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Best Hotel Bets
The Best Luxury Hotels
Baur au Lac (Zurich; tel. 044/220-50-20; www.bauraulac.ch): Prestigious and historic, it's one of the country's grandest hotels, welcoming prosperous guests since 1844. Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and John Lennon are some of the artists who have experienced its charms. Today the international business community considers it a favorite.
Widder Hotel (Zurich; tel. 044/224-25-26; www.widderhotel.ch): In the heart of the city's Old Town, 10 historic buildings dating from the 15th century have been transformed into an intimate luxury inn. Massive wooden beams and 16th-century frescoes still exist from the days when these buildings were part of the butchers' guild, but now they're juxtaposed with glass elevators and stainless-steel furniture. It's an offbeat, fun choice in a staid city, made especially inviting because of the live jazz in the bar.
Hotel Drei Könige (Basel; tel. 061/260-50-50; www.drei-koenige-basel.ch): Claiming to be the oldest hotel in Europe, the Hotel Drei Könige has operated continuously as an inn since 1026. It was the site of a meeting between two Holy Roman emperors and a Burgundian king that eventually established the southwestern borders of present-day Switzerland. Voltaire, Queen Victoria, and Kaiser Wilhelm II were only a few of this hotel's famous guests. Today there's live jazz in the bar and a cosmopolitanism that permeates every part of this very comfortable hotel.
Allegro Bern (Bern; tel. 031/339-55-00; www.allegro-hotel.ch): This is the hippest, most savvy, and most sophisticated hotel in the Swiss capital. Set just across the river from the town's historic core, the hotel offers great service, grand comfort, and a lot of style and charm.
Palace Hotel Gstaad (Gstaad; tel. 033/748-50-50; www.palace.ch): Every winter this becomes one of the most sought-after hotels in the world, attracting the chic and fabulous who create what's been called the most amusing and expensive annual house party in Europe. Built in 1912, the hotel sits on a promontory above Gstaad (not exactly a village unfamiliar with luxury). Everything is very, very luxurious.
Beau-Rivage Palace (Lausanne; tel. 021/613-33-33; www.brp.ch): This is the most prestigious hotel in Lausanne. Undeniably beautiful, it's a Beaux Arts masterpiece richly associated with the city's cultural and social elite. Service is impeccable. Although it has long catered to wealthy and conservative French-speaking Swiss, it has made great efforts in recent years to attract a younger, more international clientele.
Le Richemond (Geneva; tel. 022/715-70-00; www.lerichemond.com): Built in 1875 in the style of a neoclassical palace, the newly restored Le Richemond drips with Gobelin tapestries, French antiques, and a sophisticated, hardworking staff for whom absolutely nothing is a surprise. It also has the most fascinating bar in town; but if you decide to have a drink here, don't even think of showing up in torn jeans.
Kulm Hotel (St. Moritz; tel. 081/836-80-00; www.kulmhotel-stmoritz.ch): This is the great bastion of luxury of the Engadine, rivaling even Suvretta House and Badrutt's Palace Hotel for supremacy. The greats and near-greats of the world have found refuge from the snows here in this trio of buildings, the oldest of which dates from 1760.
The Most Charming Small Hotels
Hotel Romantik Florhof (Zurich; tel. 044/250-26-26; www.florhof.ch): The most charming of the little boutique hotels of Zurich, this was originally the home of a wealthy 15th-century merchant before its transformation. At the edge of Old Town, the hotel represents superb value.
Hotel Appenzell (Appenzell; tel. 071/788-15-15; www.hotel-appenzell.ch): Set on the main square of the most folkloric town in Switzerland, this hotel is outfitted in a rustic country-Swiss theme with touches of marble and walnut in the bedrooms. Check out the elaborate antique paneling in one of the dining rooms, rescued from a much older building just before it was demolished.
Hotel-Restaurant Adler (Stein-am-Rhein; tel. 052/742-61-61; www.adlersteinamrhein.ch): Although its bedrooms are comfortable and clean, the location, in one of the most colorful cities on the Rhine, is what gets our vote. We love the hotel's frescoed facade, which depicts characters and plots derived from medieval Rhenish legends.
Hotel Krafft (Basel; tel. 061/690-91-30; www.hotelkrafft.ch): It's inexpensive and conveniently located a short walk from the historic core of the city. Its outdoor terrace overlooks the river, the town hall, and the cathedral. The bedrooms have the kind of worn but decent early-20th-century furnishings that remind us of these old-fashioned family-run pensions of postwar Europe.
Hostellerie des Chevaliers (Gruyères; tel. 026/921-19-33; www.gruyeres-hotels.ch): This atmospheric inn stands conveniently aloof from the overrun tourist center but offers the same panoramic views as the châteaux at Gruyères. The decor is the warmest and most old-fashioned in town, rich with antiques, woodwork, and ceramic stoves.
Belle Epoque (Bern; tel. 031/311-43-36; www.belle-epoque.ch): The most sophisticated small-scale hotel in the Swiss capital was created out of two historic town houses from the Middle Ages. The hotel celebrates Jugendstil or a Teutonic Art Nouveau. The place is a jewel.
Hotel Olden (Gstaad; tel. 033/748-49-50; www.hotelolden.ch): Set on the town's main thoroughfare, the Olden is a great deal compared to other Gstaad hotels. It enjoys a solid reputation, especially among the many skiers and mountain guides who patronize the restaurant and cafe on the hotel's ground floor. The rooms are cozy and a bit cramped, but comfortable -- perfect if you're planning to spend your time out and about.
Hotel Antika (Zermatt; tel. 027/967-21-51; www.antika.ch): It's one of the few hotels in Zermatt that won't gobble up most of your travel budget. You wouldn't really guess that it's an affordable option at first glance: Each room has its own covered loggia, and the lobby is carefully paneled with weathered planks. This is a good choice for exploring the most famous resort town of Switzerland's Valais district.
The Hotel (Lucerne; tel. 041/226-86-86; www.the-hotel.ch): This is central Switzerland's most charming boutique hotel. Designed by Jean Nouvel, France's most famous architect, it is exclusive and elegant, luxury personified yet artfully simple at the same time.
Hotel Drei Könige und Post (Andermatt; tel. 041/887-00-01; www.3koenige.ch): Located directly north of the St. Gotthard Pass at 2,109m (6,918 ft.), this hotel was built on the site of an inn that has been showing wayfarers hospitality since 1234. Even Goethe spent a night at this family-run place in 1775. Some of the rooms open onto balconies, and the hotel's regional Swiss cuisine attracts both locals and visitors.
Hotel Drei Könige (Chur; tel. 081/354-90-90; www.dreikoenige.ch): Its foundations were laid in the 1300s, and the same hardworking family has owned and managed the place since 1911. It provides a note of cheer in an industrialized, high-altitude town where the temperatures can sometimes plummet. Of special note is its restaurant, one of the most consistently popular in town.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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