The Credentials:
A relatively new addition to Zermatt’s long-flourishing hotel scene (having opened back in 2007), the Hotel Matterhorn Focus is distinguished from its rivals two times over. First, its design is traditionally Swiss yet thoroughly modern—roaring fires, wood panelling and an abundance of furs are met with full-wall windows, sleek leather seating and stylish atmospheric lighting. Second, it is situated on the southern edge of the town, and as such has an unimpeded view of the Matterhorn, Switzerland’s most iconic sight.
The hotel was designed by artist Heinz Julen, houses 30 rooms and suites and is situated about fifteen minutes from Zermatt’s train station and centre. Use of the hotel’s rather wonderful spa is included in the price and opens in the afternoon and evening.
Dine:
The hotel has a bar that serves traditional Swiss delicacies, though if it’s a full meal you’re after, you’d be better served venturing out into town. The Restaurant Schäferstube, frequently cited as Zermatt’s best, is located just down the road, but considering you’ve got a choice of around a hundred restaurants within a fairly small area, simply going out and stumbling across somewhere will do you just as well.
The Hotel Matterhorn Focus does a breakfast buffet which comes included in the room price and serves up a highly impressive range of breads, meats and cheeses (as befitting a German breakfast), as well as more classic international hotel fare.
Sleep:
A standard room at the Hotel Matterhorn Focus is not unlike a suite at any other hotel. Furs adorn the furniture and each room is warmly lit and impeccably stylish. I cannot stress this enough: the hotel’s design is perhaps its strongest feature, and this goes double for the rooms themselves. The inclusion of a fireplace in each room is a very welcome addition indeed, as are the large windows offering up fantastic views of the surrounding mountains, which all comes together to accentuate the intensely cosy atmosphere that the hotel exudes.
With that in mind, however, it might well be worth shelling out for a suite—the hotel’s higher-end rooms are more like chalets, plus have the advantages of increased square footage and the absolute best views of the Matterhorn (which is not guaranteed in some of the other rooms)—and, by extension, all of Zermatt. Waking up to such a view is an experience that other visitors to Zermatt can only dream of.
Who goes there?
We visited in the town’s relative off-season, so the answer during that period is “essentially nobody”. However, once you enter the winter and summer seasons, expect to see the hotel populated by a cross-section of Zermatt’s on-season populace: skiers, hikers, mountaineers, the occasional family or even simply general nature-lovers.
Out and about:
Zermatt’s location means that, in terms of stuff to do in the day, you’ve got a limitless choice of walks, climbs, ski pistes and other activities to go for. Nightlife-wise, the town’s non-hotel bars are mostly off towards the station (a short and very pleasant walk away), though I’d highly recommend spending at least a night drinking at the Matterhorn Focus—curling up under a fur rug by the bar’s fire with a glass of Swiss beer is the ultimate coda to a day in the mountains.
The worst bit:
It’s genuinely hard to say. The wiring in our room seemed to be a bit off, and our balcony door didn’t seem to open from the outside—which almost trapped us out there at one point. These are very minor quibbles, however, and the latter may have been a result of our own stupidity more than anything else.
The best bit:
So many things, but special commendation has to go towards the staff, who bent over backwards to accommodate our needs (if they can keep up that level of service during a busier period then I’d be tempted to say it’s some of the best service I’ve seen in a hotel) and the whole place is so, so very cosy—a far step beyond the luxurious yet ever so slightly sterile nature of some of Zermatt’s other high-end hotels.
But, in the end, it has to be the view: whoever managed to get hold of the plot of land on which the hotel is built deserves a medal, and the Matterhorn Focus, I think, boasts some of—and I do not say this lightly—the best hotel views in the world.
