Valley Hostel - Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Comment by HJ, USA

August 2008

Too many rules
This place is all about the rules. It is in a wonderful location but the people who run it are so fussy about what you are and arent allowed to do, it's quite stifling really. You are only allowed to cook between certain hours (not including lunch time -- this is particularly annoying), and you are only allowed to take a shower between certain hours too. You can't leave anything unattended for half a minute or the man who runs it will confiscate it. We arrived late at night starving hungry and were told we were not allowed to cook after 10 p.m. which was just plain cruel since we had traveled for hours and hours and were literally weak with hunger. There are only three mens and three womens showers, which is not enough for a hostel with this many beds. However Lauterbrunnen is a magical place and this hostel is definitely the cheapest place to stay so I guess if you want to come here you haven't much choice. It is very clean and fairly well equipped (although the kitchen does not have an oven, and there are only four hot plates between far too many people). The other main problem is that the whole place smells quite smoky because people smoke on there balconies and the smoke wafts in. If you are sensitive to cigarette smoke then I would not stay here. The people who run it are well-meaning but are not in touch with the way most other hostels are run and how relaxed things usually are. I can't say enough about how lovely the Lauterbrunnen valley is though.