Zermatt

Zermatt: reviews

• skiclub.co.uk visitor (17 October 2010)

  I went to Zermatt in March 2010 for 7 nights. It was my first time at the resort and I stayed at the Hotel Alpenroyal.

  
  The hotel had an excellent location because I could ski right back to the door and also because it was near the Sunnegga lift. Getting to the lifts was not too bad as you could use the lift of the hotel opposite and then it was a 10 mins walk to the Sunnegga lift. Using this lift got you up to 2288m. You could then go on to the Rothorn Paradise at 3108m.

  
  This side of Zermatt is much quieter than the Gornergrat or Matterhorn side. I often found I could put in 2 or even 3 runs in the morning and still be just about the only one on the piste. The lifts are good and it is easy to ski across the whole area. The Matterhorn side has a link to Cervinia in Italy. I did not get the full pass so could not ski there. I found enough to ski for 1 week without it though.

  
  WARNING: If you do the lifts on the Matterhorn/Cervinia side often shut if the wind gets up and this happened a few times while I was there. If you're in Italy at this time then your stuck overnight.

  
  Zermatt is expensive with some mountain restaurants charging serious money for a meal. The key is to look around first and anyway, my hotel provided great meals. The skiing was great but not really many challenging runs. There are not many true black runs so good skiers (which I'm not) would do best getting a guide and going off piste.

  
  Would I recommend Zermatt? Yes, great place ,great skiing, great time had.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Nic Oatridge (21 April 2010)

  Was in Zermatt yesterday (20th April) and the skiing was still superb down as far as Furgg and Riffelberg. You can still ski into Zermatt village from Furgg down a carpet of rather messy but skiable snow.

  
  Incidentally, Zermatt is expensive - BUT - Chalet Etoile on the Cervinia side does serve the best fish soup above 2500m anywhere in the world for only 8 euros. Drinking in Switzerland is perfectly acceptable on the streets, and the station Kiosk sells cold beer for 3 CHF a can; and for less than 60 CHF a night, the excellent Youth Hostel in Zermatt provides breakfast buffet, a 4-course dinner and a dormitory bed.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (17 February 2010)

  Just got back from Zermatt and wasn't really impressed. Found it a bit boring with not enough challenging runs. If you are coming here on holiday i would suggest you re-mortgage your house first, or take out a loan because this place is rediculously expensive! I think this resort is over hyped and found it to be no more pictureresque than other resorts i have been to. Everyone raves about the mountain restaurants, but you need to be seriously wealthy to eat in one. The mountain area is vast and it is good to be able to pop over to Cervinia. However the runs are bland with lots of flat cat tracks. If you are an expert boarder/skier i would'nt come here as the off piste is limited with lots of rocks. However it would be different if they had had loads of snow, but unfortunately for us we had just average amounts. The only good thing for me is the lack of chairlifts ( I still dont enjoy getting off them!) as it is mostly bubble/cable cars.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Howard Bradshaw (19 July 2009)

  This resort presses all the buttons for a skiing holiday, provided you've got deep pockets. Having said that, the ski season in 2009 was a particularly expensive event for Brits everywhere in Europe so Zermatt was, proportionately, no worse than anywhere else.

  Hotel standards, judging by our experience of the "Parkhotel Beausite", are quite superb. Consider booking independently, and taking the train from Geneva Airport.

  I agree with the readers who have reported that the slopes are well within the competence of low intermediates; the height of (most) of the slopes means that you don't get the icy, morning, pistes of many resorts elsewhere, so it's the nearest we get in Europe to the powder snow of North America.

  There's also some nice apres-ski almost equivalent to the Austrian version. Go there! It's fab.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• CAROLINE MORRIS-HILLS (23 March 2009)

  Back from a week skiing (14th - 21st March) in sunny Zermatt. The weather was brilliant all week - very warm in afternoons. The skiing was great but not as demanding as I was led to believe. Some of the lifts got very busy and there was a lot of walking to get to the lifts. We spent 1 hour one morning just getting from our hotel to the Trockener steg, it seemed we spent more time on lifts than skis. We stayed at the Alpenhof Hotel which was wonderful. Great food and very friendly. The outdoor Jacuzzi was a godsend after a hard days skiing! We ate lunch a few times in Furi which had some good restaurants and had the best apple strudel in Fuchs coffee bar. Zermatt is by no means cheap and we were paying about 60CHF every day on lunch, but that’s all part of the holiday. Overall, Zermatt is a lovely place and the Matterhorn is breathtaking, but the lack of ski convenience did put us off a bit as did nearly being run over a couple of times by the electric taxis!! A great ski resort, but I'd rather do ski to door

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (22 March 2009)

  Just back from a week in Zermatt. A lovely place and you can't take your eyes off the Matterhorn. Our apartment was nice, relatively cheap and only five minutes from the centre but it was up 200 steps! If you hire skis get them from a shop that offers overnight storage. Skiing is something of a curates egg. Great itineraries off the top and some other great pistes but lots of paths and cable cars that are a pain when busy. Lift pass is GBP250 for six days of which I reckon GBP60 is a Matterhorn Tax.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (28 February 2009)

  Just returned from my 4th visit to Zermatt and had a great time. Sadly the prices are now very expensive as the £ is weak against the CHF. A bowl of soup, 2 sausage and chips and a o.5L wine comes to £55 in the Gandegghűtte amd booking is of course necessary. Overall the skiing was superb and the lift system much inproved. I put my kids into ski school for 3 days (x 2 kids) at a cost of 502CHF (£307) which was pricey and arguable whether they progress much better than if they had just skied with me and the wife. We stayed at the Butterfly Hotel which is a Best Western hotel, again for the 4th year, where the quality and service is fantastic. Verni and Arnaldo who run the hotel with their team of "butterflies" really take care of you. The hotel facilities, bar, rooms are all first class and much higher than the 3* the are classified as. Overall not a cheap holiday but an excellent one and I can certainly recommend the Butterfly as the place to stay.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Helen Thomas (24 February 2009)

