Name: Hotel Waldrand
Address: Pochtenalp, 3723 Kiental BE, Switzerland, Albinen, Albinen, Albinen, 3723, Switzerland
Rating: 7

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

General

Non-smoking rooms

Wardrobe/Closet

Rooms

Restaurant

Packed Lunches

Meals

German

English

Italian

Languages Spoken

Library

Barbecue grill(s)

Hiking

Sun Deck

Recreation

Free parking

Parking

Cycling

Sports

Playroom

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Bern Airport

Bern Natural History Museum

Bear Pits

Bern Historical Museum

Nydeggbrucke

Untertorbrucke

Berner Munster

Bern Rose Garden

Bern Town Hall

Einstein-Haus

Zahringerbrunnen

Theater am Zytglogge

French Church

PostFinance Arena

Bern Art Museum

Botanical Garden

Sunnegga Ski Resort

Zermatt-Furi Ski Lift

Matterhorn Express Ski Lift

Matternhorn-gracier paradise Ski Lift

Marmot's Paradise

Gorner Ridge

Matterhorn

Chateau de Chillon

Musee du Vieux Montreux

Place du Marche

Montreux Casino

Freddie Mercury Statue

Montreux Convention Center

Castle Chatelard

Breithorn

Klein Matterhorn

Dufourspitze

Mill Bridge

Jesuit Church

Chapel Bridge

Lucerne Town Hall

Rosengart Collection

Lucerne Congress and Events Centre

Saint Peters Church

Lucerne Arts Museum

Hotel Waldrand

Albinen

12 hikers, 2 nights, our experience both positive and negative
Yes, there is WIFI now, yes the sunny social life in the garden was nice, yes the food coming out of the spanking new professional kitchen was good, if not exceptional.
But … this is an historic hotel, and the lack of insulation has consequences. The walls are thin, you hear everyone nearby and they hear you. The nights were cold (close to freezing) and the rooms almost as cold as outside. They give you a hot water bottle, with an ‘authentic’ old scratchy wool cover.  Everything creaks and cracks – the floors, the doors, the stairs, the beds. 
	The “authentic, historic” beds are wooden boxes with a thin mattress. Tall people like me will need to put the mattress on the floor to sleep well, or else bump up against the box.
	Showers and toilets down the hall, or downstairs, not in the rooms. The showers are modern, the water hot, (no soap), but only two showers for the whole hotel. 
	Some of our group were in the Annex, which is above staff quarters and laundry room. They were treated to the noise of washers, dryers and Portuguese conversations until 2am.
	The place is very clean, and the staff very nice, though the manager had an explosive episode with us that made us wary of him. 
	So, this review is not meant to deter everyone, just to give a true picture so that people go fully informed.


Out of my comfort zone, this historic chalet hotel

Very basic rooms, shared bathrooms and toilets, no heating. The rooms are not insulated. You can hear your neighbors snoring. Hotel seasonal residents and staff who live in the hotel made noise until after midnight, doing laundry, drinking, and speaking on the telephone. 

No sleep

This is a lovely hotel, but I recognize it is not for everyone.  My niece and I stayed here while hiking the Alpina 1.  The rooms are very clean and basic.  The rooms do not have bathrooms or sinks in them, though they are in the hall.  There is a shower on the first floor.  

The views from the rooms are extraordinary.  The beds are very comfortable.  The room rate includes breakfast, which was very good and featured homemade breads, meats, cheeses, and fresh honey.  

We ate dinner at the hotel and it was very good — veal cordon bleu. Staying at the hotel was a wonderful experience.

Lovely Experience

Incredibly rude management, aren’t really interested in service whatsoever. They couldn’t find my reservation, were furious that I showed up with a dog (even though booking.com listed it as “dog friendly”) and told me to go find somewhere else. Way up in the mountains, not speaking Swiss German, I asked if they could please recommend somewhere - and the woman said, no, nowhere will “take your dog”. She was dismissive and unkind. She assured me I wouldn’t be charged as they couldn’t even find my reservation. I went and found a truly lovely place, Naturefreundhause Gorneren, just 5 minutes more up the mountain - and that place I can’t recommend highly enough! Finally, 6 weeks after Hotel Walderand sent me away: I get a charge for a night on my credit card! When I write to them about it - they say that I cancelled it, sorry! Thankfully I have Amex to file a fraud charge - but truly, stay away from these ugly, unkind, people.

