Incredible! Balmer's has everything you could want! 8 July 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 5862)
Interlaken was our favorite place in Europe! We stayed in a private which I recommend because it sounds like the dorms are packed. Also if you have a private there is no lock out. Balmer's has fantastic kitchen facilities and is close to a market. The activities offered by Balmer's are the best part, there is something for everyone. We went river rafting but if I had more money I would have gone canyoning or skydiving too. We had a great time on the river and our all of the guides were HOTTIES! We rented a scootcar from Daniels next door and drove to the falls in Lauterbrannun - it's so amazing there. I want to move to Interlaken! I'm not the only one so taken by Interlaken's hold, many of the people who live there now are former travelers who "got stuck" in Interlaken. We had friends staying at Funny Farm down the street and it was not nearly as cool as Balmers. The hostel is huge and leaves little to be desired. It is clean, friendly, and fun. Take my advice and give yourself 3 or 4 nights here at least!
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11 people found this review helpful
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Anonymous
Ireland
It is what you make of it. 4 July 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 5863)
The experience of Balmers is worth a crack.Adventure sports such as skydiving during the day and at night time well....the sky is the limit.Go on a hike while you are there the scenery is like something out of Lord of the Rings.I heard people complaining that it is too clicky,too many Americans etc...But it is what you make of it.
8 of
11 people found this review helpful
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College Grad- 22
US- Texas
Cool Place to Party, NOT to sleep 11 June 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
College Grad- 22
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 5865)
PRO's: Balmer's is in a great location and has OK facilities. There is a great yard to chill in and have drinks at the end of the day. Bar downstairs is pretty fun, except for the very bad music (village people, bad 80's)CON's: There is a lockout from 9:30-4:30. Basically they want you to go spend 100+ Dollars everyday on their activites. There are quite a bit of rooms right by the bar/kitchen which you will get NO sleep. There are people partying till 3 am and it is impossible to sleep unless you are trashed. This plus the 8am wakeup call make this place a bad place for sleep.Stay somewhere else and walk down to Balmer's to party, then go back and get some decent sleep for as long as you like.
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Anonymous
Lake Pleasant, NY
you'll love it or hate it 4 June 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 5866)
you'll love it if: you want a bit of a freshman college frat scene, beer, movies, drunken teens, etc. The staff is friendly, the breakfast is lame (go around the corner to the Migros or Coop). If you have the money, go on an organized trip, etc.If that is not what you are looking for, head up into the mountains to the Valley Hostel in Lauterbrunnen, or the mountain hostel in Gimmelwald. Both are wonderful, very friendly staff, excessively clean (excellent kitchen facilities in Lauterbrunnen) and the mountains are right there. No night scene at the hostels, but go back to Balmers for that. Lots of great hiking, etc.
1 of
10 people found this review helpful
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Curt
Iowa, USA
As cool as the other side of the pillow 26 April 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Curt
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 5867)
Many of the "bad" reviews of Balmer's mentions lack of culture. I can't imagine you are going to pick up culture at the other hostels. I thought the dinner (good portion) and the movie showing afterwards is a nice time to unwind. Plus, the staff was very helpful and nice. The atmosphere is very cool. Many things to do if you do have money and if you don't. Just ask the staff and they will assist you accordingly. The bar at night is a lot of fun. Great place to meet people. The beds are nice and the showers are very good. Balmer's is a great time, whether you want to party or not.
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9 people found this review helpful
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Eric
Chicago, IL
Great place with a few drawbacks 29 March 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Eric
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
(Review ID: 5868)
I stayed at balmer's for 4 nights this past summer, and overall I was quite happy with it. When I first checked in and was told the only room available was a 30 bed dorm room I was a bit scared, but it turned out to not be a problem at all. There is a lockout period during the day when they throughly clean all the rooms...it's not like you are going to spend much time in your room anyway you're in switzerland. The bunks in the 30 bed dorm are very very close together....There was maybe 2 inches between me and the person next to me, but that's not really a big deal either. Everyone in the dorm was very quite when coming in in the middle of the night. THe bathrooms were relatively clean and there was plenty of hot water. The breakfast was nothing spectacular, but it was free and you actually got some cheese and hot chocolate along with the typical bread and jam....Balmer's is a party scene, but the great thing about interlakken is the noise violation laws which basically require any dance clubs to be below ground, which is the case with Balmer's. Every night Balmer's had some theme for their dance club downstairs and cheap drinks make this hostel great fun to stay in, yet still very quiet in all the rooms.One thing that's not often mentioned in these reviews is that Balmer's also has a full kitchen that serves good hearty food. The food is realitively inexpensive, especially for switzerland....and it tastes good and will fill you up.I went to the funny farm one night to check out the scene there, and while it is much more relaxed then the party atmosphere at Balmer's it is filled with mostly pot heads and they don't enforce a no weed smoking policy like Balmer's (in case you were wondering, like amsterdam, switzerland also has relaxed marijuana laws..although much less publicised)overall, a stay at balmer's will guarantee a good time if you are in the 18-27 age range...frat boy types are common but easily ignored. If you want a quiter time I've heard good things about backpacker's hostel, although you may not meet as many interesting people there....
5 of
11 people found this review helpful
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Matt
Texas
Strange Hostelling Experience 28 February 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Matt
saw things this way
Maintenance
(2)
Cleanliness
(2)
Facilities
(2)
Atmosphere
(2)
(Review ID: 5869)
After traveling around Europe for 2 months in 2002 and staying in 15 or 20 different hostels, I have to say that staying at Balmer's was my single strangest experiance.First of all, you probably shouldn't go to Interlaken unless you are a drunk college kid with too much money who wants to go skydiving or mountain climbing or whatever the hell it is people do there. I was just passing through the country on my way from Germany to Italy and thought that I would spend one night in the mountains. I had actually never heard of Interlaken ( I know) but that seemed to be where all the backpackers were going so I went along. The area is absolutly beautiful, but if you're looking for culture you could probably do better anywhere -- ANYWHERE -- else in the country. Anyway...I check into Balmer's and the guy books me into the big dorm. There might be smaller rooms with 4 or 6 beds, I don't know, but I got the big dorm. I find the room and see that it is divided into sections, two small ones for the men and one big one for the women. I put my bag on the rack and find my bed and am surprised to see that it is a huge double bed, which is fantastic until I realize that each side of the bed is numbered. That's right, THEY EXPECT YOU TO SHARE! Eight guys in four beds. The most uncomfortable moment in my life is now going to bed alone and waking up next to a complete stranger. "Good morning. I'm the man you slept with last night."Weird.
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Anonymous
Chicago, Illinois
Balmer's TENT is the place to be in Interlaken! 29 January 2003
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
(Review ID: 5870)
Balmer's is fabulous--it's a ton of fun people, fun stuff to do & there's always something going on. They put us in the "TENT", which we weren't sure if we'd like, but it ended up being even better! You can hang out with all the canyoning/rafting guides and party all afternoon during happy hour--they are from all over the world and are hilarious! The tent has more relaxed rules and a really fun atmosphere. And whenever you want to head over to the main Balmer's, somebody will drive you over in the free shuttle. Balmer's was one of our fave spots in Europe--sure, it might not have a lot of "culture" but it's a great break and a great place to party!
