Arrive
In the Bernese Oberland
Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau – these are the most well-known mountains in the Bernese Oberland, but they are not the only ones. A record number of 14 peaks can be found in this popular Swiss holiday region alone. If you drive to the Lenkerhof, you will see most of them, as Lenk is the most southerly village in the Simmental valley. Malicious gossip has
it that it is in the middle of nowhere. However, this is debatable, as the Swiss capital, Bern, is only an hour away from the hotel, by car or by train. The scenery is unique, as the village is located at 1,068 meters above sea level in a picturesque high mountain valley at the foot of the Wildstrubel massif.
Stay
In the most juvenile 5*S hotel in Switzerland
A glamorous hotel amid fantastic scenery. First-class service.
Outstanding Gault Millau standard cuisine. Sound stressful? Not at all. The gourmet spa resort is not only one of the most stylish hotels in Switzerland but also one of the most relaxed and individual of its kind. The service is discreet, but the staff is always around and makes life easier for the guests – whether you stay with the entire family or travel on your own.
The hotel offers harmony between classic and modern styles with trendy, elegant and individual elements. Good light and crystal-clear mountain air. Nothing is run of the mill – everything is one of a kind. Sophisticated, yet flexible. Everything is tailored to the needs of our guests – nothing is too much trouble.
The hosts. Heike Schmidt and Jan Stiller
The hotel industry is their profession and passion at the same time. The qualified hotel manager Jan Stiller grew up in Lenk, on Bühlberg mountain to be precise. After professional training in the catering and hotel industry and several jobs in exclusive hotels in the Bernese Oberland and Zurich, he completed the extra occupational post-graduate diploma HF Hotel Management at hotelleriesuisse. The amicable link between the hotels in Zurich led him to his partner Heike Schmidt. She grew up in the south of Germany, completed a BA in Business Administration and worked in a health clinic before going to Switzerland in 2006. She gained experience in Rooms Division in excellent hotels in the Zurich and Lucerne regions and was most recently employed as the Reservation Manager at the Baur au Lac hotel.
Jan Stiller and Heike Schmidt are convinced that open and fair communication, teamwork, personal commitment and flexibility are important elements of a perfect service. For both of them, it was clear from the start that the Lenkerhof was a great opportunity for them. Together with their skilled employees who are young or young at heart and who provide an extraordinary service-oriented attitude and a certain extra, they want to further develop the success story of the “Lenkerhof gourmet spa resort” and reach further highs.
Enjoy
At the Spettacolo and the Oh de vie
Take regional, first-class ingredients, carefully prepared, a dash of creativity and surprise – and there you have it – a feast of culinary delights – “Well-Flavour” is the name of the concept. Some flavours come rather unexpectedly but are always a joy for the taste buds. The German chef Stefan Lünse and his team create 15 different dishes every day – depending on the season and what’s available at the market. The French restaurant guide Gault Millau awarded 16 points out of 20 in the year 2020.
Spettacolo is the hotel’s main restaurant. This is where the day starts with a substantial breakfast buffet, fresh bread and a good cup of coffee, fresh fruit and eggs from the farm, cheeses produced in the surroundings and smoked ham. In the evening, guests can enjoy light dishes inspired by regional and international delicacies.
The Oh de vie is the Mediterranean-style restaurant in Lenk: The chef-de-cuisine and his team prepare Mediterranean specialities in an open kitchen from the Italian-French Riviera.
Hotel guests can choose where they want to round off their day. All guests can put together their very own menu choosing from dishes freshly prepared every day – four courses are included in half-board.
Not to forget a glass of the perfect wine from the huge selection in our wine cellar. Before dinner our guests come together in the underground vaults and taste various wines in order to select the bottle of their choice for dinner.
The bar in the hotel foyer is always a great place to be. It is the centre of the hotel and a meeting point – in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening. Have an espresso before you start your day skiing or hiking or simply enjoy a cappuccino in the most beautiful valley. Treat yourself to an aperitif before dinner or a digestif to round off your day – all this in a lounge atmosphere next to an open fire in winter and on a large terrace with stunning views in summer.
