Villages of the Engadine Valley

We visited Guarda and Hotel Meisser during winter ten years ago. We have long wanted to return during the summer. It offered all we had expected; fabulous scenery and flowers on the walks and a welcoming, charming place to stay with very good food. We were very glad we had returned. The room was spacious with a great view. Hotel Privata had a lot to live up to. It was also very welcoming and the food was excellent but it lacks the charm of Hotel Meisser. We enjoyed the outdoor concert that happens in the meadow just by the hotel every Sunday afternoon during the summer. 

The Hotel Meisser in Guarda is a real gem. The whole village is delightful - quiet and peaceful and very attractive.  The walks at both locations gave us the right amount of challenge, and we enjoyed the varied scenery across the two villages.  Main courses for dinner at the Meisser were in our opinion over-ambitious, and not as tasty or wholesome as those at the Privata - although the soup and starters at both hotels were lovely.  We recommend taking one picnic between two, on two separate days, unless you are big eaters. Sandwiches were very ample!  The walking was fantastic as was travel within Switzerland, making this a relaxing and satisfying holiday. Things to note: the GPX files for the walks can be uploaded to the free Swisstopo app, so you don't need to use a paid app such as Gaia. The hotel in Sils provides a local transport pass which is very useful for trains, buses and cable cars. Prices in Switzerland are eye-watering, but that level of transport and infrastructure costs money to maintain - and everything works!

An fantastic six day trip with exceptional hotels and locales.  We were especially struck by Guarda and the Meisser Hotel. Meanwhile the high elevation drama of some of the walks out of Sils would be hard to match.  

Brilliant holiday, with challenging walks (particularly across the snowfield and raging torrents). Switzerland is fabulous. The food was incredible as was the hospitality. Both Hotels were outstanding. Swiss public transport is incredible. Loved it!  

A fabulous trip! Guarda and Sils are very different bases, but both are delightful. We booked an extra night in both so managed to do most of the recommended hikes. The wild flowers in June were spectacular. 

The flowers were the highlight for us all. Ian has travelled extensively in the Alps and has never seen meadows like these. The high flowers (gentians, orchids etc) were also stunning. A beautiful quiet unspoilt area. I'm tempted to say that the shower at the Hotel Meisser was also a highlight!! I cannot praise both hotels highly enough. We have stayed in some glorious places with Inntravel but the Hotel Meisser has been the best so far.

Everything about the Hotel Privata exceeded our expectations - the welcome, the room, the service, the friendliness and the cuisine. We think there are some good lower level walks to replace walking down from the top of Piz Nair. 

The Engadine is gorgeous and a little less traveled than other places in Switzerland, and this is a particularly flexible holiday.  We had perfect walking weather in mid September (10-15C), with just one rainy day.   Guarda is a lovely old mountain village and the hotel Meisser is exceptional, with warm, welcoming staff and comfortable rooms and grounds.  Deeply quiet, spacious, peaceful, and relaxing.  Sils is a little bigger with more people but also lovely. The chef at the Privata made creative and delicious meals, catering well to the vegetarians. The walks are varied and can be adapted for different needs, abilities, whims.  Between the GPX files (on Gaia) and the clearly marked and well maintained Swiss trails it was easy to modify routes.  We added an extra day in both places and had time to swim in a fine 25m pool outside St. Moritz (Ovaverve, which is also a spa) as well as dip in the lake and visit the Nietzsche museum in Sils.  The hotels provide a transit card that works on trains, busses, cable cars -- these run efficiently and with the SBB app are easy to figure out.  The view at the top of Mt Corvatsch is breathtaking, though the air there thinner. Recommend a little extra time to acclimate to the altitude if you live at sea level.  We particularly liked the walk around Lake Sils (skipping the rock fall part) and happened to be in the national park at the time of the red deer rutting, which we could hear throughout that walk. We didn't see them but with binoculars or telescopes, which other hikers had, there are good spots for animal watching.

The long walk down from the summit of Piz Nair (3000m) to Sils Maria was spectacular.

The Engadine is a magnificent region of Switzerland, graced with wonderful mountain vistas, and unspoiled by tourism. Here, there is none of the jostling and bustle that one sees in the Berner Oberland, for instance. The villages and hotel selection for this trip were delightful. Guarda is truly a village lost in time, and Sils provides access to some of the best hiking in Europe. Every detail of our travel and stay was handled perfectly. Without Inntravel's suggestion, we might have missed the National Park visit. That was well planned, and great fun! Their suggested trail was beautiful and the "toy train" trip so fun! I am very fond of the early spring wildflowers and our mid June travel time was just right for this. If you have the time, I would recommend you book an additional day at each location as there are many more hikes to enjoy.

A wonderful holiday in the Engadine. The wild flowers were a special highlight in June and we thoroughly enjoyed every walk. The scenery was breathtaking, the weather was perfect and the walking was varied. Both hotels were excellent and well situated.

An excellent return to the Alps. It was easy to add on or change the suggested routes

Switzerland is just such a lovely Country and I so enjoyed this holiday in the Engadine Valley which was beautiful and quiet. Both Hotels were fantastic - the staff were very helpful and friendly and the meals were amazing. Guarda was just like a small village out of a childs fairy tell - it was like time had forgotten it - loved it. All the walks were great fun and they all had wonderful views to just sit and admire, but I think my favourites were the walks in the National Park with the Fex Valley walk from Sils being top of the list. There were some parts of a couple of the walks that were a challenge but it gave me a great sense of achievement when I had got to my destination. The 2 nights in Zurich was a great way to finish my Swiss adventure. Thank you again Inntravel for yet another wonderful holiday - so well organised. Will be back for more in 2023!

The Engardine Valley holiday offered a wonderful and varied combination of walks and accommodation. Hotel Meisser in Guarda offered first class accommodation in the epitomy of a quaint and picturesque Swiss village offering a range of moderate and quite challenging walks. By contrast, Hotel Privata in Sils was in a somewhat more touristy location offering dramatic alpine landscapes and beautiful lakes, plus several nearby (free) cable cars to provide access to the highest peaks and outstanding views. Furthermore the meals and picnic lunch provided by Hotel Privata were first class.

As first time visitors to the Engadin Valley area, we were absolutely blown away by its beauty in August, and suspect that many winter visitors to St Moritz, Davos, Klosters have no idea of what lies beneath the snow! We look forward to returning to discover more of its hidden gems.