Swiss Favorite

Schonried, Switzerland, is my favorite watering hole. I know the whole area like the back of my hand and only hope--while I would like people to discover it for themselves--that Disney won’t build a theme park there (“Rent-a-Chalet,” May 14).

Schonried is a darling place and has a first-class hotel called the Hermitage, five minutes from the rail station. It even has an indoor-outdoor swimming pool that non-guests can use for a fee, plus an excellent dining room. But what it has most is class, not much of which is found in hostelries these days.

From Gstaad, direct trains go to Montreux and beyond; one can even go to Bern in one day. Interlaken and Spiez are charming, of course, and a boat ride between the two is a must.

What more could you ask? For clinchers, there is the Yehudi Menuhin Festival (this year July 21-Sept. 9) in the nearby Gstaad-Saanen area. I could never get a ticket, so I go to the rehearsals. RENE FOSHER Laguna Nigel

In 1967, I spent the month of August in a chalet in Switzerland and with our VW wagon traveled the width and breadth of that beautiful country, and I hiked all around the paths of the Bernese Alps. The many small towns and areas you mentioned are again fresh in my memory. HELEN M. GITTINGS Laguna Hills