Panoramic view
Bühlberg by Lenkerhof, an original restaurant in the mountains
Bühlberg Mountain provides a stylish, modern and chic yet original and down-to-earth restaurant. On “Lenk’s most beautiful sun terrace” situated 1664 meters above sea level, hikers and walkers, cyclists and mountain bikers, skiers and snowboarders alike get to enjoy culinary delights. And of course, this also goes for all children who love to play on the huge playground directly in front of the door. Both in summer and in winter, the restaurant serves authentic Swiss dishes with a modern touch, the best cheese and milk directly from the mountain pastures. And of course, the classics of a mountain restaurant are also served as those who tackle the one to one and a half hour tour often fancy a good portion of Rösti potatoes.
But it’s not just sporty people who are happy that the Lenkerhof runs the Bühlberg restaurant, as many roads lead up the mountain: a large car park and a regular bus shuttle also enable parents or grandparents with young children in buggies, people in wheelchairs or those who are simply not up to the strenuous tour up the mountain to get there easily. And the view of the Wildstrubel, Wildhorn and the Plaine Morte Mountains is simply breathtaking.
There is even more to it than that: high up in the clear mountain air where the colours blaze intensely during the day and the silence is unique at night, the culinary delights taste that little bit more intense.
Those who stay at the Lenkerhof and want to exchange the Spettacolo or the Oh de vie with the atmosphere in the mountain restaurant for a night can enjoy the culinary delights as part of their half board in this wonderful mountain panorama. And those who choose the setting for a special celebration with their loved ones or for a corporate event are very welcome – the restaurant is prepared for all options.
Sometimes freestyle, always smart cuisine – Stefan Lünse has become chef de cuisine at the Lenkerhof
At the age of 15, he fulfilled his dream and started an apprenticeship to become a chef. At the age of 33, Stefan Lünse fulfilled a second wish and became chef de cuisine at the Lenkerhof. There was never a question of doing anything other than becoming a chef. “My mother used to cook at home and my grandfather was a baker,” says the chef, who is head of the 19-person team in the gourmet spa resort in the Swiss Simmen Valley. He used to help both of them a lot and turned his hand to both the stove and the bakery. After successfully graduating from school, he began his apprenticeship to become a chef in a well-known hotel: in the Hotel Restaurant Talmühle in Sasbachwalden, a hotel which has a Michelin star and 16 Gault Millau points. “This is where I learned the trade and many skills which I’m using throughout my career,” he says.
In his kitchen, he likes getting back to the basics of his profession, the classic methods. “Molecular gastronomy is not for me,” says the 33 year old chef de cuisine. But the chef, who was born in Germany,
likes “freestyle cooking” as he calls it, which is trying out new combinations of ingredients, herbs and spices. He is also an expert when it comes to preparing food for people with food intolerances. His motto is “there is no reason to have a poor diet just because you have a reaction to lactose or gluten”.
He has finally settled in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. “I love the mountains and use every free minute for mountain biking,” he says. And he has a passion for Swiss produce, be it meat, cheese or everything that grows in the forests and on pastures. “In autumn, I love going in the woods to collect mushrooms,” Lünse says. And he expanded the herb garden at the Lenkerhof significantly.
Before coming to the latest addition to five star hotels in Switzerland, he had two seasonal positions as a sous-chef. During winter, he worked in the Restaurant Cà d’Oro of the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains
which was given several awards, and in summer he worked at the Restaurant Aphrodite of the Giardino Hotel in Ascona at Lake Maggiore.
He now has free rein of the hob. He calls the creations he serves in the Mediterranean restaurant “Oh de vie” and in the “Spettacolo” restaurant “smart cuisine”. The concept is named “Well Flavour” – it is tasty, simple, top level and prepared with the best ingredients.
Feel good. At the seven sources.
The seven springs of the Simme river were the inspiration when creating the spacious spa facilities “7sources beauty & spa” – exciting architecture and hours of relaxation. Thanks to the hotel’s own hot spring, Lenkerhof has had a long and changing history. The British have bathed here and enjoyed the healing effects of sulphur since 1683. 2,000 square metres where everything is about the body. It is one of the largest spa facilities in Switzerland and offers a great variety of options.