  Just spent half term week in Zermatt - 2nd year on the trot, with my husband and teenage son. Snow conditions were excellent, and lift system as efficient as ever, especially with it being half term week. Some slopes heading back into town got crowded in the afternoon, e.g. red runs 1,2 & 3 in the Sunegga area, black run 62 & red 51/50 in the Schwarzsee area, but generally the pistes were fairly quiet (not like some resorts in half term week). Stayed at the Alpen Resort Hotel, booked through Thomsons. Good facilities and food, but lacks atmosphere in the bar in the evening. Skis booked through Ski Set via the Ski Club website which was the first time we'd used this service - excellent, would do it again. Eating on the mountain - would recommend Restaurant Paradies in Findeln, and the main restaurant (not self service) at Trockener Steg which serves excellent pizzas. For excellent apple strudel try Fuchs Coffee shop in the main street heading down to the river from the Gornergrat Railway Station in the middle of town. Drinks - the white glue wein at the Igloo Bar has to be tried - delicious! For hot chocolate we found the best were in the newly refurbished coffee bar at the very top of the glacier paradise. Overall, excellent skiing, restaurants, and facilities, so would visit again.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (17 February 2009)

  Just been to Zermatt. Have been waiting 8 years to go. The skiing is good but be prepared to WALK a lot on the reds! Very annoying. I only skied for 2 days and covered about 80% of the runs although Klien-Matterhorn was closed, so it's not that big and why ski to Cervinia and pay Zermatt prices for the pleasure? The next thing no one told me about is you will take a risk of developing lung cancer as the majority of people seemed to smoke in the bars and some reastaurants! It really is horrible and must be bad for your skiing. Basically the place is a rip off, no other way to put it. I didn't feel it was quality food or drink for what you paid, stuff was pretty basic and very pricey. All that said, the Matterhorn is a site to behold, truly breathtaking and worth seeing once. There are plenty of other Swiss ski resorts to see and I think if this was a first visit to Switzerland some people would be disillusioned, the place is overated. I won't be back but will leave it to the wealthy and pretentious.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (06 January 2009)

  Just spent Xmas week at Zermatt. The holiday was as close to perfection as could be hoped. The weather was wall to wall sunshine, the snow was deep and crisp and the runs were practically deserted outside of the central area. We stayed at the Rex Garni B&B - principally so that we could eat out somewhere different. In hindsight, whilst we found some great places to eat, we might have preferred half board. The hotel did have a great relaxing area with pool , sauna, steam etc. We hired our skis from Dorsaz Sports via OnThePiste. This worked out great as we could leave the kit in their heated room at the base of the Matterhon express gondola and have a gentle 5 minute walk there and back to the hotel. Much more civilised than lugging your skis around town or catching (and queing for) the overcrowded electric buses or taxis. We booked the holiday via Inghams - think I'll sort it out myself next time. The transfer was tedious involving two coaches and the train from Tasch. Next time I'll just get the train from Geneva. OTP also arranged the lift passes which were conveniantly dropped off at our hotel before we arrived, along with the voucher for the skis. We booked a couple of private lessons with Summit ski school. The guy we had, Ben, was great, a good teacher for me and my two girls. After a morning and afternoon of tuiton / guiding we had a good feel for the resort and were to confidently explore thereafter. If you like to ski a variety of reds and the odd black then Zermatt is tailor made. We'll be back.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (23 December 2008)

  Been recently, in November 2008. Was ok/good. Leaving the car at the base is a pain, and with many other options available would be enough to put me off bothering again. People were ok, but treatment of elderly skier who had an accident, was shockingly appalling and amateurish. This episode witnessed first hand left a lot to be desired.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (11 November 2008)

  If I could only ski in one place for the rest of my life... no, stop... if I could only go on holiday to one place for the rest of my life, Zermatt would be it! Having been 3 times during the winter, and also during the summer, I have to confess to being equally blown away by the resort in both seasons. Everyone will tell you the Matterhorn is amazing, and how it's captivating wherever you are in the village, or on the mountain... however you WILL be blown away by it, when it finally appears from behind the clouds, or when the sun rises in the morning. The village atmosphere is phenominal... with superb (if a little pricey) bars and amazing restaurants, Apres-Ski is beaten by only the lariest of resorts. The mountains differ greatly depending on which ones you ski, and the weather will dictate where you (can) go. Klein Matterhorn is amazing but truly brutal in all but the best conditions. Gornergrat is relaxed and rolling, and accessed via a 45 minute train-ride. Rothorn, Blauherd and Sunnegga provide some of the best views of the Matterhorn, and bars (and bands) positioned strategically to make the most of the scenery! In terms of Hotels - the Mirabeau is REALLY hard to beat, and Josefs wine bar is attached - tell them Harry Potter sent you if you go! (They'll know what you mean! ;-)) What they say is true - you have to Ski Zermatt before you die... don't let it be your regret! You will fall in love with everything it has to offer... even the Swiss that live and work there.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• David Goldsmith (22 September 2008)

  I've skied Zermatt in the first week of the season, last week, many many mid-season weeks and summer, since the 1960s. I'd recommend late spring - after Easter. The crowds diminish and the snow is usually at optimum depths, particularly above 2000m. Skiing back down to the village may be a bit ropey in early or mid April, but the ski area above 2000m is vast. You can enjoy some seriously beautiful, scenically spectacular days into spring. The best long pistes include Schwarzsee via Stafelalp to Furi. That's an easy run, but very pretty. Even longer and equally panoramic is Rothorn-Kumme-Patrularve: wonderful meadows skiing, cutting into a forest trail. Good for a pacy gradient and linked short swings is the National piste. The toughest reliable skiing is from the top of the Stockhorn (the cablecar up to there has been decommissioned, but I believe you can get near the top on a new lift), and the nearby Triftji is another testing run, traditionally mogulled. That's another reason to ski Zermatt from Feb onwards - the Stockhorn is traditionally held until the snow has accumulated fully. That's not to say that Zermatt isn't worth skiing in early season (pre-Christmas), when the place is almost empty. I had a brilliant few days in the first week of December, since it had been snowing since October. If you're going up the Gornergrat railway, get a seat on nearside of the train as you get on. All the big views of the Matterhorn are from this side of the train. My favourite lift is the Hornli t-bar (at the time of writing. It may change to a chair) which confronts you with the north face of the mountain. Very exciting, especially late afternoon, when few people use that lift. Ski to Cervinia via the Ventina run. Best red run in the Alps - goes on for miles and miles and miles. Where to stay? The Testa Grigia, over the road from the station, is good on a budget. The Couronne has great Matterhorn views (go for a 2nd/3rd floor Matterhorn view room). The youth hostel includes evening meal in the price, rooms are clinical, but you can find seriously good ski companions there. At the other end of the scale Drink at the North Wall bar to get local knowledge and tips.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Bradley Hudson (02 May 2008)

