THE CAMBRIAN HOTEL: ADELBODEN
WHEN WE THINK OF SWISS ALPINE EXPERIENCES HERE AT AGENT2, WOODEN CHALETS, HEIDI AND CUCKOO CLOCKS POP INTO OUR HEADS – NOT TO MENTION THE SERIOUS AMOUNTS OF PHYSICAL EXCURSION IN THE FORMS OF HIKING, SKIING AND MOUNTAIN BIKING THAT ARE READILY ASSOCIATED WITH MOUNTAIN RESORTS.
Thinking of this usually brings me out in a sweat as my daily activity normally peaks at running from one meeting to the next, heavily laden down with laptop and a tall skinny latte.
Bearing all this in mind, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find Adelboden, in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland came with all the charm I had expected from a traditional mountain village but with equally mountainous sized portions of luxury and relaxation. With views across the mountains that would inspire even the most committed city dweller to don Lederhosen and Yodel, a quaint village atmosphere, picture perfect chalets and more top class restaurants and boutique hotels than you can shake a stick at, the village is a million miles away from my stereotypical preconceptions I originally had.
After an enjoyable and relaxing 2-hour flight from Manchester with Switzerland’s national airline, SWISS where I was served with chocolate and smiles, I was safely deposited in Zurich where a remarkably scenic journey to Frutigen was next on the itinerary with Swiss Railways SBB. The high-speed journey of 3 hours passed by with the true efficiency you would expect from a nation renowned for their clock-making prowess. After a short bus journey from the station I reached the picture-perfect village of Adelboden.
The area caters for a variety of tastes and requirements as both a winter and summer destination. Whether you are looking for a romantic getaway for two, an outdoor, action-packed adventure or something to keep the kids occupied while the adults indulge then this is the destination for you. Conveniently situated at the base of the Wildstrubel, minutes from the cable cars that take you to the summit, the mountainous terrain is perfect for skiing and snowboarding during the winter season and hiking and biking in the summer. For those of you who prefer to indulge and relax, plans are also in the pipeline for a new wellness and sporting facility, Alpenbad, that will boast a huge spa, 14 different indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, a warm water pool with views over the Engstigle Waterfalls and a 5-star hotel to boot (work is due to begin in spring 2011).
I checked into The Cambrian Hotel, part of the Design Hotels group. The charming exterior melts seamlessly into the traditional surroundings and belies the interiors sleek modernism and quirky elements; the 71 rooms are a perfect marriage of ‘Scandi-cool’ and cosy with enough designer elements to have seriously made me consider buying a bigger bag for the return journey home! The Cambrian’s own bar, Scott’s, blends enough high-design and glamour to make anyone want to indulge in après-ski as well as warming up with plenty of avant-ski (a tradition we at AGENT2 strictly observe!). Nova, the hotel’s own restaurant serves up ‘new alpine cuisine’, their own fresh take on mountain classics with all ingredients sourced from within the region. Here you will find something for everyone from smaller plates to more hearty meals that would enable you to tackle the most rigorous of outdoor activities.
The Cambrian itself has everything you would expect from a luxury, boutique hotel with friendly assistance given at every step to make your stay is as pleasurable as possible. On arriving, scooter and chair lift rides had already been organised as well as a relaxing treatment in the hotel’s own world-class spa – no doubt to aid in the recovery needed after the aforementioned exhausting activities. Other packages are also available to make your trip as pain free as possible.
With the breathtaking scenery on your doorstep, activities arranged and a post-activity recovery plan in place, the pull of the outdoors is too much to resist!
The spa at The Cambrian provides a number of treatments using natural alpine ingredients and influenced by the different phases of the moon, and is open to both hotel guests and residents of the region. As a guest of the hotel I was at liberty to use the facilities whenever it took my fancy, and believe me, the fancy took me. The hotel has fantastic facilities including an indoor pool complete with its own waterfall, Finnish sauna with steam bath and rain shower and my personal favourite, an outdoor infinity pool complete with stunning mountain views.
Tearing myself from the warm, bubbling pool and beautiful scenery I moved on for my ‘Mountain Herb’ massage. This relaxing and revitalising, full body massage used oils scented with alpine herbs to leave my skin feeling energised as though I had just thrown myself into a mountaintop, glacial lake. With a number of packages to choose from it is advisable to book so as not to be disappointed. The ‘Hiking & Wellness’ package is to be recommended and includes many of the things highlighted in my stay.
Having arrived in Adelboden with the weight of fast-paced city living on my shoulders and preconceptions in mind I have found that all my cares have melted away in the crisp, alpine air as I sit, sipping thick hot chocolate from The Cambrian’s Winter Garden roof terrace. This truly is a destination with something for everyone where the pace is yours for the choosing.
