Mixed feelings about Zermatt

A snowHead

Hmmmmmmm a mixed week in Zermatt, partly good partly bad.
The Hotel ( Butterfly) was fantastic, highly recommended - fabulous food and great, attentive service in the dining room. Bedrooms were a good size. Good location - opposite the Hotel Alex so just off the main street.
Zermatt itself is a beautiful village with some great bars and Hotels. We particularly enjoyed tipples in Potters, The Fireside Bar in the Hotel Pollux - a lovely Pinot Noir, The Lounge bar in The Alex and The Brown Cow - part of the Hotel Post. The Matterhorn is stunning and the scenery all round is breathtaking.
The skiing we were a little dissappointed in. It was very busy 10-20 min minimum waits at most lifts. We also thought it was very difficult to get around and seemed to take an age and was a real faff to get from one area to another. It has never taken us so long to get up a mountain and get skiing. Most of the runs we did were great once on them but there were too many flat and uphill bits on reds - I've never gone uphill or had to pole or skate on a red before Shocked

As I say once on a run - great, getting to that run and then to another - not so great. We feel Zermatt has rested on it's laurels - which it can do and if it was mine I'd wipe the slate clean and replan the whole ski area. It takes far too long to get up the mountain from wherever you decide to go from. An example on the last day - left hotel at 8.15am in a taxi to Klein Matterhorn gondola - 3 gondolas up and finally put skis on at 09.35 to ski across to Italy.
The only skiing we were not dissappointed in was Cervinia Very Happy

we had an absolute blast here. No queues just up, down, up down, up down - you get the idea. Cervinia was great.
Whether we have been spoilt by skiing across the pond on our last 2 trips we could not believe how rude and ill mannered the clientele. Lift queues, bars, hotels it didn't matter where we were but I have never encountered so many self obsessed, self important, arrogant hooray henrys in my life. It seems to attract the worst pompus knobs from every nation. We had to keep ducking from the amount of air kisses going around and if I heard one more 27 year old, 6ft 3" bloke ask his "mummy" if she wanted another glass of champagne I was going to kick shins rolling eyes

I think two of many encounters summed it up. As we were leaving a mountain restaurant a lady barged past me so she could call across to her late 20 something daughter " Arabella darling, do go over to the table and see what Papa has for you". Another woman marching ( well the equivalent on skis) over to a woman we met and were skiing with - she was a timid boarder on her 2nd week and told her that she needed to stick to just one side of the piste as she was getting in her childrens way Shocked

This all lead to the invention of a new word to describe the clientele - Knobocracy - they weren't aristocracy they were .......
This was all topped off with me having an accident on the first night, which resulted in me missing the 2nd days skiing and my lesson booked with Summitt, living for the next time I could take painkillers and smelling gorgeous as I was plastered with either Radian-B or Ibuprofen sray and a nice 3 hours in Casualty last Wednesday after we got home.

In Summary we had a strange old week, loved it and hated it at the same time Puzzled

A snowHead

minx, great report - we stayed at the Butterfly and thought it was pretentious, so we hated it. I do agree about the rude people, mainly British unfortunately. rolling eyes

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Knobocracy. LOL !!! I loathe that type with a passion pure as the driven yellow snow. NehNeh

Even the thought of being on the same chairlift as the overtly public school types gets me gnashing my teeth (offence intended Wink

) so Zermatt sounds like it would give me the screaming heebie jeebies.

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I'm not sure that skiing holidays bring out the best in anybody. Best to try and ignore bad behaviour - which can be found in all nationalities and backgrounds - I guess.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

There's no excuse for the 'keep to one side of the piste' type rudeness; on the other hand, if people want to drink champagne and call their parents by strange names, what's the problem? Snobbery works both ways.

I haven't skied in Zermatt for years and years; it doesn't sound as if the logistics have improved much.

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richmond,

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It was the sheer rudeness that was hard to tolerate. And it was all nationalities. I agree that snobbery does work both ways.
richmond wrote

After all it is free

minx, I know what you mean. Folks that have no consideration for the existence of others. I remember Easter last year, having queued for 10 minutes to get on the St MArtin2 chair in the 3v, some numpty decided that the place to look or missing child x was when the crowd tinned out, between the turnstiles and the chair loading barriers.