  We had a fantastic week skiing in February this year. The slopes are great and well groomed every day. The lift system is also second to none, we had virtually no queues except right at the top on the glacier. The restaurants are also excellent. Overall, we can't wait to go back and would recommend Zermatt to skiers/boarders of any ability.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• David Rose (28 April 2008)

  There can't be many resorts in the world as beautiful as Zermatt. On a fine day, skiing on its slopes feels like an outing to the sky, it's all so open and dramatic. But sadly, it's time for a little reality. The truth is, if you're a reasonably good skier, it hasn't got all that much to offer. The lift system is often frustratingly slow, relying heavily on cable cars, and at busy times - such as April school holiday time in 2008 - queues can become immense. One day I waited well over an hour at Gant, where you're trapped with a choice between a slow gondola and a cable car with no way down to the valley.

  There are some good itinerary runs (patrolled off-piste), especially in the Stockhorn area, but nothing like as much as at Verbier or Chamonix. The nature of the terrain is such that even with good snow cover, there are too many rocks to permit the "ski anywhere" approach possible at Grands Montets or Tortin. There are a few great, long pistes, but when all is said and done, not all that many. The Klein Matterhon area is very high and has a superb view, but other than that, it's so flat it's barely worth visiting. A lot of the runs throughout the resort are kind of inconsequential.

  On top of that, it's pretty expensive, and for reasons that escaped me, by the first week of April all the self-service restaurants on the mountain were shut even though the conditions were fantastic. That meant you were left with restaurants where if you hadn't booked, you probably couldn't eat.

  You have to go there to Zermatt once, but unlike Chamonix, for me it's not a resort to long to visit again and again.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Wayne Walgers (08 April 2008)

  Zermatt is an absolutely fantastic resort – great mountain restaurants, runs for all levels of ability, and lifts and a lift system that is up there with the best. Intermediates or better will probably get the most from this resort, but beginners can still have a great time skiing.

  There is more to a ski holiday than just skiing though and this resort has it all - picturesque scenery, the best mountain restaurants and great après ski. Just be careful were you stay, as you can end up with a good walk to the lifts or buses if you are not careful. I stayed at the Hotel Perren and this hotel had it all, great location, atmosphere and the perfect location near the Sunnega express.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (17 March 2008)

  11/10 for the fantastic sking!!!

  The experience on the glacier is a once in a lifetime and when the conditons are right, there is nowhere better

  The only down size of the resort is the limited lifts to get up to the slopes and the the walking involved. Well worth it though.

  The best resort I have ever been to, highly recommended but not for beginners.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (28 February 2008)

  I have been fortunate to spend many full seasons in the Alps but blessed to have spent at least a week a year for the last 15 years in Zermatt. I have been to resorts all over the world but nothing feels more like a complete experience than Zermatt. The down side is snowboarding there its not the greatest terrain, but easily remedied by heading over to the supurb Cervinia side. The town is picture perfect!!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (26 February 2008)

  Visited Zermatt at half term (2nd week) with my husband and son who is 12yrs. The skiing is fantastatic, with a superb lift system. Despite it being half term the longest we had to wait for a lift was 15 mins and this only happened once! Most of the time we just turned up at a lift and got on it - amazing! The lifts themselves are very modern and high speed, with mostly chairs, gondolas and cable cars. The two drag lifts up on the glacier are to be avoided if it's cold, as they are very, very long!!

  The runs themselves were mostly uncrowded, and at times we appeared to have the mountain to ourselves, even in the middle of the day! Our one concern was that we were going to find the runs challenging, being intemediate skiers. However we didn't find this at all, and found that we were even able to try out a black run without too much difficulty. Most of the reds were lovely cruising runs, especially the one going over the top into Cervinia, a trip well worth doing if you get the opportunity.

  We found the town a little too big and lacking some atmosphere of other resorts. We've skied the last 2 years in Saas Fee and found it had more charm and character than it's larger neighbour. We stayed at the Alpen Resort Hotel, which was very nice, with fantastic 5/6 course meals every night. It also provided a courtesy taxi to the Klein Matterhorn lifts in the morning, which we found very useful.

  Prices in Zermatt are more expensive than other ski resorts (we found prices similar to that of central London), but you get what you pay for, excellent service, good food and wine, and fantastic skiing.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Sarah Austin (10 January 2008)

  Probably the best resort in the world!

  The only draw back to the skiing throughout the whole week was to get to Cervinia you either had to endure the never ending T-Bar (very very cold!!) or cram yourself into two gondolas with everyone else. That said - well worth the journey up as the slopes into Cervinia were just amazing. There is something for everyone. Our son who is 14 had the time of his life. Although he had hoped the park would have been bigger/better.

  Zermatt itself – beautiful. The people – not as friendly as Austrians but ever so efficient.

  spent Christmas 2007 in Zermatt and would definitely go back again.

  Brilliant!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Lindsey Gresham (06 January 2008)

  Back from our 1st ever week in Zermatt over New Year and it would be difficult to do it justice. Taken all round - skiing, scenery, food, village & après-ski, I imagine it must have a strong case for being the world's best resort. I had high expectations before going but Zermatt managed to exceed them.

  From your arrival in the Bahnhofplatz the quality and charm is evident as you step off the train to see the fairytale horse drawn coaches waiting for those guests destined for one of the many luxury hotels (not us!). Service is superb and we never encountered any hint of surliness or disinterest from anyone. Although Zermatt is rightly known as a luxury resort we were pleasantly surprised by prices. Beer and wine could easily be found in nice bars at less than you expect to pay in the major French resorts, the Brown Cow in the Hotel Post complex on the main street was always buzzing and sold the local beer for 6CHF for a large one (£2.70). Small glasses of the pleasant local wines started at 3.50CHF and the cosy Hotel Pollux bar with its log fire sold a delicious Pinot Noir for 7CHF.

