"RIFFELALP RESORT REVIEWER'S NOTES"
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Creature comforts

My room (No. 45) was in the older "Nostalgie" wing and lacked a balcony, but it sacrificed nothing in comfort or convenience. Some of the thoughtful details included:

• A cellular phone for use in and around the hotel grounds.

• Fax/modem ports for guests who can't resist bringing their laptops.

• Remote controls for lights, lamps, and a hallway "Do Not Disturb" sign on both nightstands. (In rooms with balconies, you can also use the remote controls to open and close the curtains.)

• A large heated towel rack in the bathroom, which is handy for drying do-it-yourself laundry. (And because the walls and floor are of granite, you needn't worry about damaging plaster or wallpaper with your wet clothes.)

• Traditional wooden hangers in the built-in wardrobe, instead of the theft-resistant hangers that so many hotels use these days.

• Frosted glass in the bathroom extends just far enough up the windows to allow privacy while giving an unimpeded view of the mountain scenery.

• A stereo in each room (operated by a remote control) supplies music of exceptional clarity through Bose Acoustimass speakers in the bedroom and bathroom.

Quibbles

• Minibars are annoying at this price level, although the Riffelalp Resort at least hides the minibar behind a wooden panel. (Suggestion: Why not jack up the price by another 10 or 20 francs a day and include drinks, peanuts, etc. in the room rate, as some upscale cruise ships do?)

• My mattress could have been firmer; it may have been a holdover from the "Nostalgie" wing's pre-renovation days.

• Some North American guests may be bothered by the apparent lack of ice machines in the corridors.

Traveler's tips

• The hotel's small elevator doesn't reach the top floor, so request a room on a lower floor if you're unwilling to climb a flight of stairs or are bothered by altitude.

• Don't turn on the television if you really want to get away from it all. (Watching CNN news from Washington probably isn't a good idea for transatlantic travelers with jet lag.)

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