Saunas and steam baths with herbs, sulphur and shale oil. A sports pool and an outdoor pool with crystal-clear water containing sulphur from the hot spring – the most powerful in the Alps with a pleasant water temperature of 34°C. Facial and body treatments with exclusive cosmetics from AVEDA, the tropical Ligne St Bart and Algotherm. Fitness, cardiac training and personal training with medo check, a professional programme to create an individual training plan and to determine your fitness level.
Be active. On one of the largest outdoor playgrounds worldwide
There are two winter sports resorts nearby – one of which is one of the top locations in Switzerland. Skiing and snowboarding. Cross-country skiing and ice-skating.
Tobogganing and ice climbing. Snowshoe hiking and winter walking – all this is possible in Lenk. Adrenaline junkies will find many challenges and thrills, but there are also comfortable tours for more relaxed holiday makers. Fresh mountain air and happy cows. Blue sky, bright sunshine, waterfalls and a quiet atmosphere in a unique landscape. These are great holidays – relax, unwind and be active.
In winter and summer alike, the most southerly village of the Bernese Oberland is a true outdoor playground for young and old. International dog sledging, the Mountain Challenge and various mountain running events are among the sporting highlights. And once the snow is gone, it is all about cycling and mountain biking, hiking, climbing, running and Nordic walking.
To ensure that you are stimulated mentally as well, we offer cultural highlights such as the Lenk Jazz Days, the “Alpkultur Lenk” Summer Academy and “Das Zelt” (The Tent) in winter. And in the hotel itself you will find pictures and sculptures, active distractions in the form of the guest programme as well as fashion shows. We always put our good ideas into practice.
Be a child. In a special world
We see no reason why five stars should not be a sign of a child-friendly hotel. Children belong at the Lenkerhof and are always welcome. Without any compromises. Little ones are perfectly looked after: outside, amid the untouched nature just on the doorstep, as well as inside the hotel. The PlayStation of the Alps, free childcare every day from 1pm to 9.30pm with nursery, restaurant for children, wet ‘n’ wild water fun until 5.30pm and an outdoor adventure park – everything little children and teenagers could possibly wish for. There is something for everyone. Joy and happiness as well as children’s laughter – this is what makes our house so full of life. Why not come and experience it for yourself?
Lenk-Simmental Tourismus AG
Admitted. As a member in the exclusive circle of Relais & Châteaux.
“Every Relais & Châteaux member is like a lively museum which is visited by its guests. An extraordinary location in which the entire heritage, the roots of its hosts, and its integration in the region are
expressed.” Paulo Coelho, novelist Art de vivre – the art of living, of enjoying, of relaxing: nowhere does this slogan have more priority than in the exclusive hotels and the select restaurants which are admitted in the Relais & Châteaux circle. More than 500 members in the whole world, more than 50 years of tradition – and the Lenkerhof in the Swiss
Simmental valley is part of all of that.
Luxury is the guiding principle of the group, but in the 21st century, luxury has a different meaning for every traveller. The exclusive Relais & Châteaux club boils it down to an essence: courtesy, charm,
character, calm and outstanding cuisine are the five ideals of the hotel and restaurant association. These are hotels which can look back on a rich tradition and yet provide all conveniences of the modern day –
and they take this for granted and without any fuss. It is the hotel’s own character which distinguishes it and its host.
The gourmet spa resort in the Bernese Oberland can look back on an almost four century long history, a sometimes certainly varied past. Today the hotel combines the best of what nature has on offer: the
sulphurous Balm Source which provides an extraordinary experience in the spa. Besides, there is nature which no painter could create more beautifully, water, the mountains surrounding Lenk and the giant
forces of the elements.
This is accompanied by first-class cuisine in a light and modern way: the Spettacolo with its formidable dishes to suit everyone’s taste and the Mediterranean restaurant Oh de vie. No culinary wish will remain
unfulfilled in the Lenkerhof. The focus is always on the produce, which is refined to create dishes that sometimes seem surprising. The impressive wine cellar does one more thing: it adds the perfect drop of
wine to round off the gourmets’ culinary delight.
Lenkerhof gourmet spa resort
Postfach 241
3775 Lenk im Simmental
Switzerland
Phone: +41 33 736 36 36
Telefax: +41 33 736 36 37
E-mail: welcome@lenkerhof.ch
lenkerhof.ch