Swiss Family: Rob and son!

We left Birmingham airport early last Wednesday morning. I was dreading the journey with a 20 month old: a 90 minute flight, 10 minute train journey from the airport, another 80 minute train journey and a 40 minute bus ride to Lenzerheide. The Swiss transport system was efficient and comfortable though, some trains even have a family zone for the little ones – and naturally the scenery is incredible!

We stayed at the Hotel Schweizerhof, whose tongue-in-cheek website and photography doesn’t really show how fabulous it is. It’s gorgeous, cosy, comfortable, modern and beautifully designed. 

Our room was spacious and we were provided with robes and slippers – as was Ryland, who even had his own teddy bear!

That evening we all ate dinner together in the family restaurant, meals were part of the prize but we hadn’t realised it would be a six course feast! Understandably Ry became increasingly impatient and we didn’t make it past the fourth course. For the next two evenings we brought Ry down for an early tea and then utilised the hotel’s free baby listening service when we returned to dine at a more leisurely pace later on! The Children’s menu was fab and he was able to go into the kitchen to choose his ice-cream from the freezer. The buffet breakfasts were enormous, featuring plenty of delicious Swiss cheese!

Thursday morning was blighted with heavy rain so we took the opportunity to enjoy the hotel’s wellness centre and family pool. It was fabulous, there was even a ‘cave’ where you could enjoy a tropical rain shower. That afternoon we walked round Lake Heidsee and used our complimentary pass on the Rothorn cable cars, where we were surrounded by clouds so didn’t get much of a view, but the tasty Apfelstrudel made up for it!

Our prize voucher included a session in the hotel’s amazing Turkish Bath with a Rhassoul mud pack and a 45 minute soap massage, which Rob and I took on alternate evenings. It was heaven!

On Friday the weather was beautiful so with suncream applied, we popped Ry in the rucksack and jumped on the chair lift to the mountaintop. It was a truly incredible view of the Alps in every direction, here are the boys posing with a Toblerone bar…

We spent a couple of hours walking down the mountain, Ry dozed off for part of it but livened up as soon as we stopped off at a restaurant and he spotted the Milka cows.

The hotel had swings, a slide, trampoline and loads of things to keep little ones entertained: they even offered a free kindergarten from 10am-5pm so parents could enjoy the spa; we took advantage of this on our last day before setting off on the long journey home. I’d honestly thought a ‘luxury family’ holiday was something of a contradiction but the Swiss Tourist board and The Hotel Schweizerhof have proved it can be done. 

Thanks so much to Toblerone, Golin Harris and Christina at Switzerland Tourism for arranging this fabulous trip, we loved it!

If this amazing prize has inspired you to get comping, do check out the current promotion at mytoblerone.co.uk – the most creative Toblerone recipe uploaded will win an overnight stay at the Chocolate Boutique Hotel in Bournemouth pus a chocolate making workshop and £100 travel expenses. Entry closes on 30th September and you can read the terms and conditions here – good luck!