This time we chose to stay in self-contained accommodation. Well, I made the self-contained decision … as I have ravenous teenage boys … and eating out for every meal was just not going to be an option! Not in Switzerland! With teenage boys, we needed a kitchen … and a washing machine and dryer!
During our accommodation research, ‘Haus Hörnligrat’ caught our eye, due to the rave reviews on Trip Advisor and Booking.com.
The photos and descriptions on these booking websites do not do Haus Hörnligrat one ounce of justice #justsayin If it wasn’t for the real life traveller reviews we would have glossed over it and probably found somewhere else that looked and sounded more exciting than how Haus Hornligrat was described and pictured. Sometimes descriptions need to be more than just facts. The direct website has much better pictures: www.welschen-zermatt.ch … but we didn’t find it until way down the track, when we started stalking the internet for more pictures and information.
We were overwhelmed when we actually met our apartment in real life!
Seriously!
Before we arrived, we couldn’t quite work out from the pictures (on every website we stalked) which was the actual apartment we had booked. We had our fingers crossed that it was the one we were hoping for …
… and it was!
Haus Hörnligrat is about a 5 minute walk from the main train station in Zermatt. But you don’t have to worry about walking once you arrive …. as the owner, Christian, will pick you and your luggage up in his lux little electric buggy (complete with sheepskin seats) and get you settled in to your apartment.
Our beautiful apartment was decorated and furnished in a modern Swiss chalet style, with soaring raked ceilings and lots of wooden accents. It featured a light-filled living and dining space (larger than what we currently live in in our little West End Chalet here in Brisbane), with spectactular views of the village and the majestic Matterhorn, and a beautiful log fireplace … which we had going 24/7.
Fireplace Novelty Rating = 11/10
The most stunning feature in our digs (besides the heartstopping view!) was this amazing glass-floored mezzanine level, that offered a couple of comfy lounges and a reading lamp. It sat above the laundry room and overlooked the living and dining spaces and out to THE mountain.
My youngest claimed it from day one and practically lived up there whenever we were not out on the ski slopes.
Photos of the owner’s family through the generations.
The fully equipped kitchen offered every kitchen accessory you could ever need, right down to placemats, serving dishes and a fully stocked Nespresso bar!
When youngest wasn’t on the ski slopes, or up in his little mezzanine nook, he could be found in the kitchen feeding between play sessions with kids of all nationalities outside our chalet.
This view was mine for 2 weeks.
I was up a couple of hours before the sun each day and I went through a little morning ritual of lighting the candles, lighting the fire, making a coffee, before I settled on the couch under a soft mohair blanket and watched the village come to life.
The church bells started after 7.30am each morning.
Goosebumps every day.
Was I really there?
Same ritual at the end of the day!
Just added wine!
The beds were comfy as … with the traditional Swiss doonas and soft squishy pillows.
Each bedroom had it’s own bathroom … heated floors and all.
Divine.
Each bedroom also had it’s own flat screen TV.
None of us ever turned them on once!
Too much else to do!
The main bathroom had the bath … and views of the mountains through the roof!
Outside the front door, the village was at your feet!
Everything was walking distance from the apartment.
The Sunnegga Express railway up into the snow was literally outside the front door, down some steps and a wander into the tunnel.
The 5 minute walk to the main street was a delight and made grocery shopping a highly desirable outing.
Bars and restaurants were just a walk away!
Live music and tapas at the end of a big day skiing?
Heaven.
Even the ski boot room was glamorous …
Haus Hornligrat is now our preferred Zermatt digs for all future holidays.
It was PERFECT in every way and I could not fault ONE thing.
One.
Big statement, but true.
It was so hard to leave.
Sads.
Haus Hörnligrat can be found at Wiestistrasse 28, 3920 Zermatt, Switzerland. Phone:+41 (0) 27 966 63 33 or email Christian and Marlene Welschen and say that Anne-Maree Russell from Australia referred you: hotel@welschen-zermatt.ch
Christian’s family have owned Hotel Welschen for generations. That photo on the wall, near the fire, of the man in the deck chair is his father. It’s the coolest photo. We stayed in Apartment 5, the one for 4 people, the one at the top! Website: www.welschen-zermatt.ch … click on ‘stay’ … and then ‘apartments’.
Run, don’t walk, to Haus Hörnligrat. You will not be disappointed.
Actually your heart might just stop when you walk in the front door.
Mine did.
#heartstopping
A-M xx
