Hiking and wellness in Adelboden: as a guest at the Bellevue Parkhotel & Spa

We are a bit surprised when we get off the post bus in Adelboden and walk along the well-frequented village street to the Parkhotel Bellevue. Until now, I only knew the village in “its winter edition”. One of my favorite ski resorts and associated with it many memories of school camps. I’ve never been there in the summer. “Why? And what does Adelboden actually stand for?”, I philosophized with my friend on the way there, unconsciously expecting to find an extinct village street. Completely wrong. Adelboden is alive! And it is only during this visit that I realize that Adelboden, with its many local shops, is also an attraction for locals as well as for national and international guests in summer. The shop windows are hardly adorned with kitschy souvenir displays, but with fine alpine cheese and sweet temptations from the Haueter bakery.

 

Adelboden on the serving tray – Arrival at the hotel

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Parkhotel Bellevue Adelboden has been welcoming guests from all over the world. Despite its long history, Bellevue Adelboden is youthful and fresh. The steep section from the village road to the hotel requires us to take a breather, but rewards us with a dream view over the village centre and the end of the valley towards Engstligenalp. And what better way to start a day in the mountains than with this enchanting morning atmosphere that takes place right in front of our bed in the “Classic” room with a south-facing view?

The Hotel Bellevue not only inspires us with the view, but also convinces with spacious, bright rooms including skilfully placed accents with furniture classics. During the last stage of the renovation, the original style of the 1930s served as a guideline for the interior design. The result is impressive.

 

Rainy weather in Adelboden – what to do?

Even though we were briefly enchanted by the morning mood, the Bernese Oberland was not friendly to us. Rainy weather was announced. On the one hand, it’s a pity, because we wanted to explore the hiking trails of the region. On the other hand, it’s a good excuse to start the day with a hearty breakfast and not rush away right away. It is worth mentioning the excellent selection of breads, the regional cheeses and the Lenker butter.

Actually, as a bad weather option, you could curl up in the wellness area directly after breakfast or make yourself comfortable in a seating area of the lobby with a view of the cloud-covered Adelboden with an exciting book. But that seemed a bit fishy to us. And so we went in search of warmth in the Tropenhaus Frutigen. The detour to the place where the warm water from the Lötschberg is used for fish farming and the production of tropical fruits was long overdue. This spring, the exhibition on the five theme worlds of water, sturgeon, caviar, enjoyment and energy was redesigned and the result is impressive. On every corner there is something to touch, try out, test or play. Exciting knowledge about sturgeon is imparted, shown how caviar production works and visitors are invited to raise a fish themselves with the right dose of fresh water, food, light and oxygen. I worked up a sweat. There is also a lot to discover in the tropical garden. Refreshments are served in the in-house restaurant. So half a rainy day is over.

But as the saying goes, “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”. If you are equipped with rainproof equipment, you will find beautiful short hiking routes in Adelboden, which are easy to do even in bad weather. One such route, for example, is a one-hour circular hike through the imposing Choleren Gorge. A short but recommendable trip.

 

A round of wellness in Adelboden

Afterwards, you really deserve to laze around in the wellness area of Bellevue Adelboden. I particularly liked the garden pavilion and the outdoor sauna. Overlooking the green thicket of gnarled trees is a wonderfully relaxing feeling. And with a view of the Engstligen Falls, the outdoor brine pool can easily keep up with the pool view from the much-cited Cambrian pool. When the weather is nice, the sun loungers in the garden pavilion are swapped with those outside in the park. And since doing nothing for a long time also makes the stomach growl, the Bellevue Adelboden sweetens the afternoon for its guests with a delicious cake buffet.

 

Feast with a view

In the in-house restaurant “Belle vue“, the name says it all. Both insight and insight are convincing. While it is slowly getting dark outside, we are spoiled inside with the “Ménu Marché” in a cozy ambience. The cuisine, which has been awarded 14 Gault-Millau points, is able to inspire us with its creations. A special highlight on the first evening was the cheese buffet by local hero Manfred Schmid, who runs a cheese speciality shop in Dorfstrasse. His passion is soft cheeses and he has something exciting to say about every single piece. The true land of milk and honey for all cheese lovers.

Circular hike on the Engstligenalp

For the second day, better weather was reported and so we set off to explore the “local mountain” of Adelboden. First of all, let’s take a look at the water masses of the second highest waterfall in Switzerland. The Engstligen Falls plunge an impressive 600 m into the depths. From here, three paths lead to the idyllic high plateau in front of the Wildstrubel. Adventure seekers will be challenged on the “Chäligang” via ferrata. For those who prefer to have solid ground under their feet, the mule track is a good choice. Every year, more than 500 cows go to the alp via it. We choose the most comfortable option with the cable car from Birg. The energy is to be saved for the hike Engstligenalp-Tschingellochtighore-Tällisee-Chindbettipass-Engstligenalp. The approximately 12-kilometre-long round trip with an ascent of 1,000 metres in altitude promises fabulous views over the Bernese Alps to Lake Oeschinen.

Unfortunately, the weather is one of those things. On the Engstligenalp we are greeted by thick fog and we are happy to at least guess the course of the path. At the beginning, there is hope that the fog will slowly dissipate. When we reach the Engstligengrat almost 1.5 hours later, we are still enveloped by the white mass. And so, instead of beautiful distant views, we capture the mystical foggy atmosphere with the camera and hike back down into the valley. At the Dossenseeli, a young marmot jumps in front of our lens, and shortly before we are back on the high plateau, the clouds finally thin out and gradually reveal the magnificent panorama.

Last but not least, the sun prevails and where better to enjoy the warming rays than on the garden terrace of Bellevue Adelboden with homemade iced tea and a view of the mountains?

More tips about the Parkhotel Bellevue Adelboden

• The overnight stay in a double room Classic Superior South including breakfast is available from 280 CHF
• The “taster offer” is attractive: from 350 CHF per person there are two nights with half board and hiking pass
• Right next to the Bellevue Adelboden is the TschentenAlp cable car, which leads up to the Schwandfeldspitz with the best view over the Engstligental. On a beautiful path you hike in 1.5 hours to the Schermtanne.
• An easy hiking classic is the Hahnenmoss-Sillerenbühl high-altitude trail
• Throughout the summer, the “Aabesitz” takes place regularly on Friday evenings on the traffic-free village street.

Note: The Bellevue Adelboden invited me to this stay. Thank you very much for this! As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.

Merken

Merken