Hotels Near Skigebiet Aela in Bregaglia

Very old, elegant hotel located in the turquoise alpine lake: at the end of Sils Lake. As soon as we entered the door, the elegant gentleman reported our name and he always made us feel at home with kindness and humor. In Glaubinden, there are almost no Chinese tourists, because it generally needs to be reached by car, but the unique Engading area is really worth visiting. I strongly recommend everyone to come to Malaya and stay in this traditional hotel with green mountains and green waters. Listening to the bells of cattle and sheep enter the dreamland...

This is a fantastic hotel. It is hard for me to believe this is not the #1 hotel in Sils on TripAdvisor. We had seen an article in the Wall Street Journal about visiting Sils and staying in the Waldhaus, a large and classic grand old hotel. By the time we made our arrangements, there were no openings at the Waldhaus, and we landed on the Parkhotel Margna. Boy, are we glad things worked out that way! We went up to the Waldhaus for cocktails and dinner while we were in Sils to get some idea of what it was like. We were very happy to get back to Parkhotel Margna. The Waldhaus was almost like a museum, a grand old hotel keeping up its traditions, and one had the feeling that many of the families staying there had been coming back for years, even generations. On the other hand, the Parkhotel Margna was recently renovated (early in COVID) and kept a lot of its charm but has a very, very clean, modern feel. Hotel Margna is a very luxurious hotel but in a very modern and welcome way, and is in no way stuffy. It was definitely the better choice for us. Our room had a lot of inlaid wood and wonderful views. The WC (toilet and small sink) was in a separate room from the shower and main sink, which is always nice. The toilet itself is worth mentioning, as it was one of those Japanese multifunction electronic combinations toilet / bidets. You don’t know what you’ve been missing until you try one. We had a lovely view of the mountains from our room (check out the photo). While on the map it appears the hotel is a little distance from the town, in fact the walk is very flat and easy. (In contrast, the Waldhaus, while closer, is up a steep windy street that can be concerning to walk at night.) And, a word about the self-park garage, built under a field so as not to disturb the view, and connected to the hotel underground. OMG, I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a clean garage. Perhaps only Jay Leno has a garage to rival it. It was absolutely spotless, freshly painted, and even had art hanging on the walls! Breakfast was wonderful, with very fresh bread and so many other choices, and they were happy to make eggs for you. We also had a wonderful traditional dinner in the Stuva, and had drinks a couple of times in the hotel bar, which had a live keyboardist. Most of the hotel guests were European (not American, as we are). We were there the first week in September with another couple, for just a couple of days of seeing the mountains. It was a wonderful time to be there. It took me a few months to write this review as I wanted to be sure I had time to do this establishment justice. For anyone thinking of staying anywhere in the Engadin, I would strongly recommend you consider the Parkhotel Margna.

Surlej ist ein Schlafdorf, wo einfach gar nichts los ist. Wer hierher kommt geht früh schlafen und ist morgens als erster auf der Piste. Das Chesa Surlej ist dafür bestens gelegen. Bushaltestelle direkt vor der Tür und die Piste vom Corvatsch runter endet gleich hinter dem Haus. Am Morgen kann man entweder mit dem Skibus an die Corvatsch Talstation fahren (der fährt ca. jede Viertelstunde) oder man läuft ein paar Schritte die Strasse hoch und nimmt den Kinderlift zur Talstation. Wer den Bis in Richtung St. Moritz nehmen will, muss eine Kurve die Strasse runter laufen. Abends sind die Busse rar. Wir hatten das Arrangement mit dem Dine Around, wo man zweimal auswärts essen kann. Den Weg nach Silvaplana haben wir da jeweils zu Fuss gemacht. Das Dine Around hatten wir uns anders vorgestellt. Es sind feste Menüs vorgegeben, was wir schade finden. Und man sollte möglichst am ersten Tag in den Restaurants reservieren! Obwohl Nebensaison, waren die Restaurants, die wir wollten bereits ausgebucht. Tipp: Studieren sie am ersten Tag das Wochenmenue im Hotel. Wie oft zuvor erwähnt ist das Frühstück tatsächlich ein Highlight. Guter Kafi, Rührei, frische Früchte, allerlei Fleisch und Käse und sogar eine Maschine für frisch gepressten Orangensaft. Das Abendessen gut, aber kein «wow». Trotzdem würd ich hier nicht mehr buchen. Wie auch in den anderen Hotels in Surlej fehlt einfach total der Charme! Keine gemütliche Bar, wo man sich zum Apéro oder nach dem Essen zum Schlummi trifft. Der Speisesaal wenig einladend. Schon ein paar Kerzen würden helfen, eine wärmere Stimmung zu schaffen. Die Zimmer sind renoviert aber sehr einfach, schon fast ein bisschen trostlos, eingerichtet. Ausser das Badezimmer – das ist angenehm und toll fand ich, dass ein Bademantel bereit liegt. Wir hatten ein Standard Zimmer im Parterre. In diesen Zimmern hat es Bodenheizung, die zentral gesteuert wird. Unser Zimmer war recht kalt, was es nochmals ungemütlich wirken liess. Am meisten gestört hat uns, dass wir wirklich schlecht geschlafen haben. Einserseits wegen der sonderbaren Matratze und vor allem aber, weil das Zimmer nicht verdunkelt werden kann und von draussen die ganze Nacht Licht hereinstrahlt, da die Häuser ringsum beleuchtet sind.

Last week, after 2016 and 2017, we were again for a week to ski in St. Moritz. Basis for skiing on the very well prepared paths in Corviglia and Corvatsch was again the Youth Hostel. The friendliness and helpfulness of all staff from the reception through the kitchen to the service was remarkable. The great atmosphere is certainly also a result of good guidance from the management of the hostel. Thank you, we're happy to come back! Maren and Andreas