 Poster: A snowHead
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I've read so much misinformation on this subject on other snow head forums I need to start a new one. Prices of everything in Zermatt are crazy. Three times what you would pay in the UK. There must be a conspiracy because even McDonalds keep to this rule (McFlurry in Zermatt £3, in the UK £1). The only good and reasonable price mountain restaurant was the Italian one at Plateau Rosa (Testa Grigia) - Spag Bol £7, Apel Strudel, £3.50, large beer £4.50. Large beers are between 6SF (£4.20) and 8SF (£5.60). The latter is the price in the only two good pubs (The Brown Cow & the Paparola). I've seen Sparky's recommended as good value but the food isn't cheap (£20 for a curry) and if you are on your own you have to eat at the bar on a bar stool! Others touted are Bubbles and Restaurant DuPont (it's upgraded itself from Cafe DuPont but in both of these average type food/meals cost £25.00. The best is probably The North Wall were pizzas start at £10. The best if you are happy to sit out on the street (no heating) is the Kebab shop near the Restaurant DuPont - £5 for an excellent kebab (lean meat and salad, garlic sauce etc). There is a lot of snobbery about McDonalds but in terms of health (fat and sugar etc) their food is no worse or better than other restaurants, especially the high price ones, so if you want to eat in comfort and cheaply and have wifi as well, McDonalds in Zermatt is the only place (certainly the only one with free wifi, and it's where I'm writing this!). It's probably the only place in the world you can get an Ovaltine McFlurry! Ideally, Kebab from the Kebab shop, coffee or tea and/or Ovaltine McFlurry from McDees, beer from the Brown Cow, beer and live music at the Paparola. Free wifi in both pubs by the way.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Go and talk to Sam Allen at Stoked. He's been there for quite a few seasons now, so will know the places with decent prices.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Robslade49, Welcome to Snowheads. Is this a wind up. Zermatt is is an isolated resort in Switzerland, a solvent Country with solid currency. Did you find yourself there by accident. I wouldn't go there for a kebab but would be prepared to pay for quality in a very special resort.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I'm serious! The scenery is awesome and the snow certain but unless you are very rich, kebabs, the North Wall, McDees and the Brown Cow are the only options. The Brown Cow meals are £15. The Brown Cow has unlimited free wifi, McDees one hour free.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Robslade49, what is the point of your post? You went to Zermatt and did not find UK prices? How does Zermatt prices compare to Geneva, Luzern, Zurich? There are diffrent resorts for diffrent markets, what iswrong with it?
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Lausanne venti toffee nut latte -12chf
It's Switzerland. It ain't cheap.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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It's not a conspiracy so much as the market setting the price. Think St Anton ski hire falls into this group too....
If you get paid on chf it's fine- might sting a bit of you're € or £
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Why would you go to Switzerland and especially Zermatt if you are worried about saving a few quid? It's not as if it's the only ski resort in Europe with high altitude and it's notoriously expensive.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Going to Zermatt and eating American pap.... I actually think they should fine you for such an outrageous thing.
And marketing aside, you really don't want to put HFCS into your system.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Agree on the 'It's Switzerland' post, the exchange rate since they detached from the Euro isn't great against Sterling, seems particular to food/accommodation though. The Lacoste shop in Geneva was cheaper than the UK weirdly.... not sure if there are specific taxes against hospitality industries?
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None of those prices seem too unreasonable to me. One thing I have noticed in Switzerland is that the prices up the mountains and in resorts are not too different from anywhere else in the country, and those prices seem fairly in-line with what you would pay anywhere in the country.
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You know it makes sense.
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Large beers are between 6SF (£4.20) and 8SF (£5.60).
Have you been in a pub in London recently?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@scski, fair point about prices being similar across the country. The major supermarkets charge exactly the same whether the shop is next to the depot or in a ski resort 200km away. No regional pricing even in the traffic free villages where they have the extra expense of elektros etc. I suspect this doesn't apply to McD but then there are very few ski resorts that can provide the sort or consistent monthly turnover that McD requires of its franchises (or its own restaurants).
I've never noticed Zermatt marketing itself as a budget resort.
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Poster: A snowHead
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A few points in response:
1. At least there is a McDonald’s so it is there as an option for those who want it. I have never been in so can't comment on what it is like.
