Riffelalp Resort:
Reviewer's Notes

by Durant Imboden, Europe for Visitors

The building

The quality of the Riffelalp Resort's design and construction creeps up on you. The building itself is deceptively low-key, with the chalet-style architecture blending into the mountain environment instead of dominating the landscape like the five-star hotels of yesteryear. Chief architect Roman Mooser and his colleague Harry Lauber, both of Zermatt, have created a building that seduces the visitor with Schweizer Qualität.

Natural materials are used throughout. Much of the wood used for timbers and paneling in guestrooms was salvaged from old Walliser farmhouses, creating guestrooms that have the atmosphere of bedrooms in a wealthy landowner's chalet. Stone is also used extensively--not only in the hotel's foundations and paved terraces, but also in the form of polished granite bathroom tiles and countertops.

One detail that caught my eye was the use of wood floors in the bedrooms. No anonymous wall-to-wall hotel carpeting here--just smooth, well-fitted planks of dark wood with area rugs that complement the Alpine country decor.

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