We stayed at the Bellerive after seeing the reviews on Trip Advisor and it lived up to our expectations. The property is a small but first class establishment in the heart of old Zermatt, so just across the river from the main part of town where the station is.

Zermatt is a car free destination. If arriving by car you drive as far as the park and ride facility at Tasch and from there catch a shuttle train into Zermatt. At Zermatt station you'll see a whole range of electric vehicles there meeting each train. They are like large golf carts and they either belong to the hotels or serve as taxis for hire. If you request it then your hotel will meet your train in one of these little vehicles. With the Bellerive, unless you have a lot of luggage then it's an easy 10 minute walk. Just go up the main street from the station and turn left by the Matterhorn Museum to the bridge over the river. The hotel is on the left not long after you cross the river.

The hotel is traditional in style from the outside but has been nicely renovated inside without loosing all of the traditional appeal. We stayed in a double room on the front side of the property and from the balcony we had a perfect view of The Matterhorn. I have seen some reviews that say it can be noisy on the front which is on the road. But at night it seemed very quiet to us. The room itself was not overly big but it was well laid out and nicely furnished. It looked like they had recently upgraded to new flat screen TV's complete with an enormous amount of cable channels from right across Europe. The room also had a DVD player and the hotel carries a free DVD library of many hundreds of titles. The bathroom was small and the shower was a little cosy. But for two adults it was fine, the only minor grumble was that hot water in the evening in the shower wasn't that hot.

The hotel doesn't have it's own restuarant but it does serve breakfast which is a nicely laid out hot and cold buffet with coffee's made to order. While no restaurant in the evenings they do have a well stocked bar and the reception staff will happily serve you drinks in front of the lobby's log fire.

There is a wellness centre in the basement with a hot tub, steam and sauna rooms. There is free internet throughout the hotel and in the rooms with a guest computer terminal available in the lobby.

The welcome at the hotel was warm and friendly and nothing was too much trouble. We stayed for two nights, couldn't fault the experience and so I think we'd return without hesitation.