On a trip to Switzerland last month...

On a trip to Switzerland last month I came across a marvelous little chalet-style inn on the Brunig Pass between Interlaken and Lucerne. Operated by an English-speaking husband-wife team, Roland and Alice Schweizer. Six rooms and a restaurant that turns out the best geschnetzeltes (veal) and rosti (fried potatoes) in the country. Schweizer also serves fondues, game (in season), fish from Lake Brienz and a dozen other delights, including a sausage salad.

The Schweizers’ inn faces the Reichenbach Falls above the little village of Meiringen. Only a couple of minutes from a little Alpine railroad station. Good bus transportation. An excellent choice for skiers or summer hikers in the Hasliberg area. I came across it one rainy evening. Glowed like a Christmas card. Rates: $22/$54 but these could change due to the fluctuation of the dollar. For reservations write to Roland and Alice Schweizer, Gasthaus Brunig-Kulm, CH-6082 Brunig-Passhohe, Switzerland.

Skier Packages

A series of one-week ski packages in Switzerland and Austria are being booked by Far West Tours International of Marina del Rey. You can do either Innsbruck or Kitzbuehel for seven nights for as little as $699. Package includes round-trip air fare on Lufthansa, lodging, buffet breakfast and dinner daily and airport transfers. Gratis bus rides to the ski slopes are part of the deal at Innsbruck. In Switzerland the choice is between Arosa and Flims. Weekly departures from Los Angeles and San Francisco beginning Dec. 12 run through March. (Two passengers traveling together on Lufthansa will be given a free Avis rental car for six days.) See your travel agent or contact Far West Tours International, 4551 Glencoe Ave., Suite 205, Marina del Rey 90292.

Australia/New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand are offering some tempting bargains on camper van/motor home rentals. In Australia you can climb behind the wheel of a two-berth camper van for as little as $379 U.S. per week. Figures out to about $55 a day. A four-berth van will cost you $449 and a van big enough to sleep six vacationers is priced at $529. It’s cheaper in New Zealand where a four-berth van is pegged at $229 U.S. per week. Or there’s a travel home that will accommodate four adults and two youngsters for $379. Toll-free information by dialing Wheels International Rent-A-Car, (800) 663-8888.

San Diego

San Diego has begun a lively campaign to attract winter vacationers. Tours of Balboa Park, Mission Bay, the restored Gaslight area, etc. Thirty hotel plans are listed in a new San Diego vacation package. Dozens of price categories. Included are several of San Diego’s historic hotels, including the venerable U.S. Grant. A number of packages include discounts at attractions in the city. ree brochures by writing to the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau, Department 700, 1200 3rd Ave., Suite 824, San Diego 92101.

Reno

Reno is out to snag visitors with a new toll-free telephone number. Dial (800) FOR-RENO. The voice on the other end (recorded) belongs to entertainer Carol Channing. After she answers, callers punch numbers given by Channing on their Touch Tone telephones for room reservations, show information, activities around town. Calls can be made from any destination in the continental U.S. and Western Canada.

Biking

A number of new destinations for winter-spring bikers are on the books by Backroads Bicycle Touring of San Leandro, Calif. List includes Death Valley, Anza-Borrega Desert State Park, Hawaii, New Mexico and California’s Napa Valley. A two-day Napa tour prices out at $262. (Accommodations at the Mt. View Hotel in Calistoga.) The five-day Death Valley biker special ($498) includes visits to Mesquite Springs, Ubehebe Crater, Scotty’s Castle, Furnace Creek Ranch, Dante’s View and Badwater. In Hawaii ($998) cyclists cruise through Volcano National Park, the Kona Coast and are put up at the Sheraton, the King Kamehameha and the funky little Manago Hotel high above Kona. Details from Backroads Bicycle Touring, P.O. Box 1626-H50, San Leandro, Calif. 94577.

