The Mont Cervin Palace coated in a layer of snow

The high resort of Zermatt, ringed by 4000m peaks covered with eternal snow, is home to one of the original luxury hotels in the Alps, the Mont-Cervin Palace. It also houses a hotel with one of the best views in the world: the Beausite

Mont Cervin Palace, Zermatt review

The Mont Cervin Palace is the grande dame of hotels in what is arguably the most elegant mountain-resort in the Alps. You are picked up from the station in a horse-drawn carriage and the world looks at you and smiles as you clap your way up the short distance along the High Street, past Zermatt’s unique mix of stores selling serious hiking equipment – this is still a centre of operations for hard-core climbers – and luxury watches.

The Matterhorn as seen from the Mont Cervin Palace in the heart of Zermatt

The Acacia, on walking in, has that inevitable standard of luxury only possible in Swiss hotels – that’s why they have all the hotel schools here. You don’t walk to your room; you are flowed there in a process of effortless and knowledgeable meet and greets.

Our room itself was a magnificent little suite, directly facing the Matterhorn with a south facing terrace. Look to your right and you can see the passeggiata along the traffic-free main street (Zermatt has never allowed cars), which morphs from a procession of serious climbers before dawn, to families in the early morning, the young and chic in the late morning, and absolutely everyone in the evenings when it gets quite lively down the road.

A comfortable suite in the Mont Cervin, many of which offer magnificent views of the surrounding Alps

Cuisine is a central part of the hotel’s offering and the place to dine is the Grill Le Cervin, a traditional, glam-cosy vibed restaurant in the heart of the hotel. Local lamb rack with peas, green asparagus, pommes fondant and mint; Swiss Grand Cru beef fillet; all tasted vibrant, fresh, real.

‘Cuisine is a central part of the hotel’s offering and the place to dine is the Grill Le Cervin’

This is a hotel of many parts. A short walk down a corridor leads to a major surprise, a full-size indoor swimming pool with a secret garden in which you can sunbathe in summer and tramp through the snow before jumping into the outdoor jacuzzi in winter. There is a spa and plenty of places to lie down and relax after a hard day’s hiking or watch shopping; plus amply spaced table tennis and pool tables.

The spa of Mont Cervin Palace is just one of its many luxurious offerings

As the original luxury hotel in the original summer and winter resort in the Alps, recently taken over by the brilliant Michel Reybier and brought back up to its original elegance in class, there is nothing else quite like it. Oh, and we forgot to mention the cigar lounge, one of Europe’s finest… Enjoy your Montecristo there or sneak one onto your balcony – as we did – and look at the nighttime view of the shimmering Matterhorn.

montcervinpalace.com

Beausite, Zermatt Review

The resort of Zermatt, in Switzerland, has many attractions in summer and winter; frequent visitors to this chi-chi little town will agree that the most prominent of these is the Matterhorn, the celebrity mountain that towers over the valley.

The facade of the luxury hotel Beausite, Zermatt

It logically follows that a room with a view of the Matterhorn is going to be high on the list of priorities when visiting, and we can’t think of any room with a better view than the top floor corner suite in the Beausite.

Its position above the eastern shores of the Zermatt river offer the Beausite unique views

A little history: as the town developed from a farming hamlet to the global star it is today, hotels started springing up along the main street leading from the station to the church, on the right bank of the river, near the medieval huts at the village’s heart – this has been an active community for more than 1000 years.

But then just over 100 years ago someone had the idea to build a luxury hotel on a grassy knoll on the other side of the river, when there was very little there, simply because it’s elevated position would give it spectacular views of the mountain.

The outdoor pool and jacuzzi at Beausite are surrounded by breathtaking views of the Alps

Fast forward to now, and you can lie in the outdoor pool/jacuzzi at the Beausite and have uninterrupted views of the iconic rocky edifice, while still being only a couple of minutes’ walk from the resort centre.

The view from the suite was even better, so breathtaking that you would be forgiven for spending a whole day just gazing at the mountain as it changes colour, its rocks and snows reflecting the passage of cloud and times of day.

Beausite, idyllic in the snow

The suite itself is smart contemporary chic, glacier blues and 20th century modern chairs, with plenty of light and light wood.

The hotel, previously a little old-fashioned, has had a thorough and sympathetic recent refurbishment and redesign, and we loved the bar and snooker room on the ground floor, and the vibe on the terrace – also with the same view – which is thoroughly modern luxury.

It lives up to its name, and more.

beausitezermatt.com

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Locke am Platz combines Riviera style with modernism

LUX visits a surprising and refreshing new addition to the Zurich hotel and dining scene

We have always found Zürich one of the more positively surprising cities in Europe to visit. It has a reputation as a serious, bank-ish type of place, but it is also an ancient middle European city with a quite gorgeous old town, situated on a huge lake surrounded by forests and mountains.

The hotel is minutes from the city centre,  with the boutiques of the Bahnhofstrasse and the lake in easy reach

 

Attractive enough, but even more interesting is, if not quite a subculture, then a contemporary art and design culture that counteracts the old-fashioned chic image that the city has.
And so it was very refreshing to check into the Locke, which is situated on a pretty square just outside the town centre, a 10 minute walk to the banks and shops of the Bahnhofstrasse. No formal suited doorman glaring it to you as you come in here in your jeans and T-shirt (if that is how you choose to dress). Instead, a jeans and T-shirt wearing receptionist with a friendly smile against a soundtrack of (when I arrived) The Clash. Refreshing.

The restaurant Choupette, downstairs in the hotel, is shaped and inspired by traditional brasserie cuisine, head chef Jaco Redelinghuys creates modern dishes with a twist. to a cool soundtrack

The check process was both efficiently Swiss and jolly in a contemporary way and soon we were in our top floor suite, all 20th century modern in design with a little kitchenette and a balcony terrace with tables and chairs looking out over the rest of this residential area – perfect for making you feel like a local, rather than someone on a business trip.
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The Locke has made waves with its restaurant/bar Choupette on the ground floor, so we soon descended and were whisked to a into a vibey space which was pleasingly contemporary in its simplicity.
Just as impressive as the well sourced and well executed food was the wine list, which has been imaginatively and intelligently curated away from the good but repetitive classics you can expect in a solid European four star hotel, and over instead to something little more fun.

Time travellers from the 1970s and 80s would feel right at home with the decor

We particularly enjoyed a refreshing and bright alternative to rosé champagne from the deep Rhine Valley in eastern Switzerland which produces some excellent hard to get wines.
Bravo for this curation, and also the curation of music, as the positive creativity found at Reception continued in the restaurant with tunes from the likes of Joy Division, Aztec Camera and others keeping us company during dinner.
Our room was quiet and went well insulated from light, and altogether it’s a place we would return to business trip – and, if we came on a Friday night, for an impromptu party at Choupette.
Find out more: www.lockeliving.com
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Reading time: 2 min