Concierge: New opening / Valais
Rising again
Once a busy crossroad of Mitteleuropean trade, the small town of Ernen in the Valais mountains is now a peaceful place to unwind. The newly opened Michelhaus hotel in a renovated chalet from 1686 is the ideal place from which to explore the area’s charms.
Anyone seeking an authentically Helvetic home for the holidays this winter should consider swapping the grand hotels of Gstaad, Verbier and Zermatt for something less well-known. Set in the 800-year-old mountain town of Ernen in the canton of Valais, Michelhaus is a new property from Reto Holzer. The Zürich hair salon-owner purchased the three-storey building for himself in 2020 before opening it up to holidaymakers.
The chalet from 1686 was in dire need of renovation when Holzer bought it. Working with Valais architects and carpenters…
