Bella Tola: Charming hotel and a hike

His wife is responsible for the modern touch and he is responsible for the historical elements, Claude Buchs tells us. Without a doubt, the successful mix and, above all, the attention to detail immediately catches my eye at the Grandhotel Bella Tola. Here in St-Luc, a hotel tradition of more than 150 years is lived with passion and offers guests a wonderful base from which to discover the versatile Val d’Anniviers. I am a big fan of the Swiss Historic Hotels because all member hotels have a unique charisma and each one captivates me with its rich fund of stories and anecdotes.

Hotel with a soul

The Hotel Bella Tola also looks back on an eventful past and even today the Bel Etage is a reminder of the glory days at the beginning of the 20th century. Our room also exudes the charm of yesteryear and still doesn’t look dusty. On the contrary. The house is rooted here and the moment I look out from the balcony of my room to the opposite side of the valley of the Val d’Anniviers, I know that no place could be more perfect than this homely room at Bella Tola.

Hiking tour – Bella Tola and Hotel Weisshorn

The hotel’s founder, Pierre Pont, named his hotel after the nearby mountain peak “Bella Tola”, as was customary at the time. The summit is considered the panoramic mountain par excellence. At just over 3,000 m above sea level, it offers a fantastic panorama of the Weisshorn, Gabelhorn, Matternhorn and Dent Blanche. The relatively easy accessibility for a 3,000-metre peak gave the Bella Tola the honourable nickname “Rigi of Valais”. It was clear to us that if we were going to spend the night in the Bella Tola, then we also wanted to see the highly praised panorama from the summit of the Bella Tola.

For a long time, the weather forecast looked promising, but the evening before the sudden disappointment. The thick, rain-bringing clouds cling to the Alps for a little longer. Well, as the saying goes, “there is no such thing as bad weather, only wrong clothes”. So, on a gray Saturday morning, we made our way full of confidence to the St-Luc Tignousa funicular. But luck was not on our side that day. As soon as we set off, the first drop of rain slapped on the windshield of the funicular. A little bit of rain? No reason to stop the hike, right? And so we tackled the long ascent to Bella Tola in adverse weather. This takes a long breath. The path meanders leisurely uphill along the alpine meadows. It gets adventurous at the stream crossings. Usually, tame rivulets, they bubble through the meadows on this day far outside their usual creek bed. It only gets steep just before the Lac de la Bella Tola. The weather deteriorates with every step. Snowfields have to be crossed and the fog takes away our visibility. At the junction to the zigzag path towards the summit, we decide to change our plans. The ascent to the summit makes little sense in this weather. And so we follow the hiking trail towards Lac de L’Armina and Passo Meiden. Shortly before la Roja, the rain stops, the fog clears and we finally see what a beautiful mountain landscape we are hiking through.

The last few kilometres to the stopover at the Hotel Weisshorn, which offers an impressive sight with its location high above St-Luc, drag on and on. The exertions are rewarded with a delicious croûte with chanterelles and then we tackle the last stage back to St-Luc in the sunshine.

For a little happiness

Back at the hotel, we give our tired legs a breather in the small, fine spa of the Hotel Bella Tola. When the summer weather is nice, you can relax on the sun terrace. The brisk breeze keeps us from doing so and so we make ourselves comfortable behind the glass panes and enjoy the view of the Val d’Anniviers.

Afterwards we have a good time in the restaurant La Véranda “Chez Ida”. In addition to this à la carte restaurant, hotel guests can also choose from a half-board menu during the high season at the Bel Etage. Chez Ida is a creative place to cook and the dishes are beautifully arranged with alpine flowers. As an appetizer, I can also recommend the salad with warm goat cheese, honey and meadow flowers. Burger fans will love the Cheese Buger d’Anniviers and for dessert the “Trio Sorbet Maison” consisting of a homemade scoop of sorbet, Valais apricot with rosemary, Valais raspberries with caraway and apple “Granny Smith”. And we end the consistently perfect evening with live piano music in the bar. Rating “formidable”!

Practical information about the hike Tignousa – Bella Tola – St-Luc

The map shows our route. The route is about 16 km long and includes an ascent of 700 meters and a descent of 1,350 meters in altitude. The pure runtime is 5 hours. If you climb up to the summit from Lac de la Bella Tola, you have to overcome another 300 meters in altitude and the hiking time is extended by about 1.5 hours. Those who take on the exertions will be rewarded with a fabulous view at 3,000 m above sea level.

The starting point in Tignousa can be reached by funicular from St-Luc (one way adults 10 CHF). A nice stop is the Hotel Weisshorn, which towers high above St. Luc.

More tips for the region:

• Be sure to take a trip to the picture-book village of Grimentz
• Bikers will find a well-developed network of routes around St-Luc as well as a bike park for the really crazy
• There is a very nice view of the Rhone Valley from the Illhorn (hike from Chandolin or St-Luc)

Note: I have been invited by Gd Hôtel Bella Tola & St-Luc for this stay – thank you very much for this. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm here.