An "Excuse me but would you mind standing to the side if you are not boarding the chair" did not go down particularly well and I was "very inconsiderate". snobbery does go both ways, but there is a certain class, of dare I say British well heeled female" that I would happily avoid if I could (same as any selfish, inconsiderate person, but without the intense irritation).

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We had a similiar experience in Verbier. Arrogant posh english making plums of themselves. Embarrassing.

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Fico, I was in Verbier just the other week and, unfortunately, my room overlooked the main street. I was awoken in the small hours of most mornings by English yobs lurching loudly and drunkenly down the street, but they were of all kinds, including but not confined to the type you describe. On one occasion, I was so desperate I put my head out of the window and shouted as loudly as possible,"Just shut the f*ck up, there are people trying to sleep round here" which I think probably woke the remainder of the hotel guests who were not already awake. Embarassed

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Hurtle, Excellent, and often works Very Happy

Hurtle, good on you.

You know it makes sense.

minx, Sorry to you hear you didn't have such a great time. I really enjoyed myself there in January, fairly quiet and not many kn*bs about (but a lot of Russians). Just booked for half term next February so I hope I don't have the same problems. Out of interest were the icy pavements the cause of your injury? I found them to be lethal, not prying ignore if you wish.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

minx, hmm. I decided long ago that I didn't want to ski in Zermatt though I'd still like to go in summer. Your report has done nothing to make me change my mind. Was it a busy week, I wonder, or are there always lift queues?

A snowHead

pam w, Very few queues there when I went in January. Perhaps a wait for the cable cars up to the top of the Kleine Matterhorn first thing but I saw no others.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Hurtle, Apparently the Russians all flock there for their New Year which is shortly after ours. I went on 20th Jan and most had left by then but quite a few were still left. I managed the whole week without a fall on the pavements then took a tumble on the last day walking back to the hotel for the return home. I loved it too hence re-booking for next year.

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minx, I think your comment that it takes a long time to get to the start of your ski in the morning is fair: particularly when you go to a sector whose base lift is some way from your accommodation. However, it's still a fantastic place to ski and (I would imagine) unique in some respects.

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minx, "Knobocracy" excellent label will use it in future. Fortunately there weren't many like that in Ischgl, but there was one family, Mummy Daddy and four late teens who were very loud and pretentious - 'Oh doo have another glass of bubbly dahling, Daddy ordered it specially" sort of thing. - One night I did let annoyance get the better of me, and pinched all the forks off their table before they sat down to eat Twisted Evil

Childish, aren't I Embarassed

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If people measure a resort on how joined up it is...and how convenient it is, I think the user will be missing a lot.

Maybe Zermatts suffers..like some other resort towns..on being hugely popular and too many people on the lift system. The answer is not to build more lifts.... that will only overcrowd the pistes, but to try and cut its cloth according to an acceptable amount of people.. ie, quality over quantity but I doubt the hoteliers will cook that golden egg...
Go somewhere else.... but then don't complain they don't have the Matterhorn..

It's the mountains, it is what it is... some are less flawed than others.

People you don't see eye to eye with...well, that happens in any walk of life...

Like you say... you loved and hated the holiday.. How realistic are your expectations..?

After all it is free

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minx, sorry to hear you didn't have as good a time as you'd hoped, and that you hurt yourself right at the beginning.

You haven't put me off going to Zermatt for Christmas though Very Happy

We're going knowing that it's not as convenient as some resorts in getting around, but since we know that already we'll be prepared for it, and apart from all that - it's the Matterhorn, and I can't wait to see it in all its glory snowHead

And as for the ill mannered nouveaux riches (or Knobocracy Laughing

), you can find them anywhere.

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Steilhang,
Its a numbers game... if people keep going there, why change things...!!

I doubt Lech has anything like the bed count of Zermatt..haven't checked tho', so hasn't cut its cloth to that degree. and I can't see the burghers doing so in a fit..!!!!

