W Verbier = One of World's Best Ski Hotels

100   Recommended
Room 764 , Fabulous Suite
February 7, 2019 by

 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended
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W Verbier
 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended

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Room 764

Fabulous Suite

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Fabulous Suite

Before booking at W Verbier I was a bit hesitant to pay prices far higher than other excellent mountain resort hotels in Europe during ski season.  I was just wondering, how good could it be.  After staying, I am sold and I will definitely return - the quality of the hotel and the town itself is well worth the price premium and then some.  The hotel has won prizes from “World Ski Awards” not only as Switzerland’s best ski hotel, but also as the world’s best ski hotel. I have not seen anything to make me disagree with that – W Verbier lived up to its reputation for my stay.

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Room

I booked a spectacular room type and as Ambassador Elite I was upgraded to the fabulous suite which is one category higher than the cozy suite; there is a material price difference between the two so this was not a modest suite upgrade by any means, in the middle of ski season to boot. Even though I had the same room type as @Damon88 from a few months ago, the layout of our room was different, mostly because our room was on two floors.  The entrance of our room was on the top floor (7th) and you enter straight into the living room.  There is a balcony but unfortunately the view was blocked by heavy snowfall from the previous few days.  The ceiling of the living room is very much chalet-style with wood beams but also modern lighting.  On that level there is also a small toilet (no sink) which was convenient.  It does not appear that Damon88’s version of the fabulous suite had that extra 0.5 bath.  Down the stairs you have the bedroom and another balcony with fantastic views of the valley from the 6thfloor of the hotel.  Off the bedroom is the main bathroom which is finished to a high standard.  The rain shower is of a good size and there is a also separate bathtub.   I liked that our room was on two floors but the downside is that the main bathroom appears to be smaller than the other version of the fabulous suite based on the previous review.  For example, once you opened the toilet door or shower door, both would come very close to the sink, partially blocking the way.  The entire suite had heated floors in addition to the fireplace to give good ambiance.  The design of the room was very pleasant and it is very hard to find any fault to it. 

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Dining

Breakfast in the restaurant cannot be compared to breakfast from top hotels in Asia, but outside of Asia this is one of the best ones I have had.  Over time I tend to get bored of traditional western breakfasts which consist of eggs, sausages, and bacon.  Here I was pleased to have Chicken Yakitori, grilled vegetables, in addition to the traditional options and free-flow Prosecco.  Also the eggs benedict local-style were excellent.  

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We also had dinner in the W Kitchen a couple of times. While portions were generally small, the quality of the dishes was fantastic.  We enjoyed the oysters prepared with lemon foam and salmon caviar. For main course we tried the perch, sea bass, and sole, which you can match with the sauce and side dish of your choice.  

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We tried a few cocktails at the bar and we liked the creativity of the choices there.  

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Location

As mentioned by others, the location of W within Verbier cannot be beat.  But I think I should add a few words about Verbier itself.  There are several choices of ski resorts in Europe so you can just as easily pick another top hotel in another part of Switzerland or in a surrounding country such as France, Italy, or Austria.  If deciding between various destinations, in my opinion Verbier is a top notch ski resort well worth the visit.  We had fantastic weather which helped shape our opinion, but as I understand this specific village tends to get a lot of sunshine which is not the same in all parts of the Alps.  The high prices of Verbier generally speaking are warranted in my opinion - the experience is just superior.  

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Overall

There are some hotels in the world where I had good experiences such that when I return to that destination, I book to the same hotel again without shopping around.  But for the cream of the crop hotels, the hotel itself is the draw to make me travel again to that destination, rather than choosing the destination first and then the hotel second.  W Verbier falls in that top category for me.  Next time I consider a European mountain resort, I will lean a lot more strongly on returning to W Verbier rather than book at a Design Hotel with limited benefits in a lesser location, even if the price tag in Verbier is far higher. 

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