2. A (very good) burger, French fries and coleslaw at the Brown Cow or Papperla pubs is about £10. Is that really expensive? You would sell a grand total of zero if you tried that price here in Sunderland but I’d be OK with getting that in an equivalent quality pub in central London. Even the £20 curry up at Sparky’s doesn't seem outrageous for a (non-budget) ski resort. As you point out the North Wall prices are fairly good.
3. The café/restaurant DuPont is one of the most famous fondue places in Zermatt – a lot of people head there. Hence its prices.
4. One thing you can check is the prices at Molino’s (the pizza etc place on the Bahnhofstrasse opposite the Mont Cervin Palace). A pizza there is about £20. As it is a chain you can see exactly the same price at, for example, the Zurich branch.
5. As has been said beer prices (ignoring imports like Guinness) in the Zermatt pubs are broadly the same as central London pubs (I spend most of my time in central London so I am a longsufferer in that regard).
6. I agree with you that eating lunch over on the Italian side (even the Testa Grigia that you can get to without an international pass) is much cheaper. That is a truism of Italy v Switzerland prices generally.
7. There is a lot of fairly decent price self-catering accommodation in Zermatt and Täsch. There are plenty of supermarkets in both places where the prices are at normal Swiss levels. We have our own apartment (in Täsch) so most days we are eating at prices not too different to what we would be experiencing in the UK (we don't rent it out so this is not a marketing plug).
8. Someone mentioned the exchange rate. Except for the erratic movement when the peg to the euro was removed it has actually been steady near the 1.5 mark since the financial crash in 2008. It is currently 1.45.
It is a pity that you are finding it a lot more expensive than you were expecting. I certainly would never argue it was a bargain but I do think you are overstating matters.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Switzerland is expensive full stop - they charge for tap water ffs! . . .the food is, on the whole, bland to say the least however its generally a fantastic part of the universe to ski in so get over it! Why not stay in Cervinia next time if you want a bit more value. . .?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Was in a restaurant in soho yesterday and a beer was 6 quid a pint...
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Manchester Victoria Beer House Thornbridge Tzara £6.50 a pint in November. Didn't ask the price before ordering. Nearly fainted when barman said £6.50 . Most I've ever paid anywhere.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Worst I paid was 8 euros a drink in Val Thorens. Waitress asked me if I wanted to sit in middle of outside area next to the entrance; was like nah, at the far end where there's the view!
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This is cheap for Switzerland. Try Zurich, 9 quid a beer and about 14 quid for a takeaway margarita
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Zermatt prices are well known before anyone gets there surely?
I will be back next year again. Outside of the lift pass which is expensive, - but it does serve the highest piste in Europe, -we only pay circa 15% more than France. The value we get though is worth it for us.
Pays your money and takes your choice!
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JohnMo has it just about right - we've just come back from a great week in Zermatt - once again we stayed in a good, reasonably priced apartment, owned by a resident Zermatt native who was a mine of information. We shopped at the Co-op and Migros, where prices are the same as elsewhere in Switzerland i.e. not much more than UK. We tend not to eat much 'on the mountain' on the Zermatt side, but did enjoy a good Rösti in Chämi-Hitta for CHF19 (about £13). Coffee in Switzerland is generally mediocre and expensive, so imagine the joy of arriving at Ristorante Ventina just over the border in Italy, and getting excellent espressos for 1 euro at 3000m. And if the 'boss' is there, you might have an accompaniment of 'Shine on you crazy diamond' or some such, played pleasantly loud... I also had the best ever Penne all'arrabbiata there for 10 euros. Sorry, I'm drifting off into the joys of Italy - but for us, the contrast between the 2 sides is just one of the many attractions of Zermatt (weather permitting). Oh and the snow was pretty good too, all things considered...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| twoodwar wrote: |
Zermatt prices are well known before anyone gets there surely?
I will be back next year again. Outside of the lift pass which is expensive, - but it does serve the highest piste in Europe, -we only pay circa 15% more than France. The value we get though is worth it for us.
Pays your money and takes your choice! |
I agree that I'd have thought people would head for Zermatt knowing they were going to a place where prices are top end. The original post stating that you'd be paying three times what you would pay in the UK is over the top though. Even the view that lift passes are expensive can be a little misleading as it depends what you are comparing them with. I would say the Verbier and Zermatt ski areas are comparable (I have a friend with a place round at Nendaz so I go to the Verbier ski area frequently). A six day pass in Zermatt is CHF380; a six day pass in Verbier is CHF373. Saas Fee seems to be CHF401 (very odd as it is smaller). OK there are loads of cheaper places but amongst top end Swiss resorts I don't think Zermatt is out of line. An international 6 day pass in Zermatt is CHF434. But you are getting a huge and varied area when you buy that (and it is not compulsory to get an international pass!).
