Pension Gimmelwald

The owner of this restaurant was so rude to my fiancee and I that I still can't believe it. It was a bizarre, horrible experience. My fiancee called in the morning and made a 7pm reservation for us. We then proceeded on a day long hike. He ended up proposing to me on the trail. Because of the distance of the hike and the excitement of the proposal, we realized we'd be about 15 minutes late to dinner. So, he called and asked if it was ok that we would be late. The owner advised him that it was fine, she would make it work. We got there and one of the servers sat us and brought us drinks. Everything was fine until the owner came out. She was short with us, terse, and clearly irritated. She slammed two dinner plates in front of us, both meatball dishes. I told her that I'm a vegetarian and that we had ordered a fondue for me over the phone. She grabbed the meatball dish away from me and huffed off without saying anything. She returned shortly after and slammed some sort of stuffed red pepper dish in front of me. She said, "There. That's vegetarian. Are you going to eat it? If not, I'll take it away." I was shocked, mentally exhausted from the hike, and didn't know what to say. She turned to my fiancee and said, "Maybe I didn't explain well enough over the phone how important it is to be on time." She then huffed off again. We debated what to do, wanting to just leave, but we decided to eat and ask for the check since we had hiked for almost 11 hours, were very hungry, and were unfamiliar with the area and unsure where else to go for dinner. The food was bland and overpriced. There wasn't much food on our plates and what was there was mediocre at best. I asked one of the servers for the check and told her about our experience. She told me that the woman who had mistreated us was the owner and apologized for her behavior. Some parting words to the owner: If it is so imperative to you that all your patrons be on time, then when someone calls to ask if it's ok to be late, simply say you can't accommodate late guests. We would have been happy (and much better off) to go elsewhere. Throwing a fit like a toddler and expressing your frustration to your guests in such an unprofessional way is always unacceptable but all the more so when you're overcharging people for bland food. Guests paying those prices should be treated well. In our case, we had just gotten engaged and deserved to enjoy a nice dinner after but instead were scolded by you. Your behavior was bizarre and completely inappropriate. Whenever I remember this experience, I am embarrassed for you. You should be ashamed for throwing a fit like that in front of patrons at your own business establishment.

Gimmelwald felt like stepping into a dream. Everywhere you looked was grand and breathtaking. When we arrived at the restaurant, only two tables were occupied in the spacious interior, which had many empty tables. One table had four people, and the other was occupied by a couple, all of whom were non-Asians. We asked an older female waitress for a seat, but she told us she was only seating parties of three or more because they were busy. When I pointed out a table with only two people, she dismissed us. That was the only interaction we had with her. We then decided to try the balcony area, which had a separate entrance and different waitstaff, hoping there would be an available seat. And we saw only one table was occupied. A male waiter greeted us kindly, inviting us to choose a table while holding the menu. However, the same female waitress who had refused us inside saw us about to sit, walked over to the male waiter, and whispered something to him. Suddenly, he apologized and said they had a long list of reservations for the rest of the night and could not serve us. Anyway, since the restaurant was next to where we were staying, we walked by it several times while exploring the tiny village that night. At no point did the restaurant seem full, and we noticed a few non-Asian couples being seated. Without saying, it was extremely disappointing for my child who is Black/ Asian to experience this refusal of service for a reason we could only assume, one that felt sadly obvious even to a child. Fortunately, my teenager wisely suggested that we focus on enjoying ourselves and not let the incident ruin our trip, so we tried to do just that. But it was hard to shake off the lingering disappointment especially we traveled across the globe to experience the magical place. Therefore, I felt compelled to share my experience so that others won't go through the same. We must treat each other with kindness and respect. In the meanwhile, I assume/ hope our experience does not represent this establishment as a whole and the little that we saw, other staff seemed nice and were enjoying what they do.

I had an amazing stay here for 3 nights, I wish I had longer. Stunningly beautiful location, wonderfully rustic and authentic Swiss pension. They brew their own beer, which is delicious. The staff and owner (as well as their family) were all lovely and fun to be around. They also make sure to go the extra mile for guests to make sure that you have a comfortable stay, I felt like I was staying with my own family. Highly, highly recommend.

Truly memorable. Our room was very spacious and the pension was everything it was supposed to be on the inside. We shared common bathrooms but never had to wait. The only thing we really missed was a water kettle or microwave in the room or lobby. Gimmewald village was stunning, easily the most beautiful place we have visited ever. Every time we stepped out of the pension and took a walk, we were treated to magnificent views in every direction. The walk from Murren down to Gimmewald (40 minutes) was quite easy on our bodies, but did wonders for our spirit. Incredibily beautiful. A walk at dawn or dusk was magical, with the deep silence in the village and snowy peaks all around you. The cable car station was under 5 minutes away, with frequent departures up to Murren or down to Lauterbrunen (via Stechelberg) , both hardly 10-15 minutes away. Both these places have COOP grocery stores you can stock up from for your stay at Gimmewald. The Flexible Swiss Travel Pass is really handy, you can cable car/train at will. Thanks to Rick Steves of Seattle, we would have never found Gimmewald without him. We found out that it was due to Rick that most visitors to Gimmewald end up there! We have never gone wrong with Rick over all our travels all over Europe in the past 15 years.