  For non skiers or those unfortunate enough to be injured the resort is ideal as it does not shut down during the day and offers scores of shops, restaurants, cafes and bars sheltering hundreds of be- jewelled fur-clad holidaymakers, - I have never seen such a high proportion of people in a ski resort wearing anything other than a ski jacket out and about.

  The skiing was stunning with miles of long satisfying runs with knockout views and fabulous mountain restaurants thrown in. All 3 mountain areas include a lot of very high altitude and consequently reliable skiing and the links between them have improved recently and are now good although it is a long way from being as well linked as the Espace Killy for example. The Klein Matterhorn sector is the first to close in bad weather and the Rothorn the least vulnerable.

  We are intermediate skiers and loved it but I would endorse the general opinion that it is not good for beginners or timid intermediates, even some of the blues had busy steep and bumpy sections that would have made my keen early intermediate daughter jumpy. The upside of this is that most skiers appear to be competent and in control on the slopes, consequently despite some packed conditions and a little ice in places I have never seen so few falls or people being stretchered off. The slopes were also astonishingly un-crowded given the number of people in resort and a queue was a rarity. The cleanliness was predictably Swiss and the quality and quantity of the mountain loos was excellent.

  We travelled with Inghams and stayed at the (relatively) budget Hotel Atlanta. This was great value for money. The location was perfect as it was quiet but 2 mins walk from the action and 5 mins walk from both the Gornergrat and Sunnega lifts. The decor was 70's but the rooms were a good size, clean, very warm and with heart stopping views of the Matterhorn, The food was fine for the price but we found the 7.00pm sharp dinner time more of a pain than anticipated and for that reason alone we will stay B&B or in an apartment next time. Despite the prominence of 5* hotels you could stay in Zermatt at a very reasonable price by sourcing B&B "Garni" hotels or apartments through the local tourist office and travelling independently, - we plan to do this ourselves next New Year by flying with a budget carrier to Geneva and using a Swiss Transfer Ticket to make the train journey to resort.

  We skied the first day with the Ski Club Reps and really enjoyed the experience.

  Finally I must recommend Flexrent (or Flexirent?) for ski hire. Their shop is diagonally opposite the Sunnegga lift and they have another near the Klein Matterhorn lift. If you rent from them they will store your skis and transport them overnight between the 2 lift stations as desired. We have our own equipment but had a problem and popped in to se if they could sort it out, not only did they do so but they would not accept any payment (we took them a box of chocolates on our last day). While in the shop I could see that the quality of the equipment they were dishing out was excellent and they took the time to gauge the level and preferences of their customers before making recommendations. The clientele appeared to be mostly German speaking which is probably a good indicator in a German speaking resort but the lovely staff were multilingual. Needless to say I don't think they are used by the Tour Operators - sadly usually also an indicator of quality in my jaundiced opinion.

  If you are a sybarite then this resort was made for you, but if you are a cost conscious devotee of skiing and après-skier like us then please don't be put of by the luxury tag; quality is ubiquitous but high prices are optional.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Stephen Arnison (19 December 2007)

  Just back from 4 days skiing in Zermatt with a group of 7 mixed ability skiers and boarders - we had a great time. The conditions for the time of year where outstanding, cold sunny days (very very cold at the top of the glacier) and lots of snow. The ski area is huge and it takes a long time to ski it all, but the lifts make getting between the three ski areas easy. The only slight downside is the length of time it takes to get to the top of the glacier !

  We stayed in the hotel Christiania which is next to the Sunnega lift, I couldn't recommend the hotel highly enough - great food, great service and well located.

  I probably wouldn't reccomend Zermatt for people with young families but otherwise go for it, it's a great resort.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (25 March 2007)

  Went to Zermatt on 5/3/2007 for the week (3rd year) and what a fantastic time! Superb snow conditions and sunny skies all week. Started at Sunnega and moved over to Gornergrat. Great restaurants on mountain particularly Vrony's and in the village too. Forget any fears too about advanced ability needed... Zermatt is fine for snowplow through intermediate and advanced. Definitely recommended! Don't forget next year 2008 it will be a shorter rail transfer too and via Zurich rather than Geneva. Also buy your rail transfer pass in UK in advance... much cheaper. Stayed in Hotel Butterfly minutes from station and Gornegrat and Sunnega lifts. Comfortable, friendly and great value.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (09 February 2007)

  I spent last week in Zermatt and I had an excellent week with sunshine the whole week. The pistes were in good condition, maybe a bit icy in parts at the end of the day. The best snow was at Klein Matterhorn and the view up there was just fantastic. As I hadn't skiied for a while (12 years) and travelled on my own, I booked with the Zermatt ski school for the week and that was excellent, too. Simon, the instructor, made it really enjoyable and I think I achieved a lot in improving my standard. I'll definitely go back!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Anthony Kelly (06 February 2007)

  Arrived in Zermatt on 30 December for a week and stayed at the Primavera Hotel, close to the Sunnegga lift. I went to Zermatt as it was was one of the few high resorts where I could get a single room and I thought it was just great. The new lift between Furi and Riffelberg made skiing so much easier. I went with the Summit Ski School which met at the base of the Matterhorn Express most days and this required a 10 minute bus ride in the mornings. Summit man Sam was a great instructor and improved my skiing quite a bit. After lunch I'd take the new Furi-Riffelberg lift to the Gornegrat area and then across to Sunnegga and ski down and be left with only a short walk to the hotel...brilliant. The wind closed some of the higher lifts on some days and a lack of visibility was sometimes a problem, especially later in the day. Then again, we all need to be able to cope with such conditions and I'd certainly go through it all again. The runs were so long and for a decent intermediate (like me), just great. The town is lovely and is a place to which I'll gladly return.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (20 January 2007)

