Walking and E-biking in the Swiss Alps

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Christina Davies, 18/09/2023

I was really pleased with the level of communication and the depth of information provided throughout the whole process of booking this trip - I certainly wouldn't hesitate in booking with Headwater again. Haven't looked into the other options you offer for Switzerland yet - ideally would like to go the the Grindlewald / Jungfrau area next time ( not using e'bikes!) just hiking.

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Janet Brooker, 19/08/2023

Everything as described, had a fabulous holiday.

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Andrew Waldren, 12/08/2023

A lovely holiday, stunning scenery, great hotel (especially the food) and Headwater team very helpful when planning holiday.

The hotel has saunas, steam room, pool and a relaxation room with a view, which are great after a day out walking or cycling. I also thought the diy lunch picnic worked well, make just what you want.

The walks are great, and route instructions very clear, I found the app to be less useful for the walks. For the rides, the app is great, as the voice instructions means no need to stop to check route. The eBikes are great, no worries about power or range.

The Gasterntal ride is fabulous, I can't recommend it enough and it is suitable for anyone.

The Gemmi Pass ride however has some very steep, challenging (rocky and/or lots of loose stones) sections, so take care. The view at the end is great though.

If you need a break from the heat in summer, there are some nice walks through local woods you can do or plenty of places to visit by bus/train.

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TOBIAS, 03/06/2023

Hotel Alfa Soleil was an excellent base for the week's activities. The views from our room were magnificent. All the staff were welcoming and helpful. We enjoyed having breakfast on the sunny terrace. Kandersteg has good local bus and train services, so it's easy to explore the region. We liked the flexibility offered on this holiday in that you could vary the order of the cycling/hiking days, depending on the weather or just how you felt on the day. One thing to note is the Gemmi Pass cycling day involves lifting your bike up beneath the cable car and these e bikes are heavy and cumbersome. Each of the 3 cable cars differed in style. We took the cable car down from the Allmenalp ride, but it wasn't easy fitting the bikes in as they had to go inside with you on this one. Overall, this was a great holiday with spectacular scenery and a chance to spend every day enjoying the fresh mountain air and alpine flowers, whilst building an appetite for the 4 course meal every evening.

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WADDINGTON, 19/05/2023

Hugely enjoyable holiday with perfect mix of hiking and e-biking in stunning scenery. Alfa Soleil was comfortable and the welcome from the staff was at all times exceptionally good. On one bike ride the route required going up an extremely steep gravel path which we felt should have been a higher grade than a 2.5. We think it would be helpful to show an alternative route where such a challenging path is indicated.

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Ms Ramkissun, 13/09/2022

Great travel providers. Amazing trips very well organised and efficient

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Mr Davison, 03/09/2022

A good location for walking and cycling with beautiful scenery. The hotel scores highly for service and food. The Gemmi pass trail is not for those who have little or no experience of mountain biking; it is very steep and rocky in places, which required us to dismount and push our bikes (which are heavy). The Swiss rail experience is a delight.



As for feedback, we have three comments to make about the hotel. We had paid extra for a balcony but it was tiny, barely allowing two people to sit and enjoy the view. It was also at the end of the hotel facing a house and garden which often had at least 6 very vocal dogs present. We love dogs but there frequent barking was a noisy intrusion to our enjoyment of the balcony. Despite the advice that wifi is present throughout the hotel it was not available in our room, on the top floor. I recommend that the coverage be improved if possible.

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Mr Hyde, 03/09/2022

Kandersteg is an amazing place, beautiful mountains, many routes for both ride and hike. The Headwater routes were as described and its simple to adapt and add more challenging routes if you want, as we did. The navigation app worked well and simple to use, we didn't get lost! I cannot fault the hotel in any way from the moment of arrival until departure. All staff were very welcoming and their care for ensuring we had everything we needed was genuine, they truly wanted to ensure we enjoyed our stay with them. The food is outstanding, fresh cooked, local ingredients, beautifully cooked. No matter how good a place is its been my rule never to return to somewhere I've already visited, the world is a big place. Kandersteg and Nico's team at the Alfa Soleil could be the exception to that rule.

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Mrs EDEN, 30/08/2022

Great holiday lovely hotel great guides to walking and cycling

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Dr Galpine, 11/06/2022

Kandersteg is a beautiful setting and the hotel Alpha Soleil is comfortable and the staff friendly and helpful. The itinerary is a good mix of walks and e-bike rides, with several options to choose from. We hadn't ridden e-bikes before and found out the hard way just how heavy they are when we had to get off and push them up a couple of steep sections on the route to the Gemmi Pass - in places the path is narrow and rocky and the surface is loose chippings - but the view from the top is worth it.