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Saas Fee pass fees probably due to having to move the lifts physically as the glacier shifts . . .
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A six day adult liftpass for all Saastal is Chf 365. Still not cheap but it is Switzerland 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The Theodulgletscher chair at Zermatt is also (mostly) on a glacier - doesn't seem to be moving much since I've been going there though. And of course there are various T-bars on the main glacier (Plateau Rosa).
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JohnMo
Agreed. Zermatt is a fantastic place and worth the money full stop. The lift pass is decent value, but expensive. You do have to be able to afford it though.
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You know it makes sense.
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Brilliant resort. Skied there twice now and would go back without hesitation.
Regarding prices, it's simply capitalism at work (and the fact Switzerland is a high nett worth country).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Six days at Milton Keynes would cost £300 (chf 450), and the views aren't quite as lovely, in my opinion.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Whitters wrote: |
| Six days at Milton Keynes would cost £300 (chf 450), and the views aren't quite as lovely, in my opinion. |
Quite. And that's more per vertical meter than helicopter skiing. QED.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Lots of great places all depends on budget. McDonalds to Michelin Star. The village is vibrant lots of places and several on piste home.
It’s a fantastic place, expectations might help us help you 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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When I was younger and visiting European capitals on summer holidays before the euro, it was easy to get 'caught' out with very high prices if you forgot to check through the menu and price list before sitting down to eat. The general look of a place wouldn't necessarily alert you to the high cost. Now, I think that with FoM and the euro, that's less the case. Switzerland is perhaps somewhere where this still applies, and I think that it's in part down to the usual problem of not picking up the indicators from prices in a different currency. I still get caught out after 17 years by the odd coffee and cake costing 2x-3x what I'd expect, for no apparent reason. But I accept that comparable prices in CH are higher than the UK.
Perhaps it's in part down to the Swiss opting very clearly to encourage a living wage for hospitality workers combined with them regarding hospitality as a 'proper' career, not just something young people do if they can't find a 'real' job (so that's a cost passed through to the customer). Then add to that the major factor that GDP per capita in CH ($82,000) is much higher than the UK ($42,300 - yes, that's a 94% difference ...), and add to that you're up a mountain, and add to that Zermatt is one of the world's premier ski domains, and well, why would you be surprised that prices are elevated compared to holidaying in the UK?
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There is just one problem here, and that’s the CHF.
Still loads of black money flowing into Swiss banks, hence the high exchange rate.
Tourism in many parts of Switzerland is suffering because of this. Not so much in Zermatt due to the Matterhorn and altitude, but in general the signs are very visible throughout the nation: thousands of (very) dated hotels, skiareas etc etc.
An average main course in Switzerland is about 45 CHF, whilst in all surrounding nations this is about 25 euro, with CHF and Euro about equal.
“Swiss quality” is a joke.
Imo there is a lot of calvinist hypocrisy in Switzerland
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 18-11-20 19:18; edited 2 times in total
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I found my old passport from the 1960s the other day, with our currency transactions in the back - we got 10 Swiss Francs and 20 French Francs to the £ back then...
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Apres:
Harry’s
Papperla
Madre Nostra
Brown Cow Pub
Dinner:
Grampis
Schaferstube (upstairs also good)
Walliserstube
After 7 (2*) was truly excellent but for special occasions
All will need booking, price wise Grampis 2 starters couple of pizzas, couple of beers and a couple of glasses of wine £100+
In our experience change from £100 from dinner is unlikely (that said we didn’t look based on a budget we just ate where we fancied)
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Half board at my 3* hotel in Jan 2020 was 45 CHF for four courses, one of which was a salad buffet with cold meat, and seafood one night. I had no complaints at all. Dole red wine in the hotel bar 4.50 CHF, which is cheaper than what I'd pay in most places in Melbourne. Maccas in Zermatt also has gluten-free burgers, which I've never seen in Australia.
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FAQ
and I don't care what the prices are: it's a big, beautiful, iconic ski area. If you whinge about the prices go somewhere else 
s. I'll dig it out and repost. Welcom to the mad house btw 