TRAVEL DETAILS
Swiss Air operate regular flights from Manchester to Zurich with prices starting at £120 return. For more details please visit www.swiss.com.
We travelled from Zurich to Frutigen by train. See Swiss Railways SBB for more details.
We stayed at:
The Cambrian Hotel
Dorfstrasse 7
3715 Adelboden
Switzerland
Double rooms cost from £75 and a range of great packages are available.
More information on Adelboden and the surrounding can be found at www.myswitzerland.com.
Words Vincent Bernier Images The Cambrian Hotel
HOT CHOCOLATE
JUST WHEN WE’VE PACKED AWAY OUR EASTER EGGS AND TOLD OURSELVES THAT WE DON’T NEED TO SEE ANOTHER CHOCOLATE SHAPED TREAT FOR AT LEAST A MONTH, WE ARRIVE IN SUNNY BOURNEMOUTH…AT NONE OTHER THAN THE DELECTABLE, THE DELICIOUS, CHOCOLATE BOUTIQUE HOTEL. AND IT’S CLEAR THAT ABSTINENCE OF ANY KIND IS SIMPLY OUT OF THE QUESTION. THIS IS A PLACE OF TRUE INDULGENCE, AND I CAME PREPARED – AN OPEN MIND, A SENSE OF HUMOUR AND A VERY EMPTY STOMACH.
It turns out that these three key properties are all that is required when staying at the world’s only chocolate-themed hotel, for everything is as unusual as it is tasty but all of it is just right. Parking up on this sunny April Friday, at the Grade II listed Victorian building striped with a signature chocolate-brown band, I almost skipped to the front door, asking myself how much chocolate can one eat in a night? The answer, after being greeted by a giant chocolate fountain – used at Peter and Jordan’s infamous wedding – and an oversized martini glass loaded with white, milk and dark chocolate chips, is a lot.
Being a chocolate lover, this wasn’t exactly a problem and peering through our chocolate-bar designed door to see the cappuccino, truffle and mocha decorated room, I could already spot some more delicious treats. It isn’t just the home-made melt-in-your-mouth chocolate handed out at every opportunity that makes The Chocolate Boutique Hotel as special as it is. It is the detail and quality of each of its 13 chocolate-named rooms that protects it from being kitsch or cheesy. Chocolate here remains seductive, elegant and divine and so too, does the hotel.
The flawless design of its textured café au lait wallpapers against its fluffy milk chocolate carpets and clean, sharp dark chocolate furniture creates an ambiance that indulges even the most sophisticated of clientele. And whilst falling back on the king sized beds might feel like you’ve collapsed onto a whipped-cream cloud, everything is so clean, simple and stylish, you never feel trapped in a Nestle advert. Far from it. In fact, even if you didn’t like chocolate before you came, you suddenly feel mesmerised and coaxed into this dreamy world of creamy molten chocolate and the seductive scent of the purest cacao. The huge canvasses of chocolate delights are enough to make even the strongest give into temptation. But then, when in Rome…
Opened in 2007 by chocolate entrepreneur, Gerry Wilton and his wife, Roo, this family-run hotel exceeds all imagination. The concept is almost so natural and familiar; it’s a surprise to hear that it hasn’t been done before. But as we sit here on mocha-coloured stools and sip from an array of chocolate cocktails, we learn that this is an experience that can’t be recreated in any other ‘ordinary’ hotel in the world.
And all in the little town of Bournemouth. Having only visited when I was a child, my memories of this coastal town were of ice cream and windy beaches, but as we walked along the famous seven miles of golden sands beside a promenade of trendy restaurants and bars, I realised that things have changed a lot since then. The short ten minute stroll from the hotel to the beach meanders through the lovely Lower Gardens, from where you can even try out the Bournemouth Balloon – a perfectly spherical hot air balloon that gives passengers a 20-mile view of Dorset. Set back from the bustling town centre where you can find any shop you desire, is this beautiful little patch with mini golf, picnic areas and, as my memories confirmed, plenty of ice cream stalls.
The Lower Gardens leads onto the standard seaside fairground, including carousel rides and caricature stalls, as well as a Helter Skelter at the end of the landmark pier.
The beach itself was filled with sunbathers, windsurfers, children playing games and pensioners reclining in striped deckchairs outside multi-coloured seaside huts. It was a perfect summer’s day beach scene that you sometimes forget can be achieved in this country, let alone in April. But the beautiful sights of the sun setting over the beautiful English coast couldn’t distract me from my task at hand. I came to eat chocolate and that’s what I intended to do.