  Fantastic resort!! I have just come back from 10 days boarding there and thought i'd add points about slope conditions there for anyone travelling as I was frustrated in getting accurate reports before leaving. Sunnega is above average snow covering but is prone to relatively dark sun conditions. Snow is clumped about on the lower slopes but easy for skiers but snowboarders may find it tricky with its steepness and clumped snow much like a mini mogal run. Gornegrat is superb with the best snow conditions of all 3 Zermatt mountains, even some tidy off piste worth a look. Sun is also favourable. Klein Matterhorn slops are also good, especially for the long wide runs and a good place to start but bare in mind the long cable cars to get there. The Italian slopes to Cervinia are also good but a little icy at the base but still excellent long widing runs, try the Ventina run and also the food is wonderful. Hope that helps!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (19 January 2007)

  Just back from a great holiday in Zermatt. What a place! The village is beautiful and the Matterhorn is great to view from just about anywhere in the area. They've not had masses of snow but the pistes have a great covering of the artificial stuff. I took lessons with Summit ski school while I was there and was very impressed. Excellent tuition from British instructors really made a difference to my skiing. I booked through Zermatt Holidays and they were excellent. Apres ski at the Paperla Pub was a lot of fun. Will be back next year!!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (22 December 2006)

  Just back from Zermatt for a quick 3 day visit pre Christmas and to loosen up the ski legs! Had a fantastic 3 days skiing in a beautiful town. Didn't find it as expensive as we were led to believe, although if you wanted to make it expensive you could. The Post bar in town for great variety ( €4.20 a pint) was cheap compared to similar french resorts. Got ripped off when we crossed down to Cervinia in Italy. Seen us coming took menus off us and told us they would give us some typical Italian lunch basically cheese and bread with two bowls of pasta and salad with two bottles of house wine between 8 cost us €320 without tip!! La Tana was name of restaurant and will not be going back! Skipped back to 'cheap' Zermatt for value! Stayed in apartment in Zermatt for €40pps per night with own fire and timber supplied. Booked through Zermattholidays.com excellent. Will definitely be back the impression of the matterhorn overlooking you everywhere was inspirational! Great resort

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (27 September 2006)

  we went there on a road trip in easter hols and the place was superb ,the conditions were excellent for the time of the year and the pistes were quiet. Brill place!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Keith Doran (18 April 2006)

  Try staying up the hill at Riffelberg Hotel. At 2500+ the snow was great and at 09.00 we were 1st on the slopes. Lovely but crispy run down to furri and we were up at the Klein Matterhorn before 11am after a couple of runs on Riffelberg to warmup. No Brits all weekend at the hotel (weekend before Easter) so why don`t you try it?

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• David Rudd (12 April 2006)

  This was our 3rd year at Zermatt during the 1st week of April and once again it did not disappoint. We stayed at the Alpenroyal Hotel, which has its own swimming pool, sauna and steam room and is ideally located just 125 metres from the new passenger lift, which gives quick access to the Sunegga funicular. You can ski back to the door if the snow is good and even in April we could get to within 100 metres. Food was great too, though the bedrooms are starting to look a little hard worn in places. I understand that a redcoration project is planned for this year. There is still no link between the Furi/Trockener steg area and the Gornergrat going anti-clockwise though the lift map shows this as being planned presumably for 2006/7. Once this is is place it will be hard to fault the resort lifts. The Blatten restaurant just below Furi on the home run was very welcoming and served fabulous food at prices which were quite reasonable judged by other mountain restaurants. Clearly freshly cooked to order, and so you have to wait but at prices of about £8-10 for a main course and great views of the Matterhorn. In the late afternoon it is a popular place for a last drink and a cake etc. but music - that comes at the bar just below!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Neil M (14 March 2006)

  Skied for 7 days in Zermatt with a small, mixed-ability group during the first week of Mar 2006. Stayed at the 3-star Hotel Perren, right next to the Sunnegga Funicular - highly recommended for its ski-in-ski-out convenience. First the good news - Zermatt has stunning scenery; the Matterhorn is truly beautiful; the village is straight off a chocolate box; the nightlife is plentiful; the food on sale everywhere is of a high average quality; the off-piste is extensive and easily accessible. Now the bad news - the on-piste is extensive but a good athlete will ski it all out in less than a week; the mountains are high Alpine, meaning widespread lift-closures due to high winds, heavy snow or inadequate rock cover are relatively commonplace; customer service, almost everywhere, in my opinion, was slow and rude. Above all, it is Zermatt's sub-standard lift system which disappoints the most. The ski buses, which one cannot realistically avoid over a whole week, are tiny and always overcrowded. Queues, particularly at the village stations, are frequent and long. The lifts, on the whole, despite ongoing upgrades, are old and slow - one should budget at least an hour to get from hotel door to the very top of any lift stations. And things are little better over the border in Cervinia - rusty, aging lifts are the order of the day. Is Zermatt the best ski resort in the world? No. Should it be? Yes, but it's not. Zermatt's disjointed, creaking lift system is just too bad to ignore. Overall, I would recommend a trip to Zermatt. However, be prepared to be delighted off the slopes, but mildly disappointed on them.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Andy Hooker (06 March 2006)

  I was interested to read comments on Zermatt. We came back from there on 25 Feb 06 after a fabulous week's holiday. We were very lucky - a big dump of snow the night before we got there and another on the second night left the pistes in beautiful condition and blue skies showed the resort off at its finest. Zermatt is a total experience. It is truly unique - nowhere else in the Alps can you stand on one spot and see so many of the Alps 4000m peaks spread out around you. Speaking as someone who has climbed the Matterhorn and quite a few others of the 4000m peaks in that area during the course of a dozen trips to Zermatt in the summer, it was a revelation to see it in its winter raiment. We felt very privileged to be there and see it looking so fabulous. We stayed in the Julen Hotel which we would highly recommend to anyone. the food was excellent and the ambiance very good indeed. We were made to feel very welcome. I would agree with others that I was a little disappointed by the relatively small number of runs [if you exclude those over the Italian side]. But I particularly enjoyed the red runs down to Gant from the Rothorn and Gorner areas and I was able to ski right down to the edge of the resort from Klein Matterhorn, above Schwarzee, Gornergrat and the top of the Rothorn. Runs of that length are a treat - the run from Klen Matterhorn is over 7000ft vertical descent and can encompass red, blue and black sections. The other point that surprised me was how dead the resort was in the middle of the day from the point of view of eating possibilities. On a couple of days we skied down for lunch with the idea of going back up after lunch. Several of our favourite options were shut including the Whymper Stube. A shame. Would I go there again - yes definitely for the total experience, but if I want a wide variety of runs then I would opt for somewhere else. But any skier should go to Zermatt once in a lifetime, surely.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Michael Cummins (12 February 2006)

