Pontresina or Sils for Christmas 2020

We are a family of 5 planning Christmas 2020 in the Alps - we are non skiers but are hoping for a snow experience- we are thinking Hotel Walther in Pontresina or Waldhouse in Sils. We will be relying on trains for transport- can anyone offer us any advice/suggestions please?

Hi Barnz 12,

such great plans for next Christmas, it will be wonderful for sure.

I haven't stayed in any of these two hotels but according to the reviews any of them would be a good choice.

Pontresina can reach easier by trains, while Sils only by bus. If you are planning to travel by the Bernina Express (www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress/) then Pontresina is a better choice. So from this point of view I would suggest Hotel Walther in Pontresina (https://www.hotelscomb ined.com/Hotel/Hotel_W alther_Pontresina.htm) over Waldhouse in Sils (https://www.hotelscomb ined.com/Hotel/Hotel_W aldhaus_Sils_im_Engadi nSegl).

Have a look at www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities/snow too, regrading the snow.

Thank you very much for the information- yes we are planning on arriving the Bernina Express from Zermatt. We don’t plan on doing much but experience a Christmas all rugged up in winter clothes looking out at snowy peaks.

Hi, as an admitted minority to this forum, my three trips to the Swiss Alps in the last year, are all by rental cars, and not by train, I wish to offer my 2 cents.

The Waldhaus in Sils Maria is my favorite hotel in Switzerland. I stayed there on all three visits. Waldhaus Sils overlooks the two lakes (Silsersee and Silvaplana) on either side of Sils Maria, and looks up to Val Fex, a magical place accessible by horse drawn carriage. A live camera shot from the roof of Waldhaus Sils is here:

sils.roundshot.com which I visit daily

But having said that, it still might be a more prudent for your family to choose Pontresina because of its convenience to trains. Sils is about a five mile bus ride from the St Moritz train station.

In any case, you can't go wrong with choosing to visit the Engadin region of Switzerland. Enjoy your visit!

Thank you & yes the Waldhaus looks amazing & so do the reviews so it keeps drawing me back. I think that you can be collected from the train station so that really isn’t much of an issue. I guess it will all be about availability in the end. I can’t see us being disappointed staying anywhere in the Engadin region.