We took advantage of the long weekend to finally move out of our Geneva cocoon and explore another part of Switzerland. Our choice were the mountains in the canton of Valais, an hour and a half drive from Geneva. And we did not regret it!
I came across Hotel Balance a while ago and its bio vegetarian meals offer was something I was eager to explore. I was therefore very happy when Ricky, who owns the hotel together with her husband, confirmed that they had a family room available.
The car ride there, carefully planned at the time of the little one’s nap, was easy all the way to Martigny and as soon as the road started to go uphill quite impressive, especially once we reached Salvan, and then, at the end of an extremely narrow road, our final destination – Les Granges.
The view was impressive all the way up; snowy mountains mixed with green forest-covered hills. And chalets – some traditional, some very modern – hidden like mushrooms everywhere. A very picturesque scenery.
And there is was, just like on the photos, our home for the next two nights – Hotel Balance. We were warmly welcomed by Ricky and led to our room, where everything was prepared for our stay. We instantly appreciated the homey atmosphere (slippers provided by the hotel) and coffee and tea à volonté. The children quickly discovered the huge garden with lots to do, including a natural pool that we were not courageous enough to try.
The destination offers many possibilities for walks, such as to the lake Salanfe that looked amazing but a bit too challenging to do with the little monster. We did, however, visit the beautiful Gorges du Dailley.
An easy, less that 30-minute walk through a beautiful pine forest led us to the waterfall. There is a pretty steep stairway that goes all the way up to its start and with the little one in my arms and the big one leading the way we came quite far up. Enough to enjoy its impressive noise of the waterfall and feel its strength.
Unfortunately, some other sights around were closed due to the CVOID-19 pandemic, such as the zoo in Marécottes, but we did manage to visit the Barryland museum with its Great St. Bernard hospice dogs, including seven cute puppies. A children’s paradise!
Cherry on top of our stay was the excellent food prepared from bio ingredients, all of it vegetarian. A delicious breakfast to start the day with freshly baked bread and a five-course dinner – a yummy veggie soup, an imaginative entrée, a large selection of salads (including kimchi), a filling main course and a savoury desert.
A great weekend getaway – hope we can visit again!