  Just got back yesterday and whilst there is much to recommend it, overall I feel it did not live up to expectations. Firstly, the town itself is one of the best I've been to. Very picturesque and ecclectic - expensive boutiques almost rub shoulders with rickety barns housing sheep. You won't find many ugly concrete buildings which plague the likes of Val D'Isere and Courchevel. The selection of nightspots is excellent, my favourites were Hehnustall, Hotel Alex, The Post and Schneewittchen. Hehnustall for lively sing along apres ski on the run down from furi to zermatt. it closes at 7ish so you have to do the last few hundred metres in the dark which can be a bit scary especially if you've had a few drinks. Hotel Alex has a very chic and unusual interior and is great to relax over a couple of cocktails, especially if there's a band playing - bit pricey though. Post is great for a few beers and has a selection of venues inside, schneewittchen for late night revelling. Generally speaking, eating and drinking isn't as pricey as you might fear - whilst it is certainly very easy to blow a couple of hundred on a meal for two, Zermatt caters for all budgets and it is certainly possible to find good value meals and drinks. The use of purely electric vehicles is a big plus, the whole place just seems cleaner because of it. To the mountain. The scenery is generally very inspiring but the ski area is distinctly average in my opinion. From speaking to a few Swiss, surprisingly, this doesn't seem to be a resort where they come for the skiing, but rather for the experience as a whole. The conditions were not very good when I was there - a lack of snow combined with high winds scouring the upper slopes and turning them into ice rinks. From speaking to a few reps and seasonnaires, zermatt really comes into it's own when the conditions are very good, as the offpiste on offer and the itinerary runs open the whole resort up. I can see how this would be so, so maybe this is a resort to book late depending on the conditions. The snow making equipment was not in use when I was there and is unlikely to be used for the whole season as there was a lack of rainfall during the summer. Whilst environmental considerations need to taken into account, the slopes in places were very treacherous and really should have been either closed or the snow cannons used. It is also ridiculous that they are charging full whack for the ski pass when they are not providing the full service. Getting around can be frustrating, the ski bus is fairly efficient but there is an over-reliance on slow cable cars, and the gornergrat railway is so slow as to be almost not worth bothering with. Worth doing it once for the experience. It is possible to get around all areas in a day but you wouldn't get much skiing done. The pistes are generally uninspiring and there are very few black runs. There aren't any pistes that are simply there to be done, every one seems to be a way of getting somewhere else. Be careful of the altitude in places, most people won't be too bothered about it but you will almost definitely feel some effects. Children are more at risk and we did see a couple of children faint at the top of the Klein matterhorn. Overall, worth going, but I'd recommend getting a late deal depending on conditions rather than saving up and splashing out.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Nerys Roberts (08 February 2006)

  I agree with most of the comments here - a great resort. The only thing that I feel really needs a mention is.... the altitude. It never even crossed my mind when I arranged my trip to Zermatt that the height of the upper runs could have a bearing on my enjoyment of the holiday. But 3,500 +M is an awfully long way up and the lack of oxygen can affect even reasonably young, fit people - it certainly got me. Not nice. I guess you could just not go that high! Nerys

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Chris Glynne (14 January 2006)

  Went to Zermatt on Christmas Eve 2005 for a week. Was told that it was great but... no amount of words, or even pictures, can quite prepare for how magical it is - particularly the iconic and inspiring Matterhorn! We stayed at the Alpenroyal Hotel which was outstandingly good. Zermatt itself seemed to have suffered a little from lower than usual snowfall at this time of year. However, the runs that were open were very well kept - although a little hard and icy in places. The lift system is extremely good, although not as perfectly linked for convenience - but that's in part because not all the runs were open. There are some excellent red runs on each of the 3 main areas: Furggsatel to Trockener Steg (71/72), Schwarzee to Furi (51), Furi to Zermatt (50), Riffelberg to Furi (39/40/42), Sunnega through Patrullarve to Zermatt (4/2/1/3). The last of which conveniently (but scarily - very narrow final descent) took us straight back to the door of the Alpenroyal - so it really is a ski home hotel. The top of Klein Matterhorn was closed for 2 days (-30 odd degrees). We did get across to Cervinia on our last day but quickly decided we preferred Zermatt. The food was above average (if a little expensive) almost everywhere but we particularly liked the Pizzas served in the top floor restaurant at Trock Steg...... but the meal we had at Zum See restaurant (just off the Furi/Zermatt Red run) was truely excellent and takes the biscuit - be prepared for a hefty bill though (3 courses for 2 at lunch with a couple of drinks notched in at 140 Swiss Francs, about £65). The old world feel that has been retained by limiting traffic really adds to the ambience - with only electric buses and taxis allowed. Although the buses were invariably crowded the service ran regularly and promptly enough to be of no concern. We had some very good private lessons that I organised through Stoked Ski School and I would certainly recommend them for their instructors - true English speaking! We have not been to many different ski resorts but this will take an aweful lot to beat - 10 out of 10 to the Zermatians! Next, I felt I should share how fantastic a hotel the Alpenroyal is. It is family owned and I spoke mostly with the daughter of the family, Viktoria. She couldn't have been more helpful and the accommodation was as excellent as the resort and ski areas themselves. The food was the best we have had in any hotel stay anywhere. Every course was as good as the menu described. They have their own 'Wellness centre' with a pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna - all free and all very much a luxury end to a hard day tearing up the snow. The rooms were not huge but we never felt they were too small either. They were well appointed and had a luxury feel - particularly the sumptuous pillows and duvets. We had one of the rooms with Matterhorn view and it simply set the tone for the day when we opened the curtains each morning. Location-wise we felt that this was about perfect. It shares a lift and tunnel with the Grand Shonegg hotel that takes you right down to the Sunnegga lift station area and bus stop for the other areas. Our trip each morning was more pleasant for knowing how easy this location was. For those that don't mind narrow runs there is also a red run, from the Patrullarve station, that comes straight past the door of the hotel and down into the town. I'm sure there are many other excellent hotels in Zermatt but I shall not ever see the need to try them - the Alpenroyal is a wonderfully run hotel in an excellent location.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Charles (29 November 2005)

