We spent a week in the Atlanta as part of a family ski trip. We had seen the reviews and knew not to expect Grand Hotel <resort name> service levels, but to be honest after a hard day on the slopes we just wanted food & lodging and that's exactly what Helen and her crew delivered without breaking the (our) bank. There was the occasional funny/odd moment that could have been handled better, but nothing bad enough to put a serious damper on the holiday.

The view from the bedrooms facing the Matterhorn can't be beaten. Those rooms face out over a garden area and not into the back of another hotel so you get a great uninterrupted view. If at all possible book a Matterhorn view room.

The hotel is very central, within a few minutes walk of the Sunnega funicular and also the Gornergrat train, as well as the main train station, the main shopping street and a couple of supermarkets. It's also easy to get to the ski bus for the lift at the other end of the town which brings you to Schwarsee.

Positives - afternoon tea, apertifs, wine with dinner, and as much tea and coffee as you could serve yourself were included in the price. When we saw how much a bottle of wine could cost in the supermarket, let alone in a restaurant we came to appreciate the value of this part of the package. The same goes for the coffees - a group of you could easily churn through £25-£30 having tea and buns in the afternoon in a cafe or get it for free in the hotel. The rooms were cleaned daily, no complaints there. I had seen the reviews and was a little bit apprehensive about the food quality, expecting variable quality and wondering exactly how poor it could go. In fact, the food was quite nice (if slightly on the industrial side rather than the Michelin side) and plates were left empty every single night leaving us fuelled up for the next day on the slopes. The food coming from the kitchen was perfectly serviceable most of the time, although the portions were a little on the small side. I was trying to keep a few pounds off and didn't ask for any more. I have a reasonable feeling that seconds would have been forthcoming if requested.

Negatives - the rooms were a little on the small side, and you sometimes had to walk sideways to get between the TV stand and the end of the bed. The bathroom should be in a museum, but it did what it said on the door and there was no real complaint about it. Sound proofing was pretty non existent. In the early days this didn't matter since everyone was so tired, but towards the end of the week it was a little more of a problem. We (about 15 people) left at unbelievably-early-o'clock on the Saturday morning and I seriously doubt the rest of the guests could have slept through the noise of all those bags being loaded into the lifts.

Could-do-better bits (Fawlty Towers) - there was no real concept of any sort of floor management, no asking if everything was OK, no explaining when the occasional dish failed to work as expected. We were served what was supposed to be a creme brule or something similar but it hadn't set properly so we got a bowl of runny custard. It wasn't enough to ruin dinner, but equally a brief explanation that chef forgot to make desert correctly and "how about a round of ice cream instead" would have been a better way of handling it. On a similar note, another night both desert options failed to deliver what they promised but there was no hint of this in the service. One of the options was supposed to be a peach flavour something, but they had clearly forgotten to put in the peach bit. The other was a pie or something and it had no pastry or something equally basic Not worth getting hot and bothered about as it was still desert but pretty basic stuff to slip up on. The staff (other than Helen) all seemed to be on their gap year and didn't appear to have any real training. They did very well in the circumstances and didn't really drop the ball seriously but there were little things like not being able to serve up a coffee for a couple of hours because they couldn't find any sugar anywhere in the hotel. Individually they were all nice people, but as a professional service crew they could have done better. While we were rotated around the tables for the first few nights (which was fun) for the last few nights we were stuck out by ourselves with no other guests. I don't know if we annoyed the staff or they forgot about us, or someone complained about us or what, but we did feel a little left out towards the end. Another day, the bread hadn't arrived so we did without. This just doesn't happen in most places - or is noticed earlier and addressed in time,

They really need to do something about the seating - maybe provide something that can be easily moved in and out when more people want to lounge around. There is a small amount of 'hard sofa' seating at the entrance to the dining area, but it's not exactly comfortable and seats maybe 7 or 8 people. After that, everyone else has to stand for afternoon tea or sit at the school dining room type tables.

They also really need to sort out de-icing the approach to the hotel. It was lethal when we were there as the repeated thaw/freeze cycle caused more than 50% of the approach road to be covered in an undulating sheet of ice for the whole week due to the melt water from an overhanging roof. The remaining part of the approach was equally undulating with big ruts and holes in the snow. While it may not be *their* bit of road, as a customer I had no choice but to walk up it. Every single day I was holding my breath and hoping that nobody in my group was going to fall. While the rest of Zermatt has snow covered footpaths that have their own problems, this one was on a scale all of its own.

I don't think you are going to get better value in Zermatt for half board with wine, so despite all the above comments, I would still recommend it to others. Just remember to leave the high falutin' expectations at the door and be prepared for a little variety of experience.

Ignore last year's reviews. This hotel is now an Inghams "Chalet Hotel". Zermatt is probably one of the most upmarket places that you're ever likely to visit. It just oozes wealth and quality but not "bling". Consequently, it's VERY expensive (and exclusive) - not a place for stag and hen parties, for example! Therefore, for ordinary mortals, Inghams' "chalet hotel" formula works very well and is the closest you'll get to all-inclusive.

This hotel is right in the center of Zermatt and exactly where you want to be. It certainly isn't luxury but it is comfortable and the food and wine are very good as are the staff - at least when we stayed there in early January. If you REALLY want to ski Zermatt and the link to Cervinia, you could do a lot worse than stay here. however, there's MUCH better value in the big French resorts. Having said that, I'd certainly go back to this hotel if I decided to return to Zermatt.

So, we returned to the Atlanta on the understanding that it was now managed and run by Inghams as a Chalet Hotel, and the chance to ski again in Zermatt with the deal Inghams were offering was too great to resist.
Pros:
Great location. Wonderful resort. Matterhorn view. Clean, decent sized room. Bathroom ensuite with bath (in our room but not all... be warned). Friendly staff. Pre-dinner canapes and little free drink i.e. cassis, wine and fizzy wine at 7.30pm. Dinner at 8pm and they shuffled the tables around so you sat next to different people every night...which we really enjoyed as we got to meet some lovely people, that we might not have done if we'd sat in the same place each time. Good atmosphere among the guests and staff.
Cons:
The four course dinner had been cooked with care and attention, but it seems the Inghams finance team have taken an axe to the food budget. So I guess the kitchen staff were doing the best they could with cheap ingredients. It's such a shame because it did take the edge off the experience. For example, the bread was those part-baked baguettes (we saw boxes of them in the kitchen) full of goodness knows what they put in them to get such a doughy texture. So for the last couple of days we did resort to a pre-breakfast trip to one of the amazing bakeries nearby for some fresh rolls and the odd pastry to get the day off to a good start. The main courses and meat were ok, but there could have been more vegetables. Afternoon tea was a disappointment as far as the cakes were concerned... one afternoon was orange biscuits (effectively sweet pastry with some orange rind) and lemon cake (one inch squares of lemon flavoured pancake). Clearly they were utilising catering packet mixes, but to be honest if there's no money in the budget for the ingredients of a basic sponge cake, then probably best not to bother. The food in Zermatt across the board is outstanding and I think Inghams should be realistic about what they can afford to provide and keep it simple and honest.
Oh and you need to review the menu whilst eating your breakfast to tell the staff what you would like to eat that evening.
Ear plugs still recommended, no improvements on the soundproofing of bathrooms/bedrooms.

The hotel is about a small 15 minutes walk from the main station of the city and is situated on a convenient location on the street, close to other restaurants and shops. The staff is very friendly, will help you with any of your queries within Zermatt! Bed and breakfast option is available and is very cheap compared to the other hotels. If you are on a tight budget, this is the best hotel to go for!