Rude and dishonest management

An old-fashioned, traditional Swiss dwelling that's been converted into a hotel. It's constructed out of wood and some of the facilities are communal. On each floor there are about ten rooms and two toilets with a shower on the first floor. 

This is a unique experience that won't suit every type of traveller. If you're looking for something authentic and traditional or if you're a hiker/backpacker then this is for you.

A traditional hotel

Historic (read: very old with creaky floors and lacking most amenities) hotel- clearly a for-profit business that maximizes charges and minimizes their costs. Very poor value for what's received. Service was slow. Not so friendly. Not much English is spoken. Picky eaters: don’t order half board. Just choose from the overpriced menu. I would have preferred more breakfast options to having china and a candle on the table. Walls are paper thin so don't expect a quiet sleep. I would never stay here again.

Very poor value and cranky staff

I have to laugh (a little) at the reviewer who complains of the cranky staff. The owners and staff are actually very friendly and helpful. If you are wanting the corporate trained, robotic staff you find in hotel chains, you’ll be disappointed, but if you want hard-working people making a comfortable place to stay, the Waldrand is perfect. We also were placed here by the company that designed our self-guided tour, and it was one of our favorite places because it was so relaxing and comfortable. I felt like I was staying with a friend’s family. The rooms are comfortable. They have a nice shower area, great outdoor areas for hanging around, and the restaurant is very good. We would definitely stay here again.

Relax and enjoy!

The place is charming, the architecture astonishing. The breakfast was great with homemade bread and regional cheeses etc. Friendly staff. Minuses are that the beds are quite short (old wooden frames. Our room had no electricity outlet and only one lamp so it was hard to read at night. The walls are very thin so you may overhear other guests´ conversations. Prochten Falls are nearby and really impressive.

Charming Swiss nostalgic hotel

We were booked into this hotel by the tour company managing our alpine trek.  When we first arrived at the property, we were just delighted by the look of the place. It is authentic, historical and the location is spectacular. We were a bit early for check-in--we arrived at about 1:30pm--and were met at the door by a woman who, rather than greet us warmly or welcome us to the property, basically said, "you are too early, your rooms are not ready and you have to come back later." Friendly? No. But we could see our luggage already was there and we just thought we would inquire. Many hotels are welcoming even if you arrive early. 
As we had been advised to make reservations for dinner, we asked if we could do so now. We also asked if she could tell us what was on the set menu.  10 minutes later, the same woman came back and said she could not tell us what was on the menu. We said we were planning on eating dinner there regardless--was there an a la carte option? Again, she went away to ask. Finally, the owner came out and, in rather irritated fashion explained that we should have made reservations the day before for dinner and she could not tell us what was on the set menu because it would depend on how many people there were for dinner. We asked for a general idea and if there was another a la carte option and she said she would be able to tell us in about 15 minutes. So, we went outside and decided to have some fruit from our bags while we waited for an answer. We sat on a bench away from the patio. Then things got rather strange.  The first woman came out and told us we could not picnic on the property. We would have to stop eating immediately.  We said we were guests here and, while we waiting to find out what was for dinner, we thought we would have a quick piece of fruit since we had been hiking all day. We were not, in fact, "picnicing." She said that was not allowed. We said that we were almost finished in any case and finished our fruit -- it was a bit of a tense standoff while she stood over us and watched us finish.We do A LOT of traveling around the world and this was a first for us.
There were other issues throughout our stay there but I will summarize our experience by saying we really enjoyed the hotel, the rooms, the views and the wildlife. The staff, including the one owner that we met, need to work on their customer service/hosting skills. We got to a point where we just wanted to avoid them all together so we could focus on enjoying our time in the scenic locale. The lessons here were don't arrive too early, don't ask too many questions and don't have any snacks on the property. Yikes.

Great Place, Cranky Staff

Very nice family hotel. Very cosy and very helpful staff.
Good food and ok prices.
If you look for a place to relax this hotel is perfect.
It is a bit fare away but ok to find.
A lot a walking roads in the era and the long distance rote Via Alpina is going very close by.

Hotel Waldrand

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