  Forgive me for being so delayed in posting this comment. I visited Zermatt in early December 2005 and had a great time. I was nervous about the timing of the trip - being afraid that there wouldn't be enough snow anywhere I selected. In the end, I think I made a great choice. Despite the fact that many runs were closed, there was a lot of skiing to enjoy. In addition, there were no problems with the quality of the snow. My only complaint is that it was impossible to ski all the way into town, but it wasn't really an inconveinince in the end. I won't go on about specifics of the mountains since you can read them in the other posts. I just want to recommend the area for early season skiing.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Charles (29 November 2005)

  I visited Zermatt in early December 2004 and had a great time. I was nervous about the timing of the trip - being afraid that there wouldn't be enough snow anywhere I selected. In the end, I think I made a great choice. Despite the fact that many runs were closed, there was a lot of skiing to enjoy. In addition, there were no problems with the quality of the snow. My only complaint is that it was impossible to ski all the way into town, but it wasn't really an inconveinince in the end. I won't go on about specifics of the mountains since you can read them in the other posts. I just want to recommend the area for early season skiing.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Tom Brownlie (17 January 2005)

  We just spent a great week at Zermatt / Cervina. Despite no new snow since 26 Dec, all of the trails at the top of the mountains and most access to the village were in great shape. Sun and temperature were outstanding. The new 6 person lift in Zermatt on the glacier sets you up for a great run all the way to Furi.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• A D Chrystal (04 January 2005)

  As a visitor to Zermatt several times I can't understand why anyone would say anything negative about it apart from the lift queues.It is a stunning village with a lovely mixture of young and old. The views of the Matterhorn are unsurpassed anywhere in Europe, some of the runs are just wonderful(Klein Matterhorn to the town is a lovely run), and some of the mountain restaruants are as nice as you will find in Europe. Agreed, it's not as raucous as Austria and the people are not as rude as the French but as far as being somewhere of real quality of concerned, I think it's unsurpassed. This is from someone who has been to St Anton, Verbier, Val D'Isere, Whistler (fabulous), Vail, Chamonix. Oh, and I forgot to mention, as you are hurtling down the slopes you probably won't accidentally nail any little kids as they suddenly appear from nowhere - there aren't any. It's a very adult resort. Well done Zermatt.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• melanie (04 January 2005)

  We have had an excellent time Courchevel 1850 with Finlay ski for xmas. It is "very" expensive on the slopes there, all you need do is ski to La Tania or Meribel to get 2 Gluweins for 6 euros, rather than 7 euros for one in 1850. Potiniere is good for food at a good price. Such a quiet resort for xmas with a good lift system.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• skiclub.co.uk visitor (30 December 2004)

  Went to Zermatt in Jan 04 and stayed in the excellent Ambassador Hotel. We really enjoyed our time in Zermatt. The skiing was excellent and we really enjoyed sampling the fantastic mountain resturants, especially the one that makes fresh pasts at Furi. We enjoyed it so much we are returning again next week (Jan 05) and can't wait. It a very romantic, picturesque village - a real must!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Jeanne (07 December 2004)

  Having read the feedback on this page regarding Zermatt I feel compelled to say: My husband and I enjoyed Zermatt so very much that we are willing to endure another 20 hours travel time each way to return to this wonderful place. While I have not skied other European locations I am quite well rounded in North American Resorts. I found Zermatt to be friendly, great skiing, and a good value. It's one of my favorites !!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Iris Frost (09 November 2004)

  New Year Jan 2004. Transfer from Geneva airport was longer then expected and eventually took about 5 hours. Fly to Sion if you can. Zermatt is traffic free apart from the 'milk van' type taxis, so you have to get off the train at Tasch to take a 15 minutes train journey to Zermatt and then get a taxi to your hotel. We stayed in the Alpenroyal 3 star, which is set high on a hill overlooking Zermatt. However, there is a lift set into the mountain, which will bring you down to road level and then its only 100 yards to the Sunegga funicular. Unfortunately, my ski classes (Stoked Ski school), were not held on the Sunegga but on the Trockener Steg and what an absolute pain this was to get to! So, think about were you are staying before you book your ski classes. Travelling around is the big problem with Zermatt and they really ought to do something about this. It took me over 1 hour to get to the Trockener for my 9.30 class - trying to get on a bus was a nightmare. Another day (not skiing), I planned to go up to the Klein Matterhorn to the Ice Palace, but it took me 1 3/4 hours to get to the Trockener, a further 15 minutes in the queue for the KMatterhorn cable car, by which time, I'd lost the will to live, gave up and went back to the hotel. Very pretty resort, expensive to eat up the mountains (and not taking posh nosh - just spaghetti was about £13). Apre-ski was OK but not wild. Pink Elephant bar had live music and liked it here, though for NYEve, tickets were about £45 - which I though was far too dear. Boyfriend (good skier) really enjoyed it, but both of us prefer Austria.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Mark Wakeling (27 October 2004)

  I can't speak highly enough of Zermatt. I snowboarded there in 2004 and it was amazing. The vertical drops are massive, the overall area is big and it's varied - smooth bits (glacier), moguls in places, challenging off-piste and the lifts are modern, great snow, fantastic restaurants, big snow-sure glaciers and a great link to Cervinia in Italy. The only people I wouldn't recommend it to is beginners. But the main reason to go is the picturesque village and the outstanding scenery. It really does have your eyes on stalks, it blows most resorts away and it's exhilarating just being there, let alone swinging in a cable car above a glacier at 3850 metres - you simply have to go !

