Tucked into the glorious Jungfrau mountains, the fourth-generation family-run Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald rises from the center of town to offer the best views in Grindelwald, Switzerland. Casual luxury and refined cuisine are tended by a superbly trained staff and meticulous hands-on owners.

When visiting the Jungfrau Alpine region in Switzerland, it can be difficult to take your eyes off the mountains rising high overhead on all sides, clouds swirling around the peaks with the sound of cowbells echoing across the pastures. If you stay at the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald, the best hotel in Grindelwald with grand non-stop views, you’ll enjoy it all in spades.

This is however not your typical high-end hotel, which can sometimes feel cool and even distant. Founded in 1907 by the Hauser family, the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald is tended today by the fourth generation of Hausers with the same care and attention to detail and comfort as ever. You may find one family member or another serving drinks, leading hotel tours … or perhaps even in the laundry. Third-generation patriarch Urs-B. Hauser told us he has sometimes ended up in the laundry: “Work is work. You can find me where I’m needed.”

Definitely not a stuffy property – especially if the owner is folding towels — the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald (a.k.a. Belvedere Swiss Quality Hotel) offers a mix of class and casual. Here, you find seven types of rooms, all of which offer sweeping views from balconies and windows onto some part of the Jungfrau mountains – That is why you came, right? From the Eiger to the Mönch, to snowy peaks and green meadows dotted with huts, who wants to take their eyes off the beauty offered in the Alps?

Grindelwald a base for all things in the mountains

Our stay at the Hotel Belvedere in late summer meant a less-crowded and hectic town, with days in the mountains offered a lot of sun and plenty to do outdoors: Grindelwald itself is mostly a base to get into the mountains after all since the Eiger North Face remains legendary among climbers. You can hike, ski, travel part way up the Eiger’s 13,000 feet on the Eiger Express, roar down ziplines at Grindelwald-First, enjoy the views from high huts, or take in the history and entertainment offered at the Jungfraujoch where you can stand at the “Top of Europe” at nearly 12,000, getting there via trains, a gondola, a cog railway, and an elevator.

The staff at the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald is there to help you arrange anything you need of such activities. We were especially impressed with the high quality of training and customer service – and that level of service and attention to detail is what makes it the best.

Appetizers are served late afternoons in a cozy sitting room — or on the terrace with expansive Alpine views if weather permits.

Rooms are sleek with big windows, wood floors, coffee-and-tea-making facilities, a quiet air-cooling system, mini-bar, and a sleek, refined, yet relaxed and comfortable décor. We stayed in a Deluxe room (380 square feet) as well as in a smaller Classic room (320 square feet), both of which felt bigger with the uncluttered styling and large windows and balcony.

The Deluxe room with Eiger View is larger, with a small sitting area — and, as always, that fantastic view.

Our first room, a Deluxe, faced south and slightly west and offered an unparalleled view of the Eiger North Face and the valley, meaning you had sunrise light painting the mountain as well as evening light splashing its color on some peaks. It was also very quiet.

The Classic rooms are slightly smaller but still plenty spacious with nice views and, of course, a balcony.

Our second room, a Classic, faced more northwest, so you did get some noise from cars on the town’s main road or from the trains passing on the tracks below despite triple-glazed windows. Still, big windows gave you views of mountains and the north side of the valley.

Meals and treats at the best hotel in Grindelwald

Our stay at the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald also included demi-pension, i.e., breakfast and dinner, which we would highly recommend there (or really at any hotel in Grindelwald so you don’t have to go hunting for meals).

This is only PART of the breakfast buffet!! The hot dishes and other offerings are around the corner.

The breakfast was an expansive buffet with all you could ask for and kept us happily satisfied most of the day.

The appetizer our first evening was a delicate buffalo mozzarella with tomato ragout, arugula, and a drizzle of fine olive oil. As yummy as it was beautiful.

The four-course dinner was over-the-top superb in its professional preparation and service. It was just the right touch to look forward to after a long day in the mountains. A pianist even keeps you entertained with flowing tunes, and we’re not sure we’ve ever had such well-trained servers.

When in Switzerland, have a fondue. This is a bouillon-style where you cook your own meats and veggies in a bubbling pot then dip in sauces. Michael is enjoying himself!

Of course, when in Switzerland, fondue is a must (although don’t always expect a cheese fondue): We upgraded our meal one evening to a fondue, which was a bouillon-based style served with meats and vegetables you cooked yourself — quite delicious.

Family Hauser is always somewhere at the Hotel Belvedere 

This is a family-run hotel with the family ever present. Urs-B. and his wife, Sylvia, took over from his father in 1986, and they are in the process of handing it over to their children, Philip-Urs and Carole-Sylvie.

Philip-Urs had actually left the small mountain town, spending time in Oslo and Los Angeles, but then announced after a few years he wanted to come back: “I’m not a city person,” Urs-B. told us Philip said.

Some evening events, such as happy hours or tours, are hosted personally by the family. Urs-B. is a big tartar fan and thus himself prepares nibbles for guests one evening each week. On Saturday evening, the family brings in musicians, serves drinks and small appetizers to help people settle in. Philip is often there, too; we caught him dressed in full Western cowboy garb on his way to a country music concert afterward!

Yes, those are the hotel owners serving you drinks and nibbles: Urs-B. Hauser on the right and son Philip-Urs on the left (no, a cowboy hat is not his typical attire, but he was headed to a country music concert).

After nearly eight decades in Grindelwald when Urs-B. took it over in ’86, the hotel in the Jungfrau region was ready for renovations and additions. He added en suite bathrooms (yes, before that, there were none!), a pool and hot tub area, spa facilities, a new wing, and another floor with a couple of grand suites.

Sustainability is very important to the family, too, which is why the hotel relies on air cooling, not air conditioning. The method takes heat from an area and releases it outside the space for more energy-efficient cooling and also energy production. In addition, since 2017, the hotel has been heated without oil, instead taking advantage of energy from the nearby wood-fired power plant.

A courtyard area outside the pool and spa (center) has a pond and outdoor hot tub.

“We changed everything that could be changed,” Urs-B. told us. As with all lodging, the COVID pandemic was not easy on the hotel. Today, travelers are returning, and things are looking up with more planned additions as the Hotel Belvedere Grindelwald moves strongly forward. Of course, still with the family at the helm of the best hotel in Grindelwald.

“I’m quite happy I can give it to my children,” said Urs-B.

By the way, his nickname is “The Happy Bear.” Definitely not built like a bear, he does epitomize the “happy” part, exuding joy, which definitely rubs off on the staff and the hotel ambiance.