Kempinski Palace Engelberg

The hotel is located within easy walking distance of the train station - less than 200 meters. It is one of the more impressive buildings in Engelberg. The ambiance at the reception was also excellent, befitting a five-star hotel. The staff who checked us in ( this is the initial face of a hotel, remember) was really very condescending, but we ignored her attitude. During our stay many things fell short. Our room was good but each day the housekeeping staff behaved erratically. They would give us fewer towels, or not replace the coffee or milk. Items like slippers were placed randomly, and we had to hunt for them each time we came back to the room. One day we found the slippers placed in the bedside table shelf, underside-down, over our cosmetics and creams! Staff appeared not to be working off a checklist. Each time we had to ask the staff for the missing items (each day!) they appeared not to understand any English word at all! (Really?). We had much difficulty communicating. On the day we left the hotel, we settled our bill, but later that night while at another town, we received an e-mail stating that we had consumed a bottle of wine from the mini bar and asking us to pay 52 Swiss Franks through a link provided in the email! We felt assaulted by the accusation. Also, we did not know whether the e-mail was genuine or a scam, especially since it requested we use a link to settle the payment. We sent back two responses immediately, denying the accusation. The following day the hotel wrote apologizing and said that they would check with the housekeeping staff. Should they not have done this in the first instance? Guests should not have to tolerate all these ridiculous and irritating going-ons with staff in a five-star hotel. Management should train their housekeeping staff and check the competence and courtesy of all their staff.

This is supposed to be a 5 star hotel and the price level is accordingly. We stayed from Friday to Sunday. Arrival service and reception was great, but when we wanted to have afternoon tea it took very long time to get that set up. The afternoon tea itself was great, including great service. We had afternoon rests which every day was disturbed by turndown service at around 18. We asked them to come back at 20, but they never came back neither of the days. The breakfast is ok, but most of the waiters seam to be busy cleaning and setting up tables for lunch, leaving little attention for the guests. So all in all not a 5 star experience.

Stayed at Kempinski Engelberg for the second time this winter and already can’t wait to come back. The hotel and its location are absolutely magical and beautiful in any season. Friendly staff, perfect cleanliness, cozy and well-equipped rooms with super comfortable beds and amazing views all year round. In winter, the chalet at the hotel is open and offers incredible fondue and a wonderful atmosphere. The hotel also provides ski equipment rental and a convenient transfer to the slopes. We especially enjoyed the breakfasts — they were a real highlight. Don’t miss the cocktails and snacks at the bar 🙂 The spa with a large warm pool and panoramic windows is just fantastic. A truly wonderful stay.

We were 8 persons with 5 rooms booked and overall enjoyed our stay a lot. The staff was friendly and the hotel was beautifully decorated and clean. The Christmas trees for the rooms were a very nice thing as well and the food (Cattani, breakfast and the fondue chalet) was very good. The massages we booked were amazing! Here the things that make it hard for us to come back considering the category the hotel places itself: -The personnel was friendly, indeed at all times. But it was clearly senseable and visible that they were overworked, stressed and not always aware of what their hotels offers. The Lady in Red told us there is cross country skiing gear to rent in -1 when there was not (her explanation later was, that it was the case last year). A receptionist told us there is breakfast until “I believe until 11:00 on Monday”, after my wife insisted to double check since we read somewhere it was until 10:30, a colleague then checked and it was indeed 10:30. And, without exaggeration, in the bar area, every single time we ordered drinks and or food, multiple things were wrong. Why does the staff not write down orders when it is difficult (understandably during the Christmas period) to keep everything in one's head? (I couldn't either). Also some of the staff worked at the breakfast, in the afternoon at the bar and then even in the evening at the bar. Then it is no wonder, if you let them work that much, that things get messy. And at the breakfast, it felt like we got 5 different waiters at times asking the same questions, it seemed very unorganized and chaotic. -Maybe attributable to the point above, in one of our rooms another guest suddenly came into the room. Whether this was done wrong at check in, or the key simply could open multiple doors and the other person was confused on the floor or so is unclear to us. -My car had a scratch on above the right back wheel which I am certain it did not have it there before. We discovered it after we had checked out and had taken a last walk around the town. None of us had the energy to mention this and of course there might be a slim chance it happened before we arrived at the hotel and was only found thereafter. -The fresh tea the hotel serves, is basically hot water. Whether it was mint or ginger (had even less of a taste). After the third time we gave it back and asked for normal tea which was good. On the last evening, my mother ordered specifically a normal peppermint tea but again got the tasteless warm water with leaves in it. But we decided to mention this later in the feedback as we wanted to enjoy our time. -The left shower in the pool area did not work, the right one barely worked and one in the men's wardrobe disassembled the moment my father turned it on.

Just amazing. Service, facilities, everything was perfection. Thank you especially to Damien who told us all about the luxury whiskeys and cigars they have in the smokers lounge. It was a highlight on Christmas Eve, it was like a tour that we would usually pay for, his knowledge is so impressive. Thanks to Helena who looked after us every day at Breakfast, super attentive and lovely how she would come chat to us every day. And thanks to Lazio who helped us book a limo to pick us up from the airport, a bit of luxury that I would definitely recommend! For guests I’d recommend you bring your dog, everything is dog friendly - she even came sledging and on a ski lift with us. I’d also recommend the glacier walks and the chicken Katsu burger at the hotel. Thanks and see you next year!