Balmers Hostel

Balmers Hostel is at Hauptstrasse 23-33, in Interlaken, in the canton of Bern; the federal address register places that street number in the locality of Matten bei Interlaken, while the house and Booking write Interlaken. Booking gives Interlaken West station at one point two kilometres and the valley station of the Harderbahn funicular at one point five, the Kursaalpark at one kilometre, the Seilpark at one point five and the Sprutz waterfall at five hundred metres; the Gelateria Crepino is at five metres, the X-Port Pizzeria at ten and the Flying Wheels @Balmers at twenty. Bern-Belp airport is forty nine kilometres away. The score is 8.8 from one thousand one hundred and twelve reviews, with the location at 9.1 and the staff at 9.4.

On age the site of the house decides, and it does so twice. The home page says that Balmers is for open minded and easy going travellers aged eighteen and over, and the FAQ page answers the question whether guests under eighteen are admitted with this sentence: "We do not accept guests under the age of 18. If you arrive with minors, we will not be able to accommodate you, and no refunds will be given." The check was needed, because the Booking page contradicts itself: the children's conditions state that children are not allowed, while the important information adds only that guests under eighteen cannot be accommodated in a dormitory, which on its own would suggest that in the private rooms they can. The site prevails, and the ban is total. This is also the case in which the eighteen years are not standard portal wording: the house states them, on its own pages. No upper age limit, on the other hand: the property sets no maximum.

The house describes itself as the oldest private hostel in Switzerland, in three traditional wooden Swiss chalets around a courtyard, a terrace and a garden, with a look it calls playful, welcoming and unique. The community is declared an essential part of the place: activities are organised for guests along with social occasions for meeting other travellers. The small bar is the place to slow down after a day out and in the summer months it moves outdoors, into the beer garden; there is also an indoor club that opens once or twice a week according to the season and the crowd, and entry is reserved for guests only. The guest kitchen has been enlarged to help those staying save money and has all the equipment for cooking, with several supermarkets nearby.

On Booking both the dormitory beds and the private rooms can be booked: the Double Room with one French double bed, the Twin Room with single beds and the Private Room with four beds. The property has no lifts. Pets are allowed on request and free of charge, but not in the dormitories. Free parking is eight hundred metres away and the house offers a free bus pass; a paid public car park is sixty metres away. In the summer months a minimum stay of three nights is required.

Two practical points. Arrival is from 16 to midnight and departure between one and 10; at check in a photo identity document and a credit card must be shown, and cash is not accepted. For bookings of two rooms or more the property may apply different conditions and supplements.