Strandhotel

The lake and mountain view was breathtaking, but it couldn’t make up for the rest of our experience. Service was very poor, with no real sense of hospitality, and breakfast honestly fell far below even basic standards. If I could rate the breakfast below zero, I would. Unfortunately, the overall stay was so disappointing that I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.

We stopped by early on a drizzly weekday and had the place nearly to ourselves, with maybe one other table occupied. The lake view was lovely, the service was quick, and coffee and croissants made for a nice visit.

The waiter’s behavior was so upsetting and embarrassing that this was the rudest experience we had in all of Europe. He didn’t seat us, so we found a place ourselves. Our party was large and needed extra chairs, but that table couldn’t fit them. We moved to another table that someone had left, which hadn’t been cleared yet. He hadn’t come to our table at all, so we raised a hand to get his attention. He immediately seemed offended and asked, “do you think I don't understand English?” with a frightening look. Then he loudly scolded us for leaving a perfectly clean table for a dirty one, pointing at the menu as if we thought he couldn’t understand English, and calling for him when he would obviously come over. He warned us not to wave at him. I was sure he’d humiliate us if we did anything else he disliked, and other diners stared while he shouted. The restaurant wasn’t busy: he and his colleagues had only four other tables to serve. Based on the other reviews, it’s clear to me this place is racist. I’d strongly advise people from Asian countries not to visit.

I had a wonderful time here with my group from Phillipines, and Marc was a wonderful host. The restaurant food and service were excellent. Dining in a relaxed atmosphere by the Brienz lakefront was awesome, and I highly recommend it.