Escape to the Swiss Alps: A Getaway at the New Grand Hotel Belvedere

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There is no road to Wengen. Tucked deep into the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, this picturesque alpine village exists almost entirely in the vertical plane—clinging to a sheer cliff face a thousand meters above the Lauterbrunnen Valley. 

Wengen is largely defined by what it lacks. There are no cars, no main thoroughfares, and none of the manicured, high-fashion glitz that populates Europe's more famous alpine playgrounds. It’s a humble town, often referred to as “a sleeping beauty,” that still demands a good amount of effort to reach, accessible only by a slow, single-cog railway that’s been running since 1898.

For three nights, this intentional isolation formed the backdrop of my stay at the newly opened Grand Hotel Belvedere, the first Swiss property from the French hospitality collective Beaumier. The hotel itself is a clever pairing of two historic, forest-adjacent properties purchased from the local Zinnert family in 2022: the former Wengener Hof (dating back to 1898) and the original Grand Hotel Belvedere (a 1912 Art Nouveau icon). 

Linked by a landscaped garden with incredible views of the Jungfrau region, this twin-chalet setup stands as the only five-star destination in town. From the front, the property retains its historical soul with a storybook Swiss facade that appears much as it did a century ago. But step inside and you’ll find all the elegance of a modern alpine boutique, equipped with handcrafted carpets, custom pine furniture, lime-washed walls, serpentine green bathrooms, and thick wool textiles that’ve all been meticulously selected by design firms Complete Works and Clavien & Associés. 

The hotel never feels too “over the top,” and that’s by design. It’s self-aware of its surroundings, which enables it to capture much of the small town charm that characterizes the town of Wengen. Of course, to appreciate just how remote the property is, you must first contend with getting here. The journey to Wengen is long, but fairly straightforward and absolutely worth it.

The Journey to Wengen

Getting to the Grand Hotel Belvedere is a masterclass in Swiss infrastructure and efficiency. After flying in and spending two days exploring Zurich, we hopped on a train and made three quick, seamless transfers, arriving in Wengen in just three hours.

With every cross-platform connection, the landscape would shift—first it was the city giving way to rolling foothills, then to the massive alpine walls of Interlaken, before finally depositing us at the valley floor of Lauterbrunnen.

The final leg of the trip, from Lauterbrunnen up to Wengen, is where the journey truly becomes an experience. Here, you board the historic Wengernalpbahn, an old rail train that has been clawing up this mountain face for over a century. As the train climbs more than 2,000 feet in a matter of minutes, the floor of the Lauterbrunnen Valley drops away, revealing a staggering panorama of mist-veiled waterfalls and plunging granite cliffs. It is a view of such cinematic scale that it feels entirely surreal (and thus shouldn’t be surprising to discover it served as J.R.R. Tolkien’s real-world inspiration for Rivendell in his 1937 classic, The Hobbit).  

While Wengen is a car-free village, a member of the hotel staff met us directly at the station with a small, electric buggy to help transport our luggage up the winding mountain paths. After being greeted with big smiles and a cup of iced tea, we checked into our room.

Accommodations, Dining, and the Spa

The property’s 90 fully renovated rooms and suites balance contemporary design with a respect for alpine heritage. In the bathroom, a cleverly engineered mirror swings outward, allowing you to catch a view of the sweeping valley floor right from your sink. The material amenities are equally discerning: minimalist espresso machines by Stockholm brand Sjöstrand, custom illustrated notebooks on the desk, and Susanne Kaufmann products waiting in the shower. While the rooms can certainly lean on the smaller side, you’ll want to make sure you book one with a “Jungfrau view.” 

Dining at the property is anchored by two distinct venues: the Sonnenbad Lounge & Terrace, which serves casual alpine classics over an open wood-fired grill, and Brasserie Belvedere, a handsomely reimagined space that hosts the morning breakfast buffet before transforming into a vibrant, Art Nouveau-infused dinner spot. We dined at each restaurant multiple times during our three-night stay, and can easily say they delivered the finest meals we had in the region.  