Reader Recommendations

Washington--Leo and Kaye Lake, Anaheim: “Want to share a jewel of a B&B;, the Pickle Ball Cottage, E. 80 Libby Road West, Shelton, Wash. 98584. Delightful English atmosphere, sparkling clean. A view of Puget Sound. Lovely linen and a king-size bed and modern bath. Fawns eating apples from trees in the yard. Enjoyed a walk on the beach, picked blackberries. For the two of us, only $45. Our best stop and best bargain on our trip.”

San Diego--Kathy and Bill Puett, Los Angeles: “Recommend The Cottage, P.O. Box 3292, San Diego, Calif. 92103. A quaint and fun-filled inn set in a peaceful, rustic residential area. Paid $50 a night for two.”

Minnesota--Robert L. March, Glendale: “Wish to commend a bed and breakfast, the Canterbury Inn, 723 2nd St. S.W., Rochester, Minn. 55902. Within three blocks of the Mayo Clinic. Rates: $55 single, $65 double.”

Laguna Niguel--Jerry Watson, Los Angeles: “Give top marks to the new Club Grill & Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 33533 Shoreline Drive, Laguna Niguel. Entrees $20/$25. Reservations necessary.”

Canada--Ilse E. Kornfeld, Los Angeles: “Hide-Away Bed & Breakfast, Gerd Bell, 4651 Pipeline Road, Victoria, B.C. V87 5M6. In a quiet neighborhood between Victoria and Butchart Gardens. For two paid $30 U.S.”

French Polynesia--Alice Buck, Sierra Madre: “Hotel Village Sans Souci, B.P. 22, Avatoru, Rangiroa, French Polynesia. Fourteen thatch-roofed bungalows on a ‘Gilligan’s Island’ type of motu. An hour’s boat ride from the airport, no electricity, no hot water (who needs it in the tropics?). A deposit of $50 necessary to confirm your reservation. Rates approximately $100 a day per couple, meals included.”

Australia--Phyllis Roberts, Reseda: “Recommend Homestay bed and breakfast, 352 Park St., New Town, Tasmania, Australia 7008. B&B; for $25 a day.”

England--Steve and Carolyn Conner, El Cajon: “Lovely B&B;, The Old Rectory Guest House, Patrick Brompton, Bedale, North Yorkshire, England. Price was $14.25 per person. Telephone 0677-50343.”

England--Mrs. Eileen Morgan, Los Angeles: Wyatt Cottage, Rosemary Lane, Bampton, Oxon OX 2NF, England, about 25. Close to Stratford-on-Avon. Contact Jeanette Obromski at (213) 357-9400. Also, Crest Hotels, South Bar Banbury, Oxon OX16 9XB, England (40 per night for four of us), and Westcroft (B&B;), 11 Stepney Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO12 5BN. “This was our finest B&B.; A five-minute drive to the sea. Our family had a huge bedroom with four beds, a most delicious breakfast. All this for 20.”

England--Muriel L. Stephens, Palm Springs: “Recently spent two weeks driving around England. Outstanding was Chilvester Hill House, Calne, Wiltshire SN1 10LP, England. A double with full English breakfast is 18 per person, dinner 10 per person. We heartily recommend it.”

England--Marge Crutchfield, Manhattan Beach: “Serendipity at Ilfracombe House Hotel, a refurbished Victorian with sparkling baths and friendly ambiance (one hour by train from London) at 11-13 Wilson Road, Southend-on-the-Sea, Essex SS1 1HG, England. Rates, 16 per night including breakfast.”

Brazil--Carl De Metter, Garden Grove: “Hotel DeBret, a three-star at Rua Almirante Goncalves 5, Rio. Across from Copacabana Beach. Rates start at about $24 for a single, which includes breakfast. As with anything else in Brazil, try to pay with some form of cash (this hotel even accepted my personal check!). The same room would cost about $33 if using a credit card because you are billed at the official rate of exchange in the United States.”

Reader Recommendations should be brief (typewritten or printed). Cannot be used without prices and addresses. Please, no brochures.