My family and I just concluded a spectacular week in Zermatt in The Mischabel apartment. From the first email inquiry many months ago, it was apparent that amazing quality of the experience would not be limited to the gorgeous, spotless flat that we were renting but rather would extend to every last detail of the visit. As a frequent and admittedly high-maintnance traveler, I tend to meticulously research all aspects of destinations. For me, that’s part of the fun of travel. As such, I was reluctant to surrender details to Lizzie…but am I glad I did. From the little things that tend to make the first day of a ski trip a hassle (particularly flying in with kids from across the ocean) such as collecting lift tickets, figuring out where to rent skis, picking up basic provisions to identifying and reserving the “go to” restaurants in Zermatt, Lizzie’s concierge work would make the Four Seasons envious and jealous. Her “secret” installation of a Christmas tree a few days before the holiday was an over-the-top touch that was the norm rather than the exception.
The location was great. The core of the town of Zermatt (the main Banhofstrasse) was no more than a five or six minute walk. The stroll to the primary Matterhorn Express lift was around ten minutes but (with Lizzie’s guidance) we stored our ski stuff at the lift so the walk was in normal shoes without carrying equipment. This is obviously different that ski in/ ski out locations (which essentially does not exist in Zermatt) but for us, the trade-off of a charming village with tons of restaurants and shops (along with being able to store the skis at the lift) was worth the short walk in the morning and evening.
The apartment itself was perfect - large enough to keep my two sons from killing each other and for everyone to have privacy. Totally clean and luxurious – great electronics, fully stocked kitchen, great linens, A+ water pressure and showers, easy access to washer/dyrer and killer view of the main event…The Matterhorn. Simply put, everything worked exactly as it should and it’s hard to overstate how significant that can be.
It’s hard to find faults of consequence. We are currently wrestling with our general philosophy of not wanting to go back to the same place time and time again as there simply cannot be a better set-up for a ski holiday. If the smile on everyone’s face is any indication, I’m certain we will return.