Yoummi – the catering option from Swiss Youth Hostels 

• All prices exclusive of taxes CHF 3.70 per person/night (from 1.1.2024 CHF 4.20 per person/night), including VAT.
• The Hostel Card Standard is included in the price of accommodation and is valid from the day of arrival to the day of departure.
• You have the option of purchasing a Hostel Card Premium and benefit from cheaper accommodation prices in all Swiss youth Hostels. More information about the Hostel Card Premium
• Groups (minimum of 10 people) are advised to buy a Hostel Card Premium (personal: CHF 55.– / non-personal: CHF 99.–)
• Find our children's prices on the family page. 
• Group rates for children ages 2 to 5 years, a flat rate of CHF 15.–; from ages 6 to 12 years, accommodation prices / group prices apply
• Accommodation of dogs on request CHF 15. – per dog and night, without food
• Car park per night CHF 10.–
• Voluntary CO2-Compensation CHF 0.30
• Rates are subject to change
• All rates in CHF

The forest youth hostel

Since its completion at the beginning of the 20th century, the chalet building located in woodland above Grindelwald has offered its guests an exceptional view across the village and towards the Eiger North Face.

After the building had been acquired by the Youth Hostels Association in 1939, the number of guests gradually grew.

The holiday chalet

In 1904, Gustav A. Hasler, founder of the Hasler Werke in Bern, had the building constructed by an English architect as an apparently romanticised holiday chalet. So the fact that references have been made to the English country house style and the attributes of the hotel architecture of the day are not entirely coincidental. Instead of the simple flight of steps typical of chalet construction that were commonly placed in front of the building, a feudal staircase in the building leads from the upper floors to a spacious open lobby. This is situated in the middle of the building, dividing it into two equal halves.

The youth hostel

In the 1950s, European tourism experienced a period of tremendous growth. The lower and middle-income groups discovered the attraction of foreign holidays and inexpensive accommodation was in great demand. An expansion of the space available in Grindelwald Youth Hostel became a matter of urgency; although the chalet’s self-contained construction type did not really lend itself to extensions. During a first phase, space potential was spotted in the outdoor wash house which was converted into the first family room in 1957.
Nevertheless, the building’s appearance already underwent its first major change between 1962 and 1965 with a massive ground floor extension to the west-facing main facade.

When a comprehensive refurbishment was on the agenda in the early 1990s, the aim was to reduce the numbers of beds in the cramped rooms. An extension to the existing building was out of the question. The decision was taken to construct a separate new building alongside the original chalet building.

The new building

In 1996, a total of 18 new double rooms and rooms with four beds were created in a three-story building. With its consistent simplicity and spatial clarity, the new building is visually subordinate to the main building. The allocation of space into guestrooms with a view down the valley, a continuous corridor and ancillary rooms with stairs and wet cells looking up the valley is implemented in the same way over all the floors. At the same time as the construction of the new building, alterations were undertaken to relieve the chalet of some of its inherited problems and the overfilled multi-bed rooms reduced to rooms with two to six beds.

Six beds in three rooms at Grindelwald Youth Hostel have barrier-free access.

The main building, an old chalet, is accessible via a wheelchair lift. This makes the reception, lounge and restaurant readily accessible for wheelchair users. However, wheelchair-accessible accommodation is only available on the ground floor of the annex.

To get from the annex into the main building, you have to negotiate a relatively long, steep ascent.

The outdoor area also has only limited barrier-free access due to steps, grass and gravel.

Barrier-free wash rooms

There is a disabled WC on the same floor. The double rooms each have a wash room fully equipped for disabled visitors.

Barrier-free transport

Arriving by train/on foot

From Grindelwald railway station, take the bus towards Terrassenweg to the stop «Gaggi Säge». You can then follow the street back down to the youth hostel (relatively steep).

Not all buses are wheelchair accessible; please call the day before so that Grindelwald Bus can plan accordingly.

Tel: +41 (0) 33 854 16 16

Useful information

Links for public transport

• Swiss Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Barrier-free public transport (website only in German and French)
• Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) Travel with reduced mobility

Nearest pharmacy

Approx. 3.5–5 km:

• Coop Vitality Apotheke
  Dorfstrasse 101
  3818 Grindelwald
  Tel: +41 58 878 86 00

Offers

• Tourism inclusive
• MyHandicap: forum, information and addresses for people with disabilities
• Procap Switzerland: culture opportunities for everyone

Supporting the OK:GO initiative

Swiss Youth Hostels is part of the OK:GO initiative. This initiative aims to ensure that every tourism provider in Switzerland offers information about the accessibility of its services to the public. Learn more about the initiative here.

ginto profile of Grindelwald Youth Hostel

Visit our ginto page for Grindelwald Youth Hostel now and find out all about barrier-free accommodation at this hostel.