Davos, Switzerland In The Winter
For Winter, 2007, Davos had many different packages to choose from depending on what category hotel you wanted and whether or not you skied. For example, 7 nights at a ** Hotel, breakfast and dinner daily, welcome drink and 6-day lift ticket cost around 1061 Swiss Francs (SF from no on) or about $800 per person. An apartment ran 690SF (a little less than $580 per person. The apartment included 7 nights lodging including breakfast delivery, welcome drink and 6-day ski pass for the Davos-Klosters area. Klosters is the area where Prince Charles and family usually ski...very ritzy. But don't choose an apartment unless you are prepared to cook. Dining out is very expensive in Switzerland. We always try to take half-board (also called half-pension), breakfast and dinner with all services and taxes included, the best bargain in this not inexpensive country. Sorry to tell you but there is no way you will be able to find a restaurant costing less than $20-30, usually just for a salad and entree. ...View image...At least when you take half-board, the various hotels and pensions usually include anywhere from a 4-5-course meal. That could include: soup, salad (possibly a salad buffet), sometimes an appetizer, entree and dessert. Wine, soft drinks and/or coffee at dinner is always extra. Ask for a carafe of tap water instead of paying dearly for a bottle of mineral water unless the hotel/restaurant refuses to serve it. If so, you are stuck.
The wait staff is usually very obliging about this and we are here to tell you that Europeans are coming around to our way of thinking and it's not unusual to see carafes of water of their tables now.
This was our third trip to Davos - hiking in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter. One visit in January, 1998, really stands out in my mind because the annual World Economic Forum was being held (almost impossible to get any kind of reservation at that time) and the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal had just broken. The newspapers and tv's stations in Europe were all full of "good for him..." since this sort of scandal is an everyday affair in Europe.
This was a spur of the moment trip. Bought a train pass from Rail Europe, good for 1 trip in each direction from the Zurich airport to any destination in Switzerland, called a Swiss Transfer Ticket. It is almost always less expensive to buy your pass or ticket here in the U.S. rather than in Europe.Got off in Davos Platz - there are two train stations - Davos Platz and Davos Dorf, make sure you get off at the right station, stored our bags at the train station and started walking around looking for a hotel. Don't try this if it is the height of the season or during European holidays or school breaks! If you don't want to walk around looking for a hotel, walk to the Davos Tourismus on the Promenade and they will help you. Check out the excellent Davos website for more information. Even though this was the end of the season, some hotels/pensions had only single rooms left, others were still fully booked and a few more could only accommodate us for a few nights. It was a beautiful day and we didn't mind walking the streets even though almost every street is an uphill. Finally....
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