Unique Hotels In Switzerland (Add A Twist To Your Trip)

Switzerland is a magical place! Between the Swiss Alps, the lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, I can not help but hold space for it in my heart.

I love to visit Switzerland every summer as there is no better feeling than swimming in alpine lakes, hiking around the mountains in fresh air, and having an evening beer on a lakeside promenade.

I would happily spend summer in Switzerland living in a tent, it is that beautiful. But, if there is one way for visitors to tax their experience of this country to the max, it is by staying in one of the unique hotels in Switzerland.

There are plenty of unique Switzerland hotels to choose from. You could wake up in an eco-pod in the Swiss alps, stay in an old castle, and lots more. Let’s take a look at your best options.

Whitepod Eco-Luxury Hotel

The Whitepod Eco-Luxury Hotel sits in the Valais canton of Western Switzerland not far from Montreux and it is one of my favorite unique hotels in Switzerland.

The reason I like it so much is because the Whitepod Eco-Luxury Hotel merges luxury with nature, and its location couldn’t be better.

Sitting on the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps the views stretch down the valley where the Rhone River falls into Lake Geneva while being surrounded by magical mountain peaks. This is a great option if you want to experience glamping in Switzerland,

The hotel has a total of 18 luxury pods each with themes and there are even family pods and suites to choose from too! Each one comes with a wood-burning stove, en suite bathroom, private bar, sauna, and viewing deck, and breakfast is delivered to your pod each morning!

As if this wasn’t enough, you can even book a “wild” dinner at the restaurant which is created using wild and local ingredients from the region by the hotel’s master chef.

If you are like me and love being immersed in nature then this is one of the unique hotels that will tick all your boxes! It is one of the more romantic hotels I have visited in Switzerland.

Grand Hotel Kronenhof

Tucked away in a corner of the alps in southeastern Switzerland is the pretty epic Grand Hotel Kronenhof.

This hotel is located in one of my favorite parts of Switzerland, Pontresina, which is a part of the unique Endagine Valley and is just down the road from St Moritz. This area is heaven on earth with incredible mountain peaks, UNESCO Railways, glaciers, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls.

What makes this one of the more special hotels in Switzerland is that it combines history, with an amazing location, along with the highest form of luxury imaginable. It is one of the leading hotels in the country and consistently wins the Best of the Best award from Trip Advisor.

The hotel is in a 19th-century neo-Baroque style manor that features great architecture. The facilities available onsite are out of this world, it is a luxury spa hotel after all.

You can choose from three restaurants, fine dining, and private dining as well as numerous bars. The spa treatments are extensive and there is even an indoor pool for kids and one for adults too.

Book a yoga session, a Finish sauna, a floating bath, a stone grotto steam bath, and the list goes on. You will leave this place feeling rejuvenated and packed full of experiences in nature too.

Tschuggen Grand Hotel

The Tschuggen Grand Hotel is not my kind of unique hotel but if you are looking for an exclusive ski resort, wellness, and luxury hotel all rolled into one, this might just be the hotel you have been looking for.

I have never heard of a hotel that has its own railway, but this one does! If you love to ski, you can literally rent all your gear at their onsite ski shop and then hop on the private railway directly to the slopes.

They even book the whole mountain for 3-4 days a year for exclusive guest use, how incredible is that!

On top of all this, the facilities are insane. Their world-class spa covers 5 square kilometers, is architecturally magical having been built as sails, and any kind of treatment you might be interested in is going to be available!

There are two swimming pools too, the rooms are decked out with everything you could ever want, and there are restaurants to choose from in summer, and two in winter.

Hotel Palafitte

If you love staying close to the water then Hotel Palafitte is where you should stay in Switzerland, and it is definitely somewhere I would choose to stay in Switzerland too.

Imagine the luxury hotels of the Maldives that sit on stilts above the azure blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Well, this hotel is exactly the same but it’s on Lake Neuchâtel in northwestern Switzerland.

This is the only hotel in Switzerland and in Europe built on stilts. When you wake up, you can gaze out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, stare at the nearby mountains, and surrounding countryside, walk onto your balcony, and dive into the lake! How amazing is that!

Every bungalow at Hotel Palafitte comes with spectacular views, a private terrace, ladders to get in and out of the lake, and the private bathroom and bathtub have views across the lakes and to the surrounding mountains too.

You get to experience all this uniqueness along with great luxury as this is a five-star hotel. There is an excellent onsite restaurant and bar with a terrace and a waterfront terrace with great food and drinks and of course beautiful views.

Schloss Schadau – Swiss Historic Hotel

What makes Schloss Schadau – Swiss Historic Hotel so unique is that the building, a Swiss castle, was originally built in 1854 as a summer residence. It is, in fact, a Swiss heritage building that has now been transformed into a stunning hotel.

While staying in this unique hotel will give you a connection to history, and the castle’s architecture is awesome, it is the location that makes me want to stay there.

The hotel sits inside Schadau Park on the shores of Lake Thun. It looks down the lake and into the mountains and has some of the most beautiful views of the area you are likely to find.

