(Prices below assume 1.4 SF to £1)
Flights/transfers
We booked through Inghams (our 1st ever tour operator holiday). All went smoothly. The flights were on time (Jet 2) and the coach transfers were comfy. Only gripe was having to wait around for 1.5 hours in the airport on the way out (to pick up people from other flights) and a too early start on the way back for some reason. We didn't use any of the in resort Inghams services so can't comment on these. I think we'll go back to DIY for future holidays.
Weather
Sunny all week. It was around 2 or 3 degrees each morning at town level rising to between 10 and 15 degrees each day (in the shade). People walking around in t shirts at times. Up on the mountain it was also warm but temperatures were just about right from around 2,750m upwards. It was stupidly warm in Cervinia when we went across one morning.
Accommodation
We stayed at the Chalet Hotel Schonegg. A really really good hotel, one of the best we have ever stayed in. Our bedroom was nothing special, quite traditional in design and not large by any means, but it was spotlessly clean and the bed comfortable. We had a decent balcony although not with the famed view of the Matterhorn (unless you were to dangerously hang over the balustrade and squint to the left). This was no hardship though as we spent most of every day skiing in the shadow of the mountain.
We stayed half board and the food was excellent. Lots to eat at breakfast with a large array of cheeses, cold meats, fruit, breads, juice, cereals, pastries etc. I think I consumed about 1,500 calories each day by 8am! The 5 course evening meals were exceedingly gastronomic, not heavy at all, and comprising an interesting starter, a soup course, a help-yourself salad buffet, fancy main course and a innovative desert. We felt totally spoilt and judging by the prices on the a la carte menu we were probably being served with approx. £80 to £100 menus (each). The wine list was ridiculously extensive (and ridiculously expensive!). We bought two bottles during the week at £45 and £40 and they were at the cheap end of the scale. There were a number of bottles priced at £900. Eeek! I made the mistake of ordering a glass of single malt at the bar on the first evening and had to have a lie down when the bill arrived (£14)
They have a resident pianist and he was top drawer, knocking out very pleasant tunes (popular and classical) each evening in the dining room.
The hotel was an interesting mix of nationalities – Brits, Canadians, Americans, Russians, Swiss, Germans, South Africans. I suspect the high trip advisor rating brings in the punters.
There was a pleasant spa that we used on one occasion. Couple of Jacuzzis, steam room (with aromas, nice ones that is), sauna, foot spas etc. Also a strapping Swiss lad who was there to hand out various massages (for a high price of course. I told Mrs BB that she couldn't partake as I'd spent up on whisky on the first evening).
The hotel is positioned approx. 100m above the main town level and accessed by a Hobbit like tunnel with mood lights!!
We were picked up from the station by the Hotel porter in his milk float (more about the town vehicles later)
Town
Very pleasant indeed. A reasonable size with lots going on. Not quite as picturesque as we'd anticipated but a whole lot more pleasant than somewhere like Tignes. It's obviously a real town as we saw lots of children tipping out of school on our last afternoon there. Lots of restaurants and shops. If you want a Rolex or £1,200 ski jacket then this is the place for you! Lots of beautiful people on view. There is a lovely narrow street bounded by 16th and 17th timber buildings. All in all, a very nice place to wander through after a day's skiing.
Transport
Unless you are a Russian with a helicopter, the only way to get to Zermatt is via a train from Tasch or Visp. From Tasch it only took around 15 minutes. The town is rammed full of mad electric vehicles resembling milk floats (but with super harsh suspension settings) buzzing around and in a particularly crazy fashion at the beginning and end of the skiing day. I think the drivers like to get within an inch of any nearly pedestrians as they whizz by. The free buses are also electric and there was usually one after a 5 minute wait at any of the stops.
Lifts/resort layout
There are three distinct areas – Sunnegga/Rothorn, Riffelberg/Gornergrat and Schwarzsee/Matterhorn Glacier.
The Sunnegga funicular was 3 minutes walk from our hotel and was never busy. This is a quick (maybe 10 minutes?) ascent up to 2,288m. From there is a quick chair up to Blauherd at 2,571m and then up again on a cable car to Rothorn at 3,103m. No real queueing required any of these. In addition there are 3 or 4 lifts down into the each valley either side of the main lifts. Also a cable car up to Hohtalli at 3,286m which was the main access point to some of the yellow itineraire runs.
The Riffelberg/Gornergrat area could be accessed via a chair and a bubble from the Sunnegga side or via the train. The train is a very pleasant way to get up the mountain although it is about 40 minutes to get to the top at 3,089m. There are 5 or 6 drop off points on the way.
