Mr & Mrs Smith

Cervo

Zermatt, Switzerland

Hipster meets hunter at Cervo hotel, where gingham is used playfully, fur is used sparingly, and there’s more than a pinch of irony to the herd’s-worth of antlers and animal motifs. Inside, there’s a snug little restaurant and bar; outside, the snow-capped Matterhorn and the picture-book chalets of Zermatt village beckon.

Need to know

• Rooms 33, including five suites, spread across five chalets.
• Rates Double rooms from $322.31 (CHF313), excluding tax at 2.1 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of CHF2.10 per person per night on check-out.
  The price shown represents the lowest nightly rate for a double room available at this hotel over the next 21 days. Any price conversions from the hotel's local currency (CHF313) have been conducted using today's exchange rates from xe.com.
• More details Rates usually include buffet breakfast, a welcome drink each and return transfers from Zermatt station. Local tax is an extra few francs a day (CHF2.10 for adults; CHF1.05 for children).
• Facilities Spa, gardens, library (including a stash of DVDs), free WiFi throughout. In rooms: flatscreen TV, CD/DVD player, iPod dock, minibar and Molton Brown bath products. There’s an iPad in reception for guests to borrow.
• Poolside No pool, but each chalet has a shared outdoor Jacuzzi.
• Check-out 12 noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
• Children Extra beds (CHF90–CHF140 a night) and cots (free) can be added to larger rooms; the restaurant has a menu tailored to junior palates. Babysitting is available (CHF30 an hour). More...
• Also By the looks of the small but well-stocked cigar bar, owner Daniel is a bit of a tobacco connoisseur – smokers, you’re in good company. Canine companions can bed down too, for CHF25 a night.
• Hotel closed Spring (23 April until 15 June) and autumn (21 October until 1 December).

Food and drink at Cervo

• Hotel restaurant

  Cervo Restaurant – all polished wood, cushion-strewn seating and flickering candles – serves the kind of food you’d hike up a mountain for. If you’re a calorie-counter, look away: typical dishes include succulent venison, home-made ravioli with ricotta, egg and brown butter, and côte de boeuf. The chef has a playful side, too: French fries are pepped up with truffle oil and parmesan; meringues come with lavender cream, pickled almonds and apricots.

• Dress code Gallant cliff-climber – just add cashmere and cologne by night.
• Top table Corner tables have the most privacy for evening meals; sit nearest the breakfast bar in the morning, so you get first dibs on the spread. In sunny weather, nothing beats eating outside (Alpine air, and all that).
• Last orders Like everything here, timings are relaxed. Enjoy breakfast between 7am and 10.30am; have lunch from 12 noon until 4pm; dine from 6.30pm until 9.30pm.
• Room service Order suitably indulgent items (deep-fried cheese nuggets with apricot chutney; wild-boar sausage; goat’s cheese with forest honey and thyme) from the restaurant menu to your room between 7am and 9pm.
• Hotel bar

  There’s a sleek little bar to the right of the lobby, with a well-stocked wine fridge, a stash of books, and a cigar room behind it. The sprawling outdoor bar has wooden picnic tables, glass-fronted silver fireplaces and plenty of clever details, including boxed mountain herbs in silver wine buckets and animal statues.

Also worth knowing

• Weddings This property is suitable for weddings. More...

Cervo Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort, Riedweg 156, Zermatt, Zermatt, Switzerland, CH 3920