The grounds also feature an English garden and you can even request a picnic from the hotel. They will set up a spot by the lake for you where you can experience incredible cuisine with lake views.

Old traditions like high tea at 4 pm with scones and clotted cream run strong in this hotel. The food is top-notch, and you can choose from a range of rooms with private balconies with lake and mountain views, or more affordable rooms with park views.

Schlaf Fass Barabas Hotel

The Schlaf Fass Barabas Hotel features a pretty cool concept in my eyes. This hotel was once an old prison but after being renovated in 2018, it became the first prison hotel in Switzerland.

I have no doubt that staying in this hotel would be an experience, and you should try most things once in your life, but I would have some reservations about the vibe. But, that’s just me, most guests love it!

You will stay in a prison cell, equipped with the original bars, and have the choice of a dorm with a shared bathroom or double rooms with ensuites. The rooms are nicely decorated and super comfy!

The hotel is in the Old Town of Lucerne, so you will have easy access to the best of the city and the shores of Lake Lucerne too!

This hotel is also designed for budget travelers as it is more affordable than most unique Swiss hotels, has a fully equipped kitchen for cooking meals, and you can splash out at the onsite Japanese restaurant wherever it takes your fancy.

3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat

Staying at the 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat is something that is on my bucket list and if you love mountains and nature as much as me, you should add it to yours as well.

Sitting in the southern alps close to Zermatt, the 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat sits on a mountain peak at around 3100 meters above sea level, hence the name. You can only access the hotel via a cable car and it is the highest hotel in the entire country.

Now, it is the location that makes this hotel so unique, but the fact that they have added two observatories too makes it that much more special. Star gazing at an altitude of 3100 meters is incredible, now add an observatory and you will see stars as you have never before.

It goes without saying that you have access to incredible hikes in summer and awesome skiing in winter from the hotel’s doorstep.

The panoramic views from every room in the hotel are stunning, and you pretty much have a view of the Matterhorn from every angle, another score for uniqueness.

Gstaad Palace

The Gstaad Palace is the epitome of a Swiss luxury hotel and it doesn’t come cheap. What makes it special for me, outside of the luxury, is that it sits inside a turreted castle that looks like it should be in Bavaria.

The architecture of the building is one thing, but the design is another. Sitting in the canton of Bern at the foothills of the Bernese Alps, it is designed to ensure mountain views from every part of the hotel, no matter where you are inside it.

Staying at this unique castle hotel is often compared to being in a fairytale. Sitting on a hill in the quaint village of Gstaad with wonderful views of incredible scenery, all within a 100-year-old establishment, it does sound very dreamy.

It is such a world-renowned hotel that many celebrities want to experience the fairytale and choose Gstaad Palace over other hotels in Switzerland.

The facilities are incredible too from a fully equipped spa, wellness center, fitness center, world-class cuisine, incredible rooms, and more!

Matterhorn Focus Design Hotel

The Matterhorn Focus Design Hotel sits in the car-free village of Zermatt. For me, it’s the incredible access to nature that the hotel provides in both winter and summer that makes it special, but what makes this mountain hotel unique is the design.

The hotel rooms were designed by artist and designer Heinz Julen and the whole place has a hip, cool, boutiquey vibe to it. The layout focuses on giving guests the best views of the iconic Matterhorn peak possible, and it does a great job of it.

Most rooms have great views of the Matterhorn and the best view of it is from the lounge area. Spend your days staring at stunning views of the mountains, hiking, skiing, and enjoying the town of Zermatt, and then come back to the hotel to take advantage of the awesome spa.

Soak those muscles in a hot tub, outside, or inside. Book a session in the Finish sauna, and book any treatment you like from the spa menu.

Iglu-Dorf Hotel

Now, the Iglu-Dorf Hotel is pretty unique as you actually get to stay inside a real igloo which is about as unique as a night in a hotel can be.

You will find an Iglu-Dorf Hotel in five locations in Switzerland including the awesome villages of Zermatt, Gstaad, Davos, and more. These areas are second to none when it comes to scenery and access to ski slopes.

Naturally, the Iglu-Dorf Hotels are only available in winter as each one is rebuilt when the temperatures drop enough. Each room is decorated by igloo artists and comes with bedding designed for sleeping at minus 40 degrees Celsius, so you will be warm.

While staying in this chilly hotel, you can enjoy saunas, and hot tubs, go snowshoeing, on a night walk, and enjoy some traditional Swiss cuisine.

All stays also include tea delivered to your bedside, a breakfast buffet in a mountain restaurant, and more!

Bergwerksilo Herznach

Ever thought that an old mining silo could be converted into a hotel? Probably not, but in Switzerland, anything seems to be possible when it comes to hotels.

The Bergwerksilo Herznach Hotel sits in an old mining silo, which is a tower. The tower sits high off the ground providing each room with unique views of the countryside.

Unlike most of the other hotels, this one is not in the alps, it is in the calming countryside of north Switzerland between Zurich and Basel.

The rooms are immaculately decorated and each morning a traditional Swiss breakfast is provided by the owners and it is delicious.