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3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat

COST: $$$$

<p><strong>The Altitude:</strong> 10,170 feet.</p> <p><strong>The Perch:</strong> Since 1907, the Kulmhotel Gornergrat has drawn visitors with some of the Swiss Alps' most stunning scenery. Twenty-nine peaks over 13,000 feet ring the property, including the infamous Matterhorn. Claude Nicollier, a Swiss astronaut who stayed here to use the hotel's two attached observatories, once wrote that the property has “the widest and clearest sky of the whole of middle Europe.”</p> <p><strong>The Journey:</strong> It takes 33 minutes to get here via Europe's highest outdoor cogwheel railway, with cars that glide up over almost completely vertical mountain terrain. You can also hike up from Zermatt, Von Trapp–style, in about five hours.</p> <p><strong>The Best View:</strong> All rooms have mountain names, and their numbers coincide with the altitude (in meters) of their namesake mountains. Book a stay in Monte Rosa (room No. 4633) and you'll see the Monte Rosa itself—plus twin peaks Castor and Pollux from the bathtub, and the Matterhorn from your cozy bed.</p>

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From Travel + Leisure , NOV 2008

Since 1907, the Kulmhotel Gornergrat has drawn visitors...MORE>>

– Kathryn O'Shea-Evans Best High-Altitude Hotels

From Travel + Leisure , FEB 2003

Sporty types also choose the Kulm for its location...MORE>>

– Nathan Lump Best in Snow

Last updated November 2008