W Verbier – Our new Favorite W Hotel

The W Verbier was our third Starwood stop on our recent visit to Austria and Switzerland. We had heard very good things about the W, and had high expectations.  Happily, we were not disappointed.

After taking the Glacier Express train from St. Moritz to Zermatt we couldn’t imagine that the scenery could be any more beautiful, but our drive from Täsch was one breathtaking vista after another as we approached Verbier. Verbier is a charming mountain town in the Val de Bagnes, south of Martigny, about 2 hours by car from Geneva.  On our drive we passed old windmills, chalets and chapels framed by stunning snow capped mountains. On the drive up the hill to Verbier we passed the old town with its 17th century stone chapel. The alpine village, where the W is located is at the top at 5000 feet.  The W is an attractive property which blends traditional local architecture with contemporary design.  It is located near the base of the Médran lift.

To guarantee a good room we used our points to book a Cozy Suite (specialty select- 3 nights for 97500 starpoints) From past experience we knew that rooms at W Hotels can vary dramatically and we wanted to ensure that we booked a room we would love. With only 116 rooms and 17 suites we didn’t want to rely on a Platinum upgrade.

Our stay began on the best note possible when we greeted outside at the entrance by Miguel, the head concierge at the hotel. In our 100+ nights this year it was by far our warmest welcome, and it was a wonderful way to begin our visit.  Miguel is a member of Clef d’Or  (one of the youngest we’ve met in our travels) and he is a consummate professional with an infectious smile. Though he is from Barcelona his love for Switzerland is apparent and Miguel is obviously very proud of the hotel. He checked us in at the small concierge desk in the lobby and we were very pleased to hear that we had been upgraded from the Cozy Suite to a Fabulous Suite with a large private deck and panoramic views.  The same suite goes for $2400 a night cash, and we obviously would never received that upgrade during high season. After a brief review of our Platinum benefits, Miguel escorted us up to our room.

Like other W Hotels the lobby was stylish with a huge fireplace, whimsical sculptures (like the yellow bull at the entrance) and dramatic lighting.

Our Fabulous Suite (room 546), really was, with over 750 SF with a huge private deck with spectacular Valley and Mountain views.  The manager had left us a welcome note and chocolates.

A narrow hallway led to a large square room which was divided in half with the master bedroom and huge master bath on the left and the living area on the right, both with access to the expansive deck. The living area included ample closets, a guest bath, a large desk area and comfortable seating. The dividing wall to the bedroom had a large TV on both sides and a see through gas fire place.  The deck had lots of comfortable lounge furniture.

Miguel gave us a brief orientation. One of our concerns had been the lack of air conditioning at the hotel.  My husband especially likes to sleep in a cool room and typically sets the thermostat under 68. Miguel suggested leaving the sliding doors open, even when we left the room and it turned out to be perfect. The crisp, cool mountain air kept the temperature at an ideal level, and we slept wonderfully.

The super comfortable bed also helped and we enjoyed the spacious bedroom. 

The huge master bath was well designed, though with so much space the toilet room could have been larger. The walk in shower had a large rain head with great water pressure.  Out of all of the hotels we stayed at on this trip (including the Schloss Fuschl and the President Wilson) the W had the softest, fluffiest towels and robes- some of the best we’ve experienced on our travels. The toiletries were the standard Bliss products.

The living area was very comfortable with a sectional sofa and 2 person dining table.

There was a desk and bar area with a Presto “Nespresso Maker” , ample glass ware (we had purchased delicious local wines in Martigny) an honor bar, and 2 bottles of water daily (although Swiss tap water is actually quite tasty)  

It was nice having a guest bath but we hated the design  (who decided that people want mirrored toilet rooms?)   The fireplace was good for ambience but poorly designed IMHO.  To turn it on you had to hold the button for 30 seconds and then it would turn itself off after an hour. If you wanted to turn it on again you had to wait 30 minutes.

One of the things we noticed on this trip was how international the staff was at the Starwoods we visited. At the Schloss Fuschl many staff members were from Germany and Hungary and here at the W they were from all over Europe. Miguel is from Barcelona. His colleague Michael is from France, as was our bartender. And Edward, who drove the W Van was from Amsterdam. We loved the team at this hotel and were very impressed with their genuine enthusiasm and attentive service. Their exceptional service and friendly attitudes definitely helped make our stay.

I had asked Miguel about daily newspapers, without much hope that they would be available. To my surprise he volunteered to go to the kiosk daily and deliver them to our door.  He also let us know that the hotel van was at our disposal if we wanted to go the old village, or up the mountain for views. 

Because it was off season, the hotel’s popular sushi and tapas restaurants were closed for the season, but the W Kitchen (for breakfast), W Living room (for bar and dining) and Arctic Juice bar were open.

The breakfast buffet was very good with fresh juices, fruits, cereals, pastries, smoked salmon, bacon, saugage and eggs to order.  There also was coffee to order and prosecco.

In the evening, after dinner we had night caps in the comfortable bar with fireplaces, leather seating and dramatic floor to ceiling windows.

The hotel has 24 hour room service.  They also have a spa, pool and gym (though we didn’t use them)

In addition to the bar there is a dramatic seating area called the Staircase which has step seating with fabulous views during the day and is illuminated red at night.

On our first night at the hotel we were tired and opted for delicious local Valais wine and cheese we had purchased in Martigny in our room. On our second night, at Miguel’s suggestion we tried a local place called Les Chamois (the Mountain Goats) which was a short walk from the hotel. The restaurant has a comfortable ambience with a stone fireplace and specializes in local Swiss fare, like Raclette. We enjoyed it so much we went back again a second night.  On both nights we were the only tourists, all of the other diners were locals.

While 50000 people stay in Verbier during ski season, only a few thousand people live there in the off season so we basically had the town to ourselves. Although lovely, we had found both St. Moritz and Zermatt a little overdeveloped.  Verbier, on the other hand retains more of a village charm with  attractive wooden chalets. As locals explained to us it is really two different places depending upon when you visit there. In the off season, it is a quiet Swiss village while during ski season it is a ritzy haven for the rich and famous. A week at Richard Branson’s nearby 9 bedroom lodge can run $200,000 and every single room for miles around is filled. While there were very few cars in town while we were there, in the winter there can be bumper to bumper traffic. The trade off is that during the off season almost everything is closed, including the lifts and gondolas. And the top restaurants are not open. In town there were only 3 or 4 choices for dinner.  It turned out fine for us. We actually loved having the town to ourselves and enjoyed meeting locals instead of fellow tourists.

We took daily walks through the town and twice utilized the hotel van for excursions. On our second afternoon Edward dropped us off in the Old Village where we wandered at our leisure, around the old chapel, and then stopped for wine at a little boulangerie with lovely views of the mountains.

Again, we were the only tourists though we met some very friendly locals. We texted Edward when we were ready to go back to the hotel and 10 minutes later he was there with the van. Another time he took us to the local grocery and drugstore to pick up a few items.

The W Verbier blew us away with fantastic service,  a stunning location and an awesome room.  Since it is a little off the beaten path we imagined this would be a one time visit but we actually had such a great stay that  we plan to include it again on our next trip to Switzerland.

I am sure that things are much more exciting if you visit during peak season, but the quiet relaxed vibe was perfect for us.  This hotel epitomizes the best of the W Brand- stylish design, a spirit of fun and a youthful enthusiastic staff.