel co-manager Stéphane. The 4 star superior hotel is run by Alexandra and Stéphane Wartner who made us, (and all other hotel guests), feel ever so welcome during our entire stay. Making sure that our every wish was met and that we were well informed about surrounding activities and weather prognosis. Weather playing a big part when you’re in the mountains.
Already on the first evening we were super impressed by the extensive wine list. A passion of Stéphane, as he proudly tells us that they have wine from every Swiss canton that makes wine.
The rooms are all beautifully renovated – you can tell that the interior designer used was the same as for Zermatt’s famous Riffelalp hotel.
The icing on the cake is of course how close Les Diablerets is to Glasier 3000 with its adrenaline fetching Peak Walk by Tissot. An absolute bucket list must! In fact the hotel is a bit of a ski-in ski-out hotel as there is also a cable car a mere 3 minutes walk from the front entrance.
Keep reading for a pictorial account of “Glacier 3000 Fun and More at The Glacier Hotel Les Diablerets”
Glacier 3000 Fun and More at The Glacier Hotel- Les Diablerets
One of the first things you notice as you walk into the Glacier Hotel-Les Diablerets is the cosy lounge area off to the right – we really enjoyed going there for an aperitif before dinner.
Our room
There are 111 newly renovated rooms, junior suites and apartments. Our room was a Junior Suite with Glacier 3000 views. Designed with a warm atmosphere blending alpine wood elements and contemporary design including a box spring bed and Nespresso coffee machine. The bed was super comfy, made us think we might need a new one at home – smile!
There was also a lovely balcony facing the mountains. When we were fresh snow kept falling, turning the landscape into a scene of pure magic.
The Restaurant
The Glacier Hotel has an alpine-style restaurant Le Vernex which is set up in two different styles. We were even lucky enough to have our own little niche. In summer you can also choose to sit outside on the panoramic terrace.
Guests can choose between half-board or à-la-carte dining. Above is a little viewing of dishes from the half board menus. As mentioned in the introduction, the wine card is truly special with a substantial selection of good quality Swiss wines.
DIARY DAY 1:
Breakfast
Today we had breakfast in the hotel which was a large buffet with everything one can wish for.
Going up the mountain
A great bonus of staying a the Glacier Hotel is the Carte Bienvenue. This gives free or discounted access to local transport and activities across Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets.
So, despite grey skies and snowy weather we had great fun going up the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets cable car. It’s situated just across the parking lot outside the front of the hotel. Having been given toboggans from the hotel we sped down the 7km toboggan piste like there was no tomorrow – hehe.
Then we went down to the hotel, returned our toboggans and took our skis and snowboard up the mountain. Deciding first to have a spot of lunch at the top of the mountain. The restaurant made us smile so much as it truly resembles a Yogi Bear cabin.
A trip to Gstaad
There were many avalanche warnings that day and I got nervous so we only skied down once and then went for a 30 minute drive to the famous neighbouring village – Gstaad. This truly is a shoppers paradise and has many traditional Swiss tourist activities such as a fondue horse & carriage and more.
Next came dinner and bed, ready for day 2.
DIARY DAY 2:
Gracier 3000
OMG after a grey snowy day yesterday, we couldn’t believe our luck at the sight of beautiful blue skies…
We did however still start the day with a yoga class offered by the hotel, then raced upstairs, changed and caught the local bus to Col du Pillon from where we took the cable car to the top of the Glacier 3000.
Wow, that cable car itself is an experience – only 15 minutes to the top with one change.
The vast views overlooking MontBlanc, the Matterhorn and Jungfrau were simply spectacular…
Peak Walk by Tissot
First things first , once reaching the top we did one of the small ski runs and then ventured up the stairs to the Peak Walk by Tissot. 107 m of pure adrenaline fun!!!
Fun fact: this is the only suspension bridge in the world that connects two peaks. If you haven’t been here yet, now’s the time to add it to your bucket list – smile.
Of course you’ll find a big Tissot watch at the end of the bridge…
Brunch with a view at 3000m
After such an exciting morning you can imagine how hungry we were. Brunch at 3000m in Restaurant Le3 is truly spectacular – we certainly enjoyed the prosecco that came with it too.
Even if you don’t ski you can book the combo cable car/brunch pass here.
There are many other activities to do up the top but we decided on the 8km red piste down near the middle station… carefully avoiding the Black Wall piste en-route.
Fun fact: with it’s 45° piste, the Black Wall is one of the steepest slopes on the planet.
Spa time back at the hotel
The pool back at the hotel with it’s deliciously warm 26° created the perfect finale to our adventurous day.
There is also a sauna, bio-sauna and relaxation area but we solely focused on the pool.
Next came dinner and bed.
Time to leave and conclusion
We absolutely loved our 3 night stay at the Glacier Hotel and can truly recommend it to anyone wanting to have some magical winter fun. Also perfect for families as well as wine lovers. We liked it so much that we’re now looking forward to coming back in summer.
The Glacier 3000 is an absolute bucket list must!
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