Switzerland Travel Guide - Accommodation

Hotels are of high quality and in high demand. All standards from luxury to family hotels and simple pensions, with bed & breakfasts becoming increasingly popular (website: www.bnb.ch). A service charge of 15% is included in hotel bills, and an additional local tax may be payable (depending on the location). Most hotels in Switzerland are affiliated to the Schweizer Hotelier Verein (SHV or Swiss Hotels Association). Hotelleriesuisse is responsible for hotel classification and guides (see Accommodation Information, below).

Grading: The SHV classifies all its hotels according to a 5-star rating system, which stipulates a range of facilities ranging from: 1-star (simple) to 5-star (luxury).

Note: Membership of the SHV is voluntary, and there may be some first-class hotels which do not have a star rating. There are many hotels with no actual star classification that are recognised by, and members of, the SHV as well as Country Inns, Unique hotels, Aparthotels, Mountain Inns/Traveller's Lodges and Low Service hotels. The SHV issues an annual guide of around 2,500 member hotels and pensions.

Information regarding the rental of chalets, houses, flats and furnished apartments is available from local tourist offices and estate agents in Switzerland. A list of contacts is available from Switzerland Tourism (see Contact Addresses).

Switzerland has about 22 different mineral springs for the treatment of various health conditions. A guide to Swiss spas, including hotels, is available in the publication Wellbeing from Switzerland Tourism.

Other specialist accommodation includes golfing hotels, over 40 family-oriented KidsHotels nationwide, and other more unusual options including igloo villages and ‘sleeping on straw' farm accommodation. Further details are available from Switzerland Tourism.

Extremely basic accommodation is available for climbers and hikers in the mountains in the form of alpine huts or chalets. Further details are available from the Swiss Alpine Club (website: www.sac-cas.ch).

There are approximately 390 campsites in Switzerland. Camping rough is against the law. Local area laws and fees vary. It is advisable to make advance reservations in the summer. A list of campsites is available online (website: www.camping.ch), and a camping guide published by the Swiss Camping Association can be purchased from Switzerland Tourism. Many campsites are part of the Swiss Touring Club (TCS), and its camping guide is available for sale online (website: www.campingtcs.ch).

Visitors holding membership cards of a national organisation affiliated to the Hostelling International network are entitled to lower prices. Advanced booking is advised in summer. A list of hostels is obtainable from Switzerland Tourism, together with details of 25 Backpackers Hotels (website: www.swissbackpackers.ch) for those on a tight budget.

Hotelleriesuisse
Monbijoustrasse 130, 3007 Bern, Switzerland
Tel: (31) 370 4111.
Website: www.swisshotels.ch

The Swiss Camp Site Owners Association (VSC/ASC)
Bahnhofstrasse 5, 3322 Urtenen-Schönbühl, Switzerland
Tel: (31) 852 0626.
Website: www.swisscamps.ch

Swiss Youth Hostels
Schaffhauserstrasse 14, 8042 Zürich, Switzerland
Tel: (44) 360 1414.
Website: www.youthhostel.ch