The Grimsel Hospiz is located down the road from the actual Grimsel pass, on the way down into the Haslital in Canton Berne. The hotel is open seven days a week only between the start of June and the end of October, mainly because outside of that short period the pass is closed because of snow. However, they do open on some weekends during the winter – which is also fun and quite an adventure.
The Grimsel Hospiz is operated by the Kraftwerke Oberhasli, who also operate the dams in the region. They organise tours of the power station that is built inside the mountain – which I can highly recommend.
The hotel is obviously very well maintained and has a nice, cozy feel to it – with lots of wood panelling on the walls and ceilings. I mean, I wouldn’t want any of that in my flat, but I think it kinds of fits here.
There is also a nice lounge area overlooking the Haslital.
The rooms are nice and very well maintained. I’m in a room on the side of the building, facing the dam and the valley.
The view is great. They’re currently building a new dam to replace the old wall, and they’re working at nights too. Although the windows have excellent insultation, so you hear nothing at all. At night the whole building site is lit up and looks a lot like something out of a James Bond movie.
And in the mornings, you are blessed with some spectacular views of the valley. What I like about the mountains, are the constantly shifting shadows. They make the mountains look ephemeral and fleeting, constantly changing.
There is one restaurant at the hotel that serves a selection of traditional Swiss dishes with a spin. There are also quite a few vegetarian options. By the time I reach the hotel coming from Andermatt, I’m starving. So I order myself what I can only describe as a typically Swiss meal: Ghackts mit Hörnli und Äpfelmuess. Basically, it’s a dish of little macaroni shaped pasta served with a minced beef sauce with onion on top. What makes the dish a bit unusual, is that it is traditionally served with a helping of apple compote – the Äpfelmuess. Some people eat the apple as a side dish. I just dump it on the hot pasta and mix it all together – delicious!
To drink with that, I have Rivella Blau, another Swiss classic. It’s a soft drink made of milk serum. It is often described as tasting like the Austrian Almdudler, but I think that’s a comparison that neither the Swiss not he Austrians really appreciate…
In the evenings, there is a different menu available.
We start with a cold cucumber soup with bread chips for an amuse bouche.
For the first course, I have the bouillabaisse made with locally caught shrimp and sturgeon from Frutigen in the Bernese Oberland, served with a creamy saffron sauce.
This is followed by a mint mousse to refresh the palate.
For the main course, I have the sturgeon in a velouté, served with spinach and barley.
And for dessert, I have the lukewarm chocolate cake served with apricots and thyme ice cream.
The quality of the food is good, the thyme ice cream is quite unusual but goes very well with both the chocolate cake and the apricots.
The experience staying at the Grimsel Hospiz could hardly be more different than my stay at The Chedi in Andermatt this past week. Where The Chedi caters to a very international clientele, the Grimsel is a much more Swiss experience. It’s a remote place that takes long to get to. But the journey is not cumbersome, thanks to Switzerland’s excellent public transport infrastructure. I can recommend the Grimsel to anybody for a visit. My next post will be mainly of pictures that I took during my staying, hiking from the Oberaar Glacier back to Grimsel.