16 Reasons This Swiss Hostel is the Best Place For Workation

You’re a digital nomad or remote worker, or maybe you have a super flexible boss. You finally have the freedom to work from anywhere even if it’s only for a week or so. Where the heck do you go?! Where is the best place for workation?

It might just be this coliving hostel in the Swiss Alps.

This post is in collaboration with Coliving.frilingue.

I’ve been self-employed and working remotely for a few years now. Hostel dorms, friends’ kitchens and aeroplane tray tables have all been my desk. Until recently, I’d never booked an organised ‘workation’ with other remote workers.

Wow, I had no idea what I’d been missing.

Coliving.frilingue currently operates five coliving spaces in Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro. One of these is a long-term coliving space in Bourg St Pierre, a Swiss village. Another (only 10 minutes drive away) is a cosy wooden chalet in a place called Liddes.

This is where they host a two-week workation package every season. Coliving.frilingue invited me to stay for one week during their winter workation in January 2023. My week included learning to ski, building igloos, eating fondue, lots of saunas, countless laughs and a little bit of work.

I had an utterly unforgettable experience. It was even better than I expected (and my expectations were high!). Let’s break down all the reasons why I loved this ‘workation retreat’, whatever you want to call it, and why I think you will too.

Why This Coliving Hostel is the Best Place for Workation

1. You Will Stay in a Clean, Cosy and Comfortable Hostel

Seeking out the most exciting, best workation destinations doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have a fantastic time. If your accommodation is awful then you won’t get a good night’s sleep, you won’t relax, you won’t be able to work well and you won’t enjoy yourself.

Luckily, the Coliving.frilingue hostel in Liddes is so cosy. The heat hits you as soon as you walk through the front door so I never had to worry about freezing even in -15°C temperatures. There are tons of couches, the dorms are comfortable and the bathrooms are always clean.

I stayed in a six-bed dorm but there were only four of us in there. Guests for the workations are lower than the capacity of the ski hostel so it never felt overcrowded.

I’d never stayed in a hostel in a ski resort before so I didn’t know to bring indoor shoes. But I loved being able to walk around in my socks! It made it feel like I was staying in my own house. The more long-term coliving space at Bourg-St-Pierre was also a really cosy spot.

They also have ping pong tables, a pool table, books, games and lots more to keep you occupied. Oh, and they have a sauna in the basement! More on that later…

2. You’re Surrounded by Stunning Swiss Scenery

You don’t need me to tell you that Switzerland is drop-dead gorgeous, right? That’s a pretty well-known fact. When you think of Switzerland, you think of fondue, chocolate, neutrality, watches, and bloody beautiful mountains.

Luckily, this little workation village in the Swiss Alps is incredibly beautiful. As I arrived in Liddes, the mist sat heavily around the hostel so there wasn’t much visibility. But the next morning when it had cleared, I could finally comprehend just how many mountains, conifers and other lodges surrounded the hostel.

Most hostels and coliving spaces are in cities. Coliving.frilingue offers a welcome change of scenery that makes it the best place for workation that’s also relaxing.

3. There Are Plenty of Tables and Desks for Work

I’ve stayed in coliving spaces before and they almost always don’t have enough desk space for every guest. It’s so annoying. I’m an early bird so I can usually snag one but then I have to set up camp there for the entire day lest I forfeit my spot.

Thankfully, this is not the case at Coliving.frilingue! They have huge workbenches with more than enough space for every guest to tap away at their laptop keyboards simultaneously. 

Not that you’d ever have to worry about working with 40 other colivers at the same time! Everyone had such varying schedules.

4. Fast WiFi and Quiet Spots for Calls

Again, I have stayed in a coliving space that had terrible, patchy WiFi. I remember attempting to work three hours before a deadline (I’m sure you’re not perfect either) and the WiFi cut out which inflicted a mini breakdown.

At Coliving.frilingue, the quality of the WiFi wasn’t something I gave a second thought to once I’d connected my laptop and phone. It’s one of the best places for workation because it was 100% perfect throughout the entire week.

Plus, there is a lot of space in the common area so you don’t have to worry about calls. You’ll never be totally alone but everyone is respectful. You could even work from your dorm if you wanted because there are plug sockets next to every bed.

5. You Can Include Half Board (Breakfast and Dinner)

Many digital nomads keep themselves on a strict food budget so they can spend more money on experiences. I totally get it! If you book a workation at Coliving.frilingue, you also have the option to buy and cook your own meals.

But you can also splurge on half board during your stay where you just need to help with prep and cleaning up. You can add this option when booking your stay or decide later. I recommend you do as all the meals were spot on and there were always great veggie options for me.

You can also just pay extra for the special group meals like fondue, raclette and BBQ. There’s always free tea and coffee, though!

6. There’s a Super Flexible Schedule

This is one of the most important distinctions between a workation and any other organised, group trip. You can’t wrangle 40 adults with different remote roles, client calls and deadlines onto the same schedule. It’s just not going to happen.

On my winter workation in Europe, we skied all day on the first day because most of us were beginners. Then, we usually skied for half a day in the morning or afternoon and worked for the other half depending on what we felt like.

Not everyone did every activity offered. Some guests drove to the hostel so you could often grab a ride to the slopes or supermarket with them. It was super laid back!

7. Restaurants and a Small Food Shop are a 10-Minute Walk Away

There’s not much around the hostel itself which makes it feel very remote (one of the main reasons why it’s the best place for workation in my opinion!). But the main village of Liddes is just a short 10-minute walk up the hill.