The kitchen brilliantly navigates the line between traditional mountain comfort and modern ingenuity. The menu satisfies Swiss classics like fondue and a decadent raclette burger, while also planting a flag with progressive, plant-forward options such as meat-like mushroom shawarma and miso-marinated watermelon. It was an amazing surprise to be so blown away by the food (which we can’t say for other areas we visited in Switzerland), since many peers had told us before our trip that Swiss food was nothing to write home about. They were wrong, at least at the Grand Hotel Belvedere.

While the rooms were beautiful and the food incredible, the standout of the property was easily the Japanese onsen-inspired spa. The design is a sharp contrast to the historic chalet style of the main buildings. Tucked right into the trees, this minimalist, brutalist concrete pavilion was designed by Clavien & Associés to look like a modern stone relic that the alpine forest is slowly reclaiming.

Inside, the focus is entirely on raw mineral materials, housing a sauna, a hammam, a cold plunge, a relaxation room, and a heated indoor/outdoor pool that sits right among the hotel gardens. After long days hiking through the Alps, returning to the hotel to drift between the sauna and the outdoor pool each evening became our favorite ritual. 

Adventures All Around

As incredible as it is to unwind at the Grand Hotel Belvedere, you don't come to Wengen just to stay indoors. The hotel is designed to be the perfect bookend to your day, serving as a retreat in the mornings and evenings while the Alps become your playground. Here are a few of the best places we visited in the region, all while using the Belvedere as our basecamp:

Wengen (of course): Right outside the hotel doors, Wengen itself is a joy to explore. We spent our mornings wandering along the hills and trails while taking in the constant, unobstructed views of the spectacular Jungfrau peak. We rented e-bikes from the hotel one afternoon to circle the entire village, which only takes about 30 minutes. 

Lauterbrunnen Valley: Located right below Wengen, the Lauterbrunnen Valley is a geological marvel. To explore the valley floor, you can take a quick ten-minute ride on the cogwheel train, or you can hike down the mountain face like we did (just be prepared for some serious calf soreness the next morning because you are dropping roughly 2,000 vertical feet). The valley itself feels dreamlike, home to over 50 plunging waterfalls, green pastures filled with cows, and a beautiful scenic road that is best explored early in the morning before the afternoon crowds roll in. If you have ever seen a viral video of the Swiss Alps during springtime on social media, chances are it was filmed here.

Grindelwald: About a 40-minute scenic train ride away, Grindelwald shifts the tone with a more dramatic, high-alpine energy. It is noticeably busier than Wengen because it serves as the region's ultimate hub for mountain adventures. The menu of activities is expansive: you can brave the First Cliff Walk by Tissot, which is a narrow walkway bolted directly into a sheer rock face, zipline down from the peaks, go mountain biking, or even pilot three-wheeled mountain carts down the winding dirt trails. If you want a more low-key afternoon, you can easily just ride the cable cars up to the summits and enjoy the massive, unobstructed views of the region.

Kleine Scheidegg: Sitting directly beneath the notorious Eiger North Face, Kleine Scheidegg is a beautiful mountain pass where the region's iconic cogwheel trains meet. You can spend the morning hiking up here right from Wengen, and the reward at the top is a front-row seat to the massive, ancient glaciers of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks. It serves as the ultimate crossroads for hikers, and functions as a spectacular trail playground during the warmer months. 

Lake Brienz: For a change of pace from the vertical trails, we took a day trip down to Lake Brienz, which borders the town of Interlaken. The lake is an impossibly brilliant turquoise blue, fed directly by glacial melt. While you can easily spend a lazy afternoon by the shore, the real highlight was taking the historic Brienz Rothorn Bahn straight up the mountain. This is one of the last non-electrified railways in Switzerland, powered by vintage steam locomotives that have been chugging up the slopes since 1892. Riding it felt equal parts Disneyland-ride and alpine adventure. Reaching the summit at over 7,000 feet treats you to a staggering bird's-eye view of Lake Brienz below.

Is the Grand Hotel Belvedere Worth It? 

Unequivocally, yes. I would argue there is no better place to stay during a spring or summer in the Swiss Alps, or at the very least in the Bernese Oberland, than right here. By honoring local traditions while sharply tailoring the property for a new wave of design-conscious travelers, the hotel manages to bring Wengen into the 21st century without losing its identity. It delivers a premium, modern experience that feels completely natural, intentional, and authentic to the history of the region.