Schwarzsee/Matterhorn is the 3rd main area and accessed by what must be one of the longest bubbles anywhere in the world. The bubble goes from town level up to 2,929m although there are two stations where you can get on or off. From the top of the bubble, the main cable car up to the glacier at 3,883m can be accessed. This was the only place that we encountered queues, sometimes up to 30 minutes. From here it is possible to ski down into Cervinia.
We thought the resort was not as easy to navigate around as say Espace Killy and it can take a long time to actually start skiing in the morning if you are heading high. However, the lifts were generally quick and we encountered minimal queues.
Pistes
Reasonably consistent (especially when compared to Val d'Isere!). It didn't seem to be a difficult resort and I even got my better half to ski down a couple of black runs. The conditions did add an extra difficulty factor. We skied down to the town twice and the pistes were heavily mogulled because of the warm temperatures and quite unpleasant. We also experienced icy conditions on a few runs due to the freeze/thaw going on up to say 2,500m. From 2,500m upwards the conditions were pretty good. Most of the skiing is above the tree line and I imagine in bad weather it can be very cold and windy. We enjoyed red no 70 and the runs up on the glacier were great for building up speed and trying to carve (which I think I did on a couple of occasions, woohoo! 79kph on ski tracks...). I'm sure runs 11 and 19 are great as well although they were getting battered by the warm temperatures. No 8 black was good fun although I've skied more difficult blacks in other resorts. We skied more or less every piste by the end of the week other than the yellow itineraire runs. I would have had a crack at these but Mrs BB was not willing to go beyond black runs (she doesn't want to have to think about a new more difficult colour) and I didn't fancy tackling these on my own in any case. When we are next in Zermatt I'll probably arrange a lesson and ask to be taken down some of the yellow runs. We could see some of them which looked steep (but not madly steep). They looked to be great fun.
Ski hire
We used Flexrent. The equipment was top notch for late in the season. Very friendly people and added bonus of being able to leave our skis and boots in the shop overnight. Therefore only a short walk to the bus stop or Sunnegga lift.
Lessons
We used Stoked. Our instructor spoke excellent English and was super laid back (super was his favourite word). He really moved us on in the two 3 hour private lessons that we had. The lessons were £185 each for the both of us less 10% discount for being in the Ski Club of GB. For the first time, I'm feeling like I'm skiing 'properly' with my weight in the right place (at lease for some of the time)
Food/drink etc
It's expensive - everywhere. On the mountain, bottles of water/Coke are around £4 to £4.50. Simple lunchtime meals between £15 and £20 – ie Rosti with egg and bacon. We were pretty relaxed as there was only the two of us and the hotel was HB. Nevertheless we easily spent £50 a day between the two of us for lunch. All of the food we sampled was very tasty and there are plenty of mountain restaurants so quite easy to plan stops. The views from some of the restaurants are spectacular.
Cervinia
We travelled over to Cervinia on two occasions. The first time was for a couple of hours for lunch but we only skied 3 or 4 pistes (all red and all above 2,500m). Conditions were decent and our lunch was very tasty and much cheaper than Zermatt (approx. £10 to £12 for a plate of pasta). We stopped in the restaurant immediately to the right of the area named Laghi Cime Bianchi on the piste map at 2,812m. Our 2nd visit was later in the week and we got across around 11am and skied all the way down into Cervinia at 2,050m. Unfortunately the piste conditions were truly horrible, possibly the worst we've ever come across. It was more or less identical to the late morning skiing we encountered on the glacier in Tignes last July. A lot of the pistes above Cervinia and Plan Maison lie directly in the face of the midday sun, which I'm sure is very pleasant on a cool January day but not suited to mid March. We were also struck by the huge numbers of beginner skiers on these pistes which made progress even slower. In the end we got ourselves back up to a higher altitude and skied up and over the Colle Superiore delle Cime Bianche. Conditions were a little better here and we enjoyed pistes no 1, 16 and 5. We didn't make it down into Salette or Valtournenche. The only downside of this bit of resort is the need to take a long button lift to get back over the ridge.
All in all, we were not too impressed by Cervinia. I'm sure in colder conditions it would be much improved but the pistes we skied were generally at the easier end of the scale with only 1 or 2 genuine reds. I can see why it is popular as a beginner resort.
Summary
We loved Zermatt and I'm convinced we will be back at some point (once we have arranged a new mortgage to pay for it). Very friendly people and everyone seemed to speak good English. The town is very pleasant and provides for decent après ski. In sunny weather, the views are amazing in all directions. I'd certainly recommend a visit.
Some pics
Early morning view of town from balcony
Approaching milk float
Beautiful views
Off piste opportunities
Red or blue run on glacier
View from bubble
Piste 19 (mogulled by lunchtime in hot conditions)