Once there, you can eat at least two restaurants. I sampled lunch at both Restaurant De La Channe and the restaurant at Hôtel du Grand-St-Bernard, in the name of research, of course. 

Alimentation Chez Jacotte is a nice wee shop where I bought the essentials (Swiss chocolate and wine). Liddes even has a cheese vending machine you need to check out called Automate à Fromage.

8. It’s Easy to Reach the Hostel Without a Car

Though I’m making it sound like the hostel was in the darkest depths of the Swiss Alps far from civilisation, that’s not actually the case. You can definitely reach this hostel without a car. Most remote workers looking for workation destinations in Europe always use public transport.

From Geneva Airport (where I arrived), you can get a train to Martigny where you can change trains to Orsières. Hop on the 210 bus towards Bourg St Pierre and alight in Liddes! 

You can then walk to the hostel if you don’t have a lot of luggage or let the hostel know your plans in advance so they can pick you up from the bus stop. Either way, it’s 100% doable by public transport! That’s another item to add to the list of ‘things the Swiss are famously amazing at’.

9. Transport to Activities Is Included

This reason why Coliving.frilingue is one of the best places for workation is perhaps my favourite. When you book a stay at the coliving space during one of their organised workations, transport to the ski slopes and other organised activities are included.

I am not a bad driver but I’m definitely not a good driver (take from that what you will), especially in the snowy and icy conditions in the Swiss Alps. I literally could not have booked this workation if transport wasn’t part of the deal. There are buses to some parts of the ski resort area but not to the locations of some of the activities we did.

10. Friendly and Dedicated Owners and Volunteers

This brings me beautifully to my next point. Stefan and Philipp, along with the community managers Aiden and Dianna and the rest of the volunteers, were awesome.

Stefan and Aiden drove us everywhere and Stefan patiently taught us to ski. Philipp took us out to bars and Dianna went above and beyond for me several times over. Plus so much more!

Everyone was so passionate and enthusiastic about the coliving space and most were also remote workers themselves. Having relaxed, friendly and approachable owners and volunteers to pester with questions and join us in the activities made the whole week so much fun.

11. You Can Order a Ski Pass and Equipment Via the Hostel

As I said, this Swiss hostel is the best place for workation at any time of year. They run a workation every season! I visited in winter which is ski season and Coliving.frilingue took care of everything I needed to go skiing.

They’d ordered my ski pass for the Great St Bernard Pass ski resorts and kitted me out with ski boots, skis and a helmet. They have an equipment storage facility so everything is onsite. It was so easy and only cost €80 for the annual ski pass and €100 for the ski equipment rental.

12. Free Ski Lessons for Beginners

I’m not a beginner skier, well, not technically anyway. I skied for a week on a school trip to Italy which was, ahem, 16 years ago now. I would not have joined this winter workation if beginner ski lessons weren’t included because I wouldn’t have any confidence in my ski skills.

As it turns out, I wasn’t half bad and I just needed to dust off what I learned way back in 2007. But Stefan guiding us through the basics on the first day and being able to ski with other beginners was priceless. 

We had the opportunity to visit three different slopes in the Great St Bernard Pass ski area during the winter workation. La Fouly is great for beginners, Vichères is super close to the hostel and Champex-Lac has beautiful lake views.

13. Lots of Super Fun Organised Activities

Skiing wasn’t the only activity we could partake in during the winter workation! We also enjoyed the thermal baths and spa at Les Bains de Lavey and a night out watching live music at Le Farinet and Pub Mont Fort in the Verbier ski resort nearby.

These were both optional, paid extras and not everyone joined in. Day trips to Aosta in Italy and snowshoeing were also possibilities. Just having the option to do these fun activities with transport included is another reason why this was the best place for workation.

In the summer months, skiing and snowshoeing become hikes, campfires and other adventurous outdoor experiences.

14. Lots of Super Fun Spontaneous Activities

Of course, when you put around 40 people across two hostels together for a week or so, they’re going to invent their own fun! We had parties and game nights. We played countless matches of ping pong and had snowball fights.

And I spent almost every night in the sauna and ran outside to roll around in the snow. I had never done this before but I’m completely hooked.

Helping some of the other guests build an igloo was also not on my bingo card for 2023!

15. It Won’t Hurt Your Bank Balance

Switzerland is widely known as an expensive country to visit. You would think that a winter workation in Switzerland that involves skiing would be even more unthinkably expensive, but it really wasn’t.

I’ve already mentioned my ski pass was €80 and the rental was €100. Two weeks’ accommodation in a shared dorm is €300 which is only €21 a night (I paid far more for a hostel in Geneva!) and that includes transport to the slopes. It’s incredibly cost-effective, especially if you’re travelling full-time.

16. Meet Amazing, Like-Minded People

It wouldn’t be the best place for workation without the best people. One of the reasons why it’s nice to book a workation as a remote worker instead of any other organised trip is that you’ll meet other like-minded remote workers.

Everyone was an avid traveller, but they were also entrepreneurs and creatives with cool stories to tell and interesting passions. I met people from over 12 countries who were writers, engineers, programmers, events managers and more. I really hope I’ll keep in touch with many of them because it was a really great bunch.

Thanks again to Coliving.frilingue for inviting me to your winter workation! That’s why this coliving hostel is the best place for workation that is adventurous and fun.

Are you thinking about booking a working vacation or holiday soon? Let me know in the comments below!

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