After a quick stop at one of the many fancy fish (or fish and chip, depending on your tastes) restaurants beside the sea, we returned to the hotel for those much-anticipated cocktails. I sipped and slurped my Chocky Wocky Minty (£6) as it if were milkshake, which with its ingredients of Crème de Menthe, Crème de Cacao and of course, more cream, it nearly was. As diet-unfriendly as it appeared, there were even more calorie-laden choices, including The Chocmeister, crammed with chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream in addition to the creamy alcohol. But then, if you’re on a diet, this really isn’t the place to go!
Sipping my liquid dreamy mint aero, my eyes caught upon the flashing lights of Gerry’s much-loved automated cocktail machine. One of only two in the world (both of which, Gerry owns), this machine has the creative engineering reminiscent of a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang invention, with the retro design and bright ‘80s lights that would’ve belonged easily in Cocktail.
This machine, along with Tom ‘Gerry’ Cruise, made The Chocolate Bar come to life, far beyond creamy chocolate liqueurs. Serving colourful drinks, whilst chatting to the other guests in this cosy lounge room was something I’d never experienced in another three star hotel. Together with the spilling chocolate fountain and squidgy marshmallows that were just an arm’s reach away it was like being at your family’s for Christmas – without all the fights, tears and turkeys.
Waking up in the chocolate paradise, I was greeted with one of the most delicious of breakfasts – a crisp folded pancake oozing with pure melted chocolate complete with personalised ‘Good Morning Natasha’ message from Gerry, neatly scribed onto the plate. Tucking into this molten chocolate delight, sipping on my ‘Mighty Leaf Chocolate Mint Truffle Tea’, instantly brought a smile to my face beyond the effects of the superfluous chocolate endorphins that must have been racing through my body by now. For those who were sick of chocolate (though I didn’t meet anyone like this), there were plenty of other choices including a Full English. It is this amount of choice that makes The Chocolate Boutique Hotel perfect for everyone; guests can either totally indulge in all the complementary chocolate treats, or have other options instead. But quite frankly, I was here for one reason. The rest was just a bonus.
I truly learnt that extent of the public’s obsession with chocolate, when at 11 a.m. we were joined by 10 other people in the hotel’s famous Chocolate Workshops. Now operating in seven different cities with up to 30 people on each workshop, this short-course is the latest craze to sweep Red Letter Day gifts. And I can see why it’d be the perfect present. Mums, dads, children, grannies, everyone loves these workshops, where you are taught by a trained chocolatier how to make, design, and package delicious truffles yourself. In just over two hours, you’ll have created around 40 of the tastiest truffles you’ve ever had and the best part is you can take them home for yourself (or of course, put in neat ribbon packages as gifts for others, if you’re less greedy than I am.)
The whole Chocolate Hotel experience is a totally unparalleled holiday, but to really get an appreciation of what chocolate is about, where it is from, how it is made and how long it takes to craft one handmade truffle, you will need to experience a chocolate workshop.
A stay at The Chocolate Boutique Hotel was everything that I hoped it would be: gorgeous interior that brought back the seductiveness, richness and sensuality of chocolate, without the cheap gimmicky stuff, truly delicious home-made chocolate in endless supply, and one of the most enjoyable hotel atmospheres I’ve ever experienced.
The only chocolate hotel in the world, it has the potential to take the world by storm, but nowhere will quite be able to replicate the humorous, homeliness and hospitality of Gerry and Roo’s family-run hotel hidden on our beautiful English coast.
For more information or to book a room or workshop visit www.chocolateboutiquehotel.co.uk or call 01202 556857.
The Chocolate Boutique Hotel
5 Durley Road
Bournemouth
Dorset
BH2 5JQ
Enjoy a stay at three star The Chocolate Boutique Hotel in Bournemouth, where you will be greeted by all the chocolate you can dream of. Singles (The Cocoa Bean room) start at £65, doubles (Theobroma Room) at £120 and the deluxe suite, The Chocolate Truffle Suite at £160prpn.
Chocolate Workshop
Two and a half hours of Belgian truffle making, including lessons about the history of chocolate and the art of making delicious truffles, as well as coming home with plenty of tasty masterpieces of your own. Costs £59pp. See website for more details or to book a private lesson for two.
Try a Chocolate Weekend at The Chocolate Boutique Hotel
A two-night stay with two chocolate workshops and a chocolate party will set you back £259pp but for chocolate-lovers, it’s totally worth it.
Things to Do
Visit www.bournemouth.co.uk for more information on things to do in Bournemouth.
Bournemouth Balloon – Adults £12.50, Children (up to 14 years) £7.50
Land Train – Take the land train from Bournemouth Pier to Alum Chime for a scenic ride along the beach. £1.90 for adults, £1.20 for children for a single ticket.
Entrance onto Pier 60p
Words Natasha Al-Atassi
