Hotel Schweizerhof
Lucerne, Switzerland
from Travel Intelligence
|
Address: |
Schweizerhofquai, CH-6002 Luzern |
| Telephone:
|
+41 41 410
0410 |
| Fax:
|
+41 41 2971 |
| Rating:
|
5 star |
Review
Jamie Dunford Wood:
This classic lakeside hotel has unfortunately suffered with the modern
development of Lucerne. It retains its glorious lake views, but where the busy
road cuts behind its cousins the National and the Palace Hotels along the lake,
it runs right in front of the Schweizerhof - it is little consolation it is
named after it. There is an inviting looking verandah running around the
outside, peopled by a few desultory tourists taking tea - inviting, that is,
until you join it, and find yourself overlooking the road. Behind, there's a
modern shopping complex and multilevel car park, so the term 'town view' is in
most cases misleading.
Built in 1845 and in the same family since 1861, the Schweizerhof is the
oldest of Lucerne's grand hotels, but a 1999 renovation at great expense has
reinforced what is now its core market - corporate conferences and conventions,
as well as upmarket tour groups from Tauck Tours and Gullivers. This is a shame,
since it has hosted emperors and empresses in its time, writers and musicians -
Tolstoy apparently wrote a story here, while Wagner, who had a house just across
the lake, completed Tristan and Isolde.
The room sizes are generous but
the décor is neutral and sometimes a little insipid. Many of the prints and
watercolours are original, but they are restricted to one or two per room, and
flower prints have begun to creep in. Bathrooms have an institutional feel, with
no separate showers, though superior rooms get two sinks, with only one in
standard. Furnishings are in dark wood, and again superior rooms get armchairs
and small seating areas. The higher in the building you are, the more
magnificent the views, not just across the lake but also towards the town, with
the famous Chapel Bridge with Mt Pilatus behind.
However, despite the uniformity
and lack of character of the rooms, the public areas and ballrooms downstairs
retain their grandeur and are more impressive than anything the National or
Palace can boast in this area, ideal for conferences and weddings; and a few of
the old touches of the old lady have been left behind - the ancient sit-down
elevator, for example, and the uneven line of the floors in the corridors, the
newly hung doors not quite level at the bottom.
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