Hôtel Mischabel and Hôtel-Restaurant Relais Belvédère in Switzerland

From a 2-week trip to SWITZERLAND in September ’05, I recommend the following accommodations.

• Hôtel Mischabel (3920 Zermatt; phone 011 41 27 967 11 31, fax 967 65 07 or visit www.zermatt.ch/ mischabel).

Because the shower and toilet rooms are down the hall, the rooms are a bargain and attract people from all over the world. My room with balcony, facing the Matterhorn, was only CHF65 ($52) per night. Half pension added CHF22 ($17.60). The bed and floor are a little creaky; don’t go there on your honeymoon.

• Hôtel-Restaurant Relais Belvédère (1938 Champex-Lac [Velais]; phone 011-41-27-783-12-16, fax 783 25 76 or visit www.le-belvedere.ch) is an oasis of silence near the clear blue-green lake that gives the village its name. I have been there before and returned for the scenery, cozy room, friendly hosts and good food.

A single room with balcony cost CHF100 ($80) including breakfast. Half board was only CHF10 ($14.40). Food during my Switzerland vacation was fine, but the meals at the Belvédère were the best.

• Josiane Burnken rents only one room in her apartment (32, Quai Gustav Ador, CH 1207 Geneva; phone 011-41-22-735-78-69, fax 735 92 19 or e-mail josiane.brunken@bluewin.ch). On a busy street, in front of the Jet d’Eau, I was still able to sleep soundly with the windows open. CHF100 ($80) per person per night plus CHF10 ($8) for breakfast.

• Eating out in Geneva is expensive. Consequently, I ate all of my lunches and dinners at the Manora Restaurant (rue Cornavin 6), in the Manor Department Store near the Cornavin train station. It is a busy place divided into areas serving soup, salad, quiche, pizza, entrées, desserts and beverages.

Entrées are cooked to order and charged by the plate, with as many vegetables and starches as one can pile on. Chicken, $8. Steak, $16. Pork, sausages and trout and other fish are also available. It’s open Sunday when the rest of the store is closed.

The wonderful thing is that, while in the States I have to avoid gluten, in Switzerland I ate the delicious baked goods and did not get a reaction.

— JON LaFLEUR, Kent, CT