Just returned from a weeks skiing in Arosa, travelled with a party of 28, my daughters skating club, who go every year for the last three years, this is the first year I have joined them.
Mountain Lodge Arosa was better than I had expected as I had been told the bad points so did not have high expectations.
This is a Lodge or Hostel as I would like to call it, not a hotel - the difference being that there are only a few en-suite rooms, all other rooms share toilet and shower facilities on each floor and as far as I am aware there are no double beds in this accommodation, just mainly bunk beds and single beds.
We as a family of four were given upon request an en-suite room, it was a large room with two sets of bunk beds, a large closet with full length mirror, small round table with two chairs and a sofa bed chair. The room had a basin/sink in the actual bedroom with a lighted mirror cabinet above and the en-suite was basically a toilet and shower bowl with shower curtain in a cupboard - can't call it a bathroom as it was too small and basic. I must say that the shower was lovely and powerful and plenty of hot water. Room, sink and toilet/shower was exceptionally clean and bedding was very clean also, better than some four star hotels I have stayed in, but we did have to make up our own beds. Toilet rolls were provided, but no other toiletries or towels/wash cloths. Plenty of storage in the room, room big enough to push one set of bunk-beds aside and put the two mattresses on the floor to make a large double bed, which was very comfortable for my husband and myself.
Views from the rooms were gorgeous although our room being a corner room did not have a balcony, but the rooms on the other side of the corridor all had balconies - we were in room 321.
Hotel is ski from, as there is a small road, which when there is plenty of snow cover, you can ski straight down to the slope leading to the chair lift and main Gondola, but it is not ski to as you have to walk up a hill to the Lodge to return, which can be tiring but only a short walk - roughly 5 mins.
Walk down into town around 10 mins.
Hotel supplies it's own ski/boot/board/helmet hire in the basement and there is also room to store the skis etc at the end of each day, although cannot guarantee that someone does not take your skis by mistake the next morning as the room is very dark, small and skis tend to pile up. Lodge is used by school parties, so this also causes some confusion when finding skis, although they are always very well behaved.
Lodge has a tea room in the lower floors where you can make your own tea/coffee or sit and look at the views, which is nice. There is a TV room which I am told is comfortable but did not use, a large bar lounge area, but no music or anything to do after dinner unless you bring your own activities via cards etc. There is a disco room on the first floor I think as they hold a weekly disco for the school-kids etc which from the sound seemed good.
Food at the lodge is very basic but edible, breakfast is cereals, bread, small selection of chees spreads and meat or veggie pate, occasionally a plate of small chunks of cheese is there along with one plate of cold meat, no real choice, plus jams. Choice of tea/coffee/hot chocolate/juice & water Oh and almost forgot the hard boiled eggs - so not a bad breakfast spread and the bread was lovely.
For lunch we had pre-ordered packed lunches which the lodge makes, consists of a sandwich (egg mayonnaise, tuna, cheese or ham - no choice but will be one of these each day) a small bottle of juice and a small chocolate bar like kit kat or one twix - again sufficient for lunch but you have to get there quick in the morning to make sure no-one else takes your lunch or in most cases chocolate.
Dinner was hit or miss affair, only ever one main course of meat dish, tray of potato or rice and tray of mixed veg. There is a small salad bar and pot of soup each evening and one choice dessert each evening. There are jugs of water to pour yourselves a glass with dinner. Menu for our week was first night no meat as ran out, so we had pasta, beef gravy and peas, other nights pasta, beefburgers, pork kebabs, pork slices, chicken nuggets.
Staff seem very nice at lodge, all young uni gap year types.
Bar serves bottles of beer or large bottles of soft drinks, can't buy by the glass.
Enjoyed the week mainly because of the good crowd we were with and the good skiing, don't think I would stay at the Lodge again, but my husband and children like it - maybe I ahve been too spoiled!