A dream came true for us last week.
Jean and I went to Interlaken in 2011 and remember walking past the Victoria Jungfrau hotel with open mouths and sneaking inside to take a look.
Ten years later and we were back but this time as guests and with three children in tow.
We arrived on Friday night and from the moment we pulled up in the car, everything was just wonderful. We were greeted warmly at reception (the children were delighted with the teddy bears they were given and we loved our little welcome gift) and were soon taken up to our rooms which comprised a Superior Junior suite and a Superior double Room. Both rooms were huge! The suite had a large double bed and separate sofa bed so we chose that one for the children while Jean and I took the beautiful room next door. Jude and Alba were quickly stuck into their welcome packs which contained puzzles, stickers and sweets while we fed Elio. The chef was kind enough to prepare some delicious fresh purées for Elio (along with a personalised note and drawing) and this makes such a difference for us since it’s hard to manage fresh food while we are staying in a hotel. Elio demolished it in no time at all and was soon ready for bed.
Since Elio's sleep is so complicated, we decided to get a babysitter for both nights we were staying in the hotel so that he could rest and not be overstimulated by a restaurant. The babysitter Alessia was wonderful. Calm, kind and unflappable which is just what Elio needs. The rest of us went downstairs where we kicked things off with a cocktail in the piano bar before heading to the bustling Italian restaurant Pizzeria Sapori which was the perfect spot for us hungry travellers on a Friday night. Jude tried a pizza and Alba had some fish and chips and reported it was all delicious. Jean tried steak and I had their tiger prawns and it was all very good, with friendly service and a lovely atmosphere. Back in the room and Elio was awake but happy and we all fell into bed.
The hotel has lots of wonderful facilities including a beautiful spa and swimming pool, a lovely little selling products including pots of their own honey and elderflower syrup! There is also a children's play room (which will be upgraded over the coming months).
Our plan for Saturday was to head up into the mountains to explore a bit, grab some lunch then try the splash time for children at the pool.
We started with breakfast which is very impressive with lots of choice and beautiful surroundings.
After that, we set off for Grindelwald where we would take the cable car up to First. We had done the Cliff Walk before but we were happy to try it again with the beautiful Autumnal scenery around us. We discovered this is mostly manageable with a pushchair which was much easier that the baby carrier which we used last time.
We then descended to Bort where there is a great playground for the children so Jean and I grabbed a drink and I gave Elio his lunch while the children enjoyed the play area with plenty to keep them busy. The hotel had prepared pots of purées for Elio which was again, such a huge help as feeding him on the go can be complicated.
There is a restaurant and a snack bar next to the playground so it’s a good spot to linger and let the children enjoy themselves. We decided to go back to the hotel and give Elio the chance to rest, and our plan was to try the hotel room service. We ordered an apéro platter and it was incredible!! We had so much choice of cheeses, meats, pâté, bread and olives, it was hard to know where to start.
We had a bit of time to relax after lunch which was lovely with Jude and Alba engrossed in their colouring books and Elio snuggled up next to me while I read my book before we got ready for splash time.
I have to say, we were a bit nervous about this as Elio either loves or hates the water depending on his mood, so we got ourselves ready and set off with some trepidation. We needn’t have worried however because he just loved it!! The water was really warm and the fact that we went during the dedicated splash time meant that we were less self conscious of disturbing people with his noisy excitement. He laughed and splashed as I swirled him in the water and it was a really beautiful moment to see him enjoying himself so much. We tried the warm water outside pool with relaxation area which he really liked and then we decided to see if he fancied the jacuzzi bubbles…and he did!! There was a coach in the pool who was brilliant and threw floats and inflatable balls to the children and encouraged them to play and splash about which was really a wonderful idea and left me free to look after Elio. Definitely try the splash time if you can, it’s a wonderful initiative to make life easier for families.
Back in the room and we got ourselves showered and ready for dinner before meeting the general manager Mr Kämpfer in the piano bar for a drink. It was really nice to chat to him and we learned more about the hotel before he took us to see some of the impressive event spaces.
By this time Elio was yawning so we took him back to the room to meet the babysitter again before heading back to the pizzeria. We had such a fun night with Jude and Alba on top form and we all laughed a lot. We were quite tired after a busy day so we tucked the children up in bed after dinner and watched a film together in bed. A perfect end to a perfect day!
The next morning we were up early and started the day with a hearty breakfast before checking out and heading to Ballenberg. We went here before but only managed to cover a fraction of the site, so it was great to go back again and visit the bits we didn’t get to last time. It’s a brilliant family outing with so much to see and do. Definitely take the daily newsletter at the entrance which tells you about the exhibitions and demonstrations going on that day, we found that really helpful. Jude and Alba loved it just as much as they had the first time. You can see our article about it here.
We have to say an enormous thank you to the whole team at Victoria Jungfrau for this incredible weekend which was really worth the ten year wait. The facilities and helpfulness of the staff really made it the perfect place to unwind with the children. We loved the attention to Elio's needs and the fact that all the children were made to feel so welcome.
A fabulous spot!
Information
Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa
Höheweg 41
3800 Interlaken