Märchenhotel Bellevue
Superior
The Vogel family's four-star-superior family hotel in car-free Braunwald — 1,300 metres above the Glarus region, reachable only by funicular. Built in 1907 as a grand hotel, since 1977 with its own “fairy-tale uncle” tradition: every evening at 6 pm a new fairy tale for the children, in parallel a “wine fairy tale” for the adults. One of the rare houses in which family holidays and serious wellness stand side by side as equals — separated by floor.
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Märchenhotel Bellevue: greetings from the front desk
The Märchenhotel Bellevue stands 1,300 metres above everyday life, in car-free Braunwald, on the sunny southern slope of the Glarus region. Whoever reaches the hotel comes by funicular — the village knows no cars, and the luggage travels by electric vehicle. Three generations of the Vogel family run the house, built in 1907 as a grand hotel by the legendary hotel pioneer Josef Durrer (he also built the Bürgenstock hotel and the Hotel Semiramis in Cairo). Today the Märchenhotel is one of the most distinctive family hotels in Switzerland and a member of the “Swiss Family Hotels” — with a child-free rooftop spa for the adults, a full-grown adventure pool for the little ones and a tradition of its own, unbroken since 1977: every evening a fairy tale is told.
Adventure pool — Tarzan course, water slide, infinity pool
In the Märchenhotel's adventure pool the whole family gets its due: in the 32-degree baby and children's pool the smallest splash about, get sprinkled by the waterfall or marvel at the fountain. Older children glide down the 20-metre water slide or clamber on the Tarzan climbing course that hangs from the ceiling in the middle of the indoor pool. Parents relax in parallel between the massage jets of the infinity outdoor pool with a view over the Glarus Alps — or go one floor up.
Wellness On The Top — a child-free rooftop spa in a glass pavilion
On the roof of the hotel, sheltered by a glass pavilion, lies the “Wellness On The Top” — a deliberately child-free zone for parents and couples. The sauna landscape carries a Finnish sauna, a new bio sauna, an aroma steam bath and an experience shower; the rest room advertises “the second-best view in Switzerland”. Massages are booked directly in the wellness area: full body, partial, head and neck, back and foot reflexology — 50 min CHF 115, 25 min CHF 65 (children from 7 years CHF 45 for 25 min). Alongside a fitness room with an ergometer, treadmill, cross-trainer, functional trainer, back extension and weight bench.
Märliland, childcare and the fairy-tale uncle
The hotel is one of eight members of the “Swiss Family Hotels” and has specialised in travelling families for decades. In the house's own “Märliland” — developed with Europa-Park Rust — there is a giant fairy-tale tree, a chicken villa, a rabbit castle and an aquarium lift. Free childcare runs continuously every day from 9:00 to 21:00; at 18:00 the fairy-tale uncle or the fairy-tale fairy tells the daily fairy tale, and at 18:20 the “children's dinner” begins in the “Hall for Kings” — according to the hotel the “second-coolest children's dining hall in Switzerland”. Babysitting is possible by advance booking (24 h ahead) for CHF 30/h.
Cuisine — a five-course menu, the Egg-xpress and a henhouse of its own
Head chef Dominik Hergenhan and his team serve a five-course menu in the panorama dining room every evening — three main courses to choose from, alternately with a salad and antipasti buffet. The cuisine mixes classic French, Swiss and Italian accents. While the children eat from 18:20 in the “Hall for Kings”, the adults experience a “wine fairy tale” from 6 pm — the grown-up variant of the fairy-tale hour. During the day the Restaurant Clariden is open until 17:00. A curiosity for breakfast: the “Egg-xpress” egg gondola — the first egg cable car in the world, which delivers the breakfast egg straight to the table; the egg itself guests may choose beforehand in the house's own henhouse.
Rooms & suites — Standard, Exklusiv, Paradies
Three room categories carry the house: Standard, Exklusiv and Paradies. The top of the line is the two-storey Paradies suite “1001 Nights” — with a play level of its own for the children and a 180 × 200 cm double bed for the adults, a sleeping set-up that allows rest on two levels. The fittings are consistently high-quality, the stylistic accent: “fairy-tale” rather than sober.
Braunwald — a car-free village at 1,300 metres
Braunwald is car-free and reachable only by funicular — the Braunwald railway was opened in 1907 together with the grand hotel, in one of the pioneering feats of Swiss hospitality. At 1,300 metres a sun terrace opens with a view over the Glarus Alps; in the Glarus region the first Swiss ski club was founded in 1893 and the first Alpine ski race held in 1902. A ski area in winter, a hiking destination in summer with llama treks, signposted routes and, in the hotel itself, a classic concert hall since 1936 — the Swiss music festival weeks have taken place here ever since.
© Hotel images: Märchenhotel Bellevue
Good to know
Märchenhotel Bellevue
Dorfstrasse 24
8784 Braunwald
Glarus, Switzerland
Frequently asked questions about the hotel
History — from grand hotel to Märchenhotel
In 1907 the world-famous hotel pioneer Josef Durrer built the Braunwald railway and the grand hotel in the Glarus region at the same time; from the first day the house had a tennis court and a lift of its own. Durrer also built the first electric funicular on the Bürgenstock, the Hotel Palace Lucerne and the legendary Hotel Semiramis in Cairo.
After the First World War the Eastern European guests stayed away, and the house first became the “Hotel Braunwald” with an English clientele. In 1945 it was renamed “Hôtel Bellevue”. In 1972 the house once again faced the end — until Fridolin Vogel stepped in, the grandfather of today's “fairy-tale uncle”. In 1977 the tradition that was to give the house its name arose by chance: the hotelier Martin Vogel calmed a screaming child in the dining room with the promise of telling it a fairy tale — and has done so daily ever since.
Childcare — 12 hours a day, free of charge
Daily childcare from 9:00 to 21:00 in the Märliland, free of charge and continuously open — for toddlers too, as long as they can part from their parents. Should the weather fail to cooperate for longer, there are additional bad-weather programmes.
Babysitting is available by advance booking (24 hours ahead): CHF 30 per hour for one child, CHF 40 per hour for two children. The hotel provides many items for babies and toddlers free of charge — luggage can be reduced accordingly.
How does serious wellness work in a family hotel?
Through consistent separation by floor: on the roof lies the child-free “Wellness On The Top” — the retreat for the adults, with a massage menu of its own. Meanwhile the children have a realm of their own, the adventure pool with a Tarzan course and an infinity outdoor pool, plus twelve hours of free childcare in the Märliland every day.
So everyone gets their holiday — at the same time, in the same house, without either side having to hold back.
What is the fairy-tale uncle about?
In 1977 the hotelier Martin Vogel calmed a screaming child in the dining room with the promise of telling it a fairy tale — and has done so daily ever since. Every evening at 6 pm there is a new fairy tale for the children; in parallel the “wine fairy tale” runs for the adults: a glass, a story, half an hour of calm before dinner.
Getting there — car-free by funicular
Braunwald is car-free. Arrival by rail to Linthal, then by funicular 1,300 metres up to Braunwald — the luggage is transported to the hotel by electric vehicle. For hotel guests the funicular ride is included in the stay free of charge.
Prices — notes on the currency
All prices at the Märchenhotel are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF). Rates for the “Wellness On The Top” massage menu: 50 min treatment CHF 115, 25 min CHF 65, children's massage (from 7 years) CHF 45 for 25 min.