Bürgenstock Collection

Nature, literally served up on a silver platter. The lifestyle of a capital city - relaxed, exuberant, cheerful. The scent of the south with a pinch of cosmopolitanism: three luxury hotels in three signature locations in Switzerland present themselves as a collection - but what do they have in common?
Firstly, there is the spectacular Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne high above Lake Lucerne. Secondly, the Schweizerhof Bern & Spa, a powerful central organ of the capital. And, thirdly, the Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa Lausanne on the Lake Geneva Riviera - a charming ambassador for the Collection in the West. Three luxury hotels. So many facets. At the Bürgenstock, a heaven without limits becomes an experience. In Bern, history becomes a living room. In Lausanne, the lightness of being becomes a companion.

While hotels in the luxury class today like to make a louder noise, all the hotels in the Bürgenstock Collection cultivate the opposite: the art of restraint. But not when it comes to the well-being of the guest: such a high level of discreet, highly personalized service is unthinkable in many other 5-star hotels. This is due to a quality of hospitality that has preserved and reinterpreted the essence of luxury over generations - each time in a very different way.

Above the clouds

THE BÜRGENSTOCK RESORT LAKE LUCERNE

From the shores of Lake Lucerne, a cogwheel train travels steeply upwards, straight along the rock faces. No luxury hotel in the traditional sense awaits its guests at the top - rather a cosmos of the good life:
Several different accommodation establishments for first-class to the most luxurious requirements, some of the best restaurants in Switzerland, boutiques, a 10,000 m2 spa, hiking trails, mountain lifts and terraces that seem to be built into infinity like viewing balconies.

From the beginning of its history in 1873, the Bürgenstock was conceived as a grand hotel. With the help of careful renovations, the hotel has retained its classic elegance throughout, without sacrificing modern touches. Tasteful furnishings with innovative design and breathtaking scenery all around: this is what guests can expect in the first-class comfort of a total of 348 rooms and private residence suites. The multi-award-winning wellness area, whose two-storey dimensions with infinity pool and dream view stand up to any comparison, is legendary. Leisure activities such as yoga, golf and a hiking paradise that offers everything from leisurely strolls to sporty mountain tours, even for stays lasting several days - including a picturesque "rock path" to the highest outdoor elevator in Europe, the Hammetschwand lift.

A highlight of the resort is the Alpine Spa and the Waldhotel Spa: two exclusive mountain oases, each with its own individual motto, which whisk guests away into a world of relaxation. The Alpine Spa offers five pools, four saunas and relaxation rooms on 10,000 m2. Hydrothermal Journeys - a Swiss interpretation of self-guided "wellness hikes" through all areas - make cooler days fly by, while the neighboring Waldhotel Spa focuses entirely on harmony with nature.

Gastronomically, the Bürgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne sets the bar high: under the direction of renowned chefs - the 2-star chef Christian Scharrer, who previously earned the highest honors at the Weissenhaus, has just been recruited for the "Gourmetteam Wehrle" - international specialties as well as tried and tested classics are freshly prepared in the ten restaurants. Fans of upscale Italian cucina will have their wishes fulfilled just as much as those of French, Persian, Asian or classic Swiss cuisine. The ambience of the resort's restaurants and bars is just as impeccable as the food and drink - no airy-fairy, but solid workmanship in the Swiss style. On beautiful evenings, when the light refracts off the glass and stone of the architects - highlighted: Rüssli from Lucerne and Matteo Thun - nobody is left unmoved: Audrey Hepburn was already enchanted by the Bürgenstock, and Sophia Loren moved right up the mountain.

The quiet elegance of power and influence

HOTEL SCHWEIZERHOF BERN & SPA

Welcome to another universe. Even the most first-class hotel in the Swiss capital is luxurious: The quiet sound makes the accompanying music - discreet, cultivated, unagitated. The Hotel Schweizerhof Bern & Spa is located directly opposite the train station, within easy reach of perhaps the best rail network in Europe. Practical. The hotel itself is an institution. It has been welcoming guests from all over the world - diplomats, artists, heads of state - since 1859. Winston Churchill stayed here and Grace Kelly is said to have stopped by for tea. Today, members of the Swiss government sit discreetly over coffee, business people arrange confidential meetings and for tourists, the Schweizerhof is "the place to be". Guided walks through the medieval town center, an impressive range of leisure activities, charming traditional stores under the arcades of the town center and a lively restaurant scene are all within easy reach.

The heart of the hotel is Jack's Brasserie, whose signature dish - the Wiener Schnitzel, served with potato and cucumber salad and cranberries - is legendary. Gault Millau has named founder Jack Gauer's favorite dish the best Wiener Schnitzel in Switzerland three times, making even the Austrians jealous. The menu offers a dignified foray into upscale brasserie cuisine, served in the smart-casual milieu of a cheerful environment. On the other hand, the bar in the foyer - with its wonderfully discreet nooks and crannies for all kinds of private conversations - cultivates the fine art of cocktail