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Seb (23 September 2004)

  In the process of planning my Christmas hols, just been reading through this column... I have to say that after a fantastic stay last year, Zermatt is definitely top of my list! Fantastic off-piste opportunities, and a very diverse set or runs stretching all the way into Italy. The new lifts were extremely fast and effective and we had virtually no queing. Part of the experience was being shown the best runs (and bars/restaurants) by our chalet host. We stayed with a small specialist company called Mountain Exposure (.com) and received a very personalised and friendly treatment. Definitely worth having somone with local knowledge around to get the most of what is to my mind a very special resort. Enjoy!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Chippy (30 April 2004)

  Am pretty much in agreement with Lindsay - the scenery was stunning, the hospitality great, the prices not as high as I was expecting (no worse than France), but the skiing was not up to what I was expecting...the ski areas are linked very tenuously, usually by a long "track" with not much to do but stand up and point forwards, and pisted area doesn't match up to a lot of the French resorts. Off piste, however, is a different story - unlimited!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Paula Widdowson (03 March 2004)

  An excellent resort for older families/intermediates and above. The runs and the snow were the best we have had for years (end Feb 2004).The mountain restraunts and cafes were very good, especially the Pizza restaurant at Trockner Steg, the girls loved this one. However the resort is very large, more a town than a village and there are 3 separate ski areas - so access around/across the resort is poor. As with a previous contributor the best 10F we spent each day was on a taxi to the Klein Matterhorn lift which avoided the very crowded buses.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Lyndsey (26 February 2004)

  After wanting to go to Zermatt for several years I have to say I was disappointed. Compared to resorts like St.Anton, 3 Valleys and La Plagne was pretty but the skiing was overrated. Due to strong winds a significant number of lifts were closed on several days, and the lift pass was overpriced for the quality of the service provided. Too many runs which just don't quite connect leaving you to plank between them. Yes it's a charming village, with some good mountain restaurants and Inghams were very good, but we won't be returning.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Amy (12 February 2004)

  Went to Zermatt for the New Year and it was fantastic! We stayed in the Hotel Parnass and I can totally recommend it to you all. The food and hospitality were great. Had such a great time that we've booked up again for this New Year!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• B J Patrick (31 January 2004)

  Just returned from a long weekend in Zermatt which gave us three great days of skiing. Travelled independently via Geneva airport and a hastle free three and a half hour rail transfer to Zermatt ( 118SF with a SBB transfer ticket). The snow conditions were superb - best I've experienced in five visits. The two new 6 packs on Riffelberg and Trockener Steg helped to access these areas without relying on old & slow drags. No queues to speak of, in fact the Saturday was blissfully quiet. Mountain restaurants lived up to their billing with Chez Vroney and Flualp both offering superb food at reasonable prices. In fact prices all round are much better value than equivalent top resorts in France and the quality of everything can be relied on. A fantastic resort with all the ingredients for a top notch ski holiday. There is a bit of walking from bottom of pistes back to hotels etc but unless you absolutely refuse to walk anywhere I can't think of a downside.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Mark Roinson (29 December 2003)

  Zermatt is a great place I love it ...but... the quality of piste preparation is generally poor in my opinion for the price of the lift ticket. At last they are upgrading an old lift infrastructure and the new lifts this year are both excellent but they should send their piste team to Cervinia to see how to prepare pistes and maintain them...

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Pamela (16 April 2003)

  We thought the village was great and the scenery mega but the skiing was not as good as you would hope. The lifts were out of the ark and took ages to get you anywhere, but we found it amusing that some of the mountain restuarants had reserved seating not the usual. Overall an interesting place.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Mark B (17 March 2003)

  Picturesque and charming village with great scenery (if you want that) but skiing marred by hopelessly under developed lift system, not that extensive ski area and unjustifiably high prices. 100% won't be rushing back!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Iain Lorraine (07 March 2003)

  Our ski group found the resort to be charming, hospitable and very picturesque. The dramtic witch nosed Matterhorn dominates most views and a trip to the alpine museum graphically illustrates its intriguing history. The lifts operate an automated pass detection system which saves hassle. The drop from the top of the Klein Matterhorn back into the village streets is 8 miles of blissful unbroken and interestingly varied piste. The views of the village with the Matterhorn as a backdrop are breathtaking on the way back. Look out for an ice cave complex carved into the glacier - entry is surprisingly free. Boarders seem to stay away in their droves, compared to France for example, which suits the ski purists and lift queues and piste traffic seems to be kept to a minimum. However, don't come here if you're on a tight budget - for example a modest light lunch on the mountain will set you back 10 pounds. Remember to leave your Euros behind and take Swiss Francs. Connectivity to Geneva airport is via a lengthy coach trip, but the chocolate box scenery en route makes the trip worthwhile. Highly recommended, but be prepared to bend the plastic!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Richard Lovejoy (18 January 2003)

  Zermatt is only exspensive if you use a tour operator, and the mountain resturants are good and reasonable unlike much of france where they are neither.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• simon napier (09 January 2003)

  There with the family just before christmas,superb snow as usual. Still too many "T" bars once you are up on the slopes at Trockner Steg,Gonnergrat or Sunnega. Been going to Zermatt for the last 10 years amongst other boys trips to different resorts and the new lift from Furi is the first investment I have seen in the lifts system over that time. Lets hope the amalgamation of the three lift companies will lead to a better investment strategy that will enhance the lift system once you are up on the slopes. Having said this still agree with the Telegraph that this is still the best resort in the world.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Michael Bodholdt (14 April 2002)

  Fantastic area. We were there from 5-9 april. Lots of new snow. Zermatt is also great. We are 100 % sure, that we will return next year.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• M S Dove (09 April 2002)

  Have just returned from two weeks in Zermatt staying at Hotel Simi. The hotel was excellent, food brilliant and the whole two weeks was just wonderful - the fantastic weather helped. Just one cloudy day out of 14!

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Shona Edward (24 March 2002)

  Can I put in a big plug for the Kinderparadies? Our 3 and 2 year old had wonderful care there. The owners are english speaking, lunch is provided, and they are open 7 days (unlike Club Nico, no doubt good but closed Saturday and Sunday, at least this March) The Kinderparadies also take babies from 3 months, obviously a significant plus for parents.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.
• Richard Weir (21 February 2002)

  Zermatt - still living on its reputation as a stunningly beautiful and scenic resort. However, for skiing, many of the French resorts are now light years ahead in terms of lift efficiency and interconnectability. BTW - went with Inghams who were very professional, the days of the rep only wanting to talk to you if you buy them a beer seem to have gone from Inghams rule book.

  This is the opinion of a skiclub.co.uk visitor, not the Ski Club of Great Britain.

• Temperature Map
• Pre-Register With A Leader