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I think that Zermatt is better linked than it is being credited for here. In January I stayed fairly close to the Klein Matterhorn Station and that gives easy access also to Gornergrat. OK getting across to Sunnegga isn't quite so easy but it is linked to Gornegrat. Getting up from 1600m to 3900 metres is never going to be a quick affair and there is the advantage at Zermatt that the lifts open at 8.30 giving a head start. Coming down I could either ski down to that lift station (the uphill reds could be avoided albeit needing to come down narrow busy blacks) or via Sunnegga to within 100m of the hotel or come down on the gondola. Based on that experience I've booked an apartment 200m from Klein Matterhorn for next year, that is also the starting point for the ski bus if I want to start from Sunnegga any mornings.

When I skied Zermatt, I stayed in Tasch, so had an even longer journey to the slopes (admittedly it was late season so there were no queues). Even so, it was still the best place I've skied - the Matterhorn is just stunning and dominates everything and everywhere.

RachelQ, you'll love it snowHead

You know it makes sense.

RachelQ, I agree with Elizabeth B and all others it is stunning and the Matterhorn takes your breath away when you see it in all it's glory. I am glad we have been and seen it, wouldn't change that.
Colin B, that is definately the best place to stay as you know. Wish we had stayed that end. Most runs back down were really on their last legs - you know that kind of wet slush that makes you feel like someone has grabbed the base of your skis, so I don't think that helped us to navigate the area.

Sorry - my report did sound a bit negative. We did have a great time, we always do when we are skiing no matter where. I will reiterate that Zermatt itself is a chocolate box, postcard perfect place with the Matterhorn dominating the views in stunning fashion. There were a few frustrations that we let get the better of us. It is just our experience and I'm sure others will have a different one. I t just wasn't for us.
There were no icy pavements, infact very little snow at village level.

If we all liked the same things, one spot on the planet would be very crowded.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

minx, sorry you didn't enjoy it. The more people the better tho IMO, as it keeps places available for me Wink

A snowHead

minx, Sorry you didn't have the perfect time. I only stayed that end this year because I skied with Summit for 4 days and their meeting point was at Furi and also because I found a reasonably priced hotel there. I did find it ideal though and have booked as close as possible to there as I can for next year. Extra important then as I will have my 12 year daughter, who's not keen on carrying her skis too far, with me. I'd much rather walk further in the evening than in the morning in ski boots.

I was able to ski almost to the Paperla bar in January as snow cover on the roads allowed this, not sure I'd have tried that route in the conditions you had, the last few hundred metres was on the road. In fact one night I saw people skiing up the main street around 11pm.

I'm sure I'm in for a far busier time next February than I had this January. Knowing my way around a little now I'm hoping that I can minimise any delays.

A snowHead

Charlatanefc, Shaun at Potters says Hi Very Happy

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Colin B wrote

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RobW, I'm not sure whether the improvements are good news or not (given that it still appears to be unsatisfactory). I suspect that Zermatt is the Must go and have a look for myself.

I shall be interested to see if the manners of the Swiss improve following your imprecation to the Tourism authority. I remember when we visited Zermatt one summer, about 20 years ago, the OL got into a bit of an argy bargy with some Swiss person on the train up from Tasch, can't remember why, and she's not especially stroppy. Perhaps the sight of all those whopping great mountains unleashes their inner stormtrooper.

After all it is free

I've always enjoyed it but only ever been very off-season (there's good snow there at Halloween), or in summer, when it's gorgeous. I've heard reports of a high wally count before, so we'll continue to avoid it in high season I think. There is nothing quite like the Matterhorn though, and Zermatt is very pretty. I'd recommend anyone to go and see it, it's worth putting up with a lot for that kind of scenery, I think Smile

Hmm, a while since I skied in Zermatt, but I enjoyed it. IIRC, we stayed in a couple of cheerful Thomson chalets, and the Hotel Perrin. The latter was a very comfortable family-owned hotel. The boss and his mrs used to wander around the dining room chatting to guests. One night the restaurant was really busy - so bossand mrs rolled up their sleeves, and got stuck in waiting. It's true that the resort doesn't have a top French resort type of lift system - but it does have the Gornergrat and its fabulous view. It's a very traditional place; the museum and, dare I say it, the cemetery are musts to visit (though I hear the museum is now in a new building, a pity of so). There is good skiing to be had there. Well worth a week of anybody's skiing career, I would say. Except for minx, of course.

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Mixed feelings about Zermatt

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