Multi-generation holidays in Toggenburg: one house, three generations

There is a sentence that comes up in most families sooner or later: we really see each other far too rarely. The grandparents live in one place, the children in another, and between school, work and full calendars there is seldom more than a Sunday afternoon. A week together would be the answer. But the next question follows immediately: where do you put three generations without everyone getting a little thin-skinned by the third evening?

Our house at Hauptstrasse 36 in Alt St. Johann answers that almost by itself. The historic SutterSport house holds two complete holiday apartments, one above the other: Louisa’s Loft on the ground floor and Louisa’s Gallery, an apartment with a gallery level. You can book each on its own, or both together as the whole house for up to twelve guests. So you are together when you want to be together, and every family still has its own front door.

Why one big apartment rarely works

Three generations means three daily rhythms. The grandparents are awake at seven and would like a quiet coffee. The parents want to sleep in at least once on holiday. The toddler naps at midday and the teenager is not properly awake until ten. In a single apartment with one bathroom and one living room, those rhythms collide all day long. You are close, which is lovely, but nobody can step back without it being noticed.

The obvious alternative, two places in two buildings, tips the other way. Then the holiday fills up with arrangements, short drives and the daily question of where to meet for dinner. What is missing is the middle ground: close enough for the spontaneous, separate enough for the quiet.

Two apartments, one house: what a day looks like

In the morning each apartment makes its own coffee. One group is already on the terrace, the other is still asleep. The children come over in their pyjamas, and nobody has to get dressed and leave the building for that. At lunchtime one kitchen cooks and the other stays cold and clean.

In the afternoon the group splits up on its own: some go walking, someone stays home with the baby, someone else lies down. In the evening you lay the big table, bring out the raclette set and are all there. And then comes the moment that really decides a multi-generation trip: the children go to bed in one apartment, the wine stays open in the other, and nobody has to whisper. Whoever gets tired first says goodnight and is already home.

Who stays where: Loft, Gallery or both

Louisa’s Loft is on the ground floor, around 85 m², with room for up to 6 guests: two bedrooms plus a sofa bed, one bathroom, and the extra room called Schafberg-Chalet upstairs. It has its own outdoor whirlpool. Because you do not need stairs to get in, the Loft is often the apartment for the grandparents, or for the family with the pram. From CHF 110 per night.

Louisa’s Gallery is the apartment with a gallery level, around 106 m², for up to 6 guests: two bedrooms plus a sofa bed, a bathroom with a tub, and a gallery floor with table tennis and a work desk. The large outdoor whirlpool takes up to 5 people. From CHF 130 per night.

Take both and you have the whole house: up to 12 guests, two whirlpools, two kitchens, two terraces, from CHF 280 per night. All prices are plus final cleaning and visitor’s tax.

What makes daily life with three generations easy

Most of this you only notice when it is missing. Both apartments have a fully equipped kitchen, so snack times and supper times do not have to be negotiated. A travel cot and a high chair are here already, so they do not have to travel in your boot. A washing machine and dryer take the laundry mountain out of a family week. Self check-in with a door code means you do not all have to arrive at the same time: whoever finishes work late simply comes later, and nobody sits up waiting.

For the hours in between there is high-speed WiFi, a smart TV with Netflix, Disney+ and replay, a table football and a children’s play corner. For cosy evenings, the fondue and raclette sets are ready. Each apartment comes with one parking space. And the dog is welcome too: CHF 40 in the Loft, CHF 50 in the Gallery. How that works with us is in our post about holidays with a dog in Toggenburg.

Short distances for three different speeds

Everything around the house is close, and on a multi-generation trip that is worth more than any single attraction. The village shop and the bus stop are a two-minute walk away, the cross-country ski trail starts 10 m from the house, and the ski school is 200 m away. In winter you come back on your skis, and anyone who would rather skip the slopes is back in the warm living room within minutes. More on that in our post on the Chäserrugg ski area in winter.

In summer the Schwendisee and the Gräppelensee are the easy-going targets for every age group, described in the mountain lakes around Schwendisee and Gräppelensee. All around stand the Churfirsten, the Schafberg, the Säntis and the Chäserrugg, and the routes run from a flat stroll to a longer mountain walk, see hiking in Toggenburg. When one generation wants to go high and the other would rather eat well, you meet at the summit restaurant on the Chäserrugg. If it rains, the Klangwelt Toggenburg is the kind of outing grandparents and grandchildren can do side by side.

Getting here, booking, being together

From Zurich you are here in around an hour, which for many families is exactly the range where even a long weekend is worth it. On Airbnb our house sits at 5.0 from 16 reviews and carries Guest Favourite status.

We are Isabel and Sandro, we run Stay with Louisa ourselves, and Lou, our mini Australian shepherd, is the one the name comes from. If you are unsure which apartment suits which generation, just write to us. Sometimes the answer is the whole house, sometimes one of the two is plenty. Either way the same thing holds: you are together the moment you open the door, and you are on your own the moment you close it.