Happily stuck in a simpler era: why Jungfrau is the European skiing hotspot to visit in 2024

Hotel Bellevue des Alpes, Kleine Scheidegg

A mountain inn since 1840, the iconic Bellevue sits alone in the landscape, by Kleine Scheidegg station. Outside, green shutters, symmetry and the name in a classic font on the L-shaped façade; inside, a sense of Agatha Christie, from the carriage-like wood-panelled dining room to the wallpapered lobby and up the creaky winding stairs to rooms with patterned lampshades and dial-up rotary phones. Digital scrolling, like sportswear and unattended children, is gently discouraged.

Price: Doubles from about £450, including a four-course dinner

Hotel Jungfrau Wengernalp’s exteriorArturo+Bamboo

Hotel Jungfrau Wengernalp, Wengernalp

A touch cosier and more chalet-like than the Bellevue up the hill (the owners of each are brothers from the von Almen family of hoteliers), the Wengernalp is another mid-mountain classic. Built in 1865, it has 24 elegant rooms looking out over the picture-perfect Wengernalp train station to the Lauterbrunnen valley. The Michelin-recommended restaurant is one of the best in the area, with a lovely terrace, and treasured locally for desserts such as the plum and apricot tart.

Price: Doubles from about £450

Hotel Falken, Wengen

Few of the local belle époque grandes dames feel as homely as the 1895-built Hotel Falken, a pistachio-coloured time warp on the hill overlooking Wengen. The stained-glass doorway (Mondrian meets Rennie Mackintosh) leads to a lobby strewn with well-sat period furniture, where visitors are often greeted by piano strains and matriarch Sina Cova or her charming daughters. The original manual-door lift is pasted with pictures of past guests, who still find little has changed in corridors with jazz age telephones and rooms that have heavy doors, 1930s washbasins, vintage wallpaper and laundry menus.

Price: Doubles from about £244

Hotel Regina, Wengen

It may also be a family-run place with a dog (Caramel the cocker spaniel), but the Regina Wengen is a touch grander in scale and attitude than the nearby Falken. It’s a place of oversized chandeliers and plush four-poster beds, with very classic set menus and a pianist at the white-tableclothed Chez Meyers. Unlike other belle époque classics around, it has flat-screen TVs and a spa with a sauna and steam bath.

Price: Doubles from about £360

Hotel Regina, Murren

Every town around these parts seems to have a Hotel Regina. Mürren’s is a member of Swiss Historic Hotels, and hews closely to its 1896 roots. The vibe is slightly more spartan-monastic than other similar hotels, but it has beautiful bones, especially in the parquet-floored dining room, with huge windows overlooking the valley at one end. It’s owned by a group of politically active former guests who couldn’t bear to see it sold to the wrong buyer, and hosts regular concerts and cultural events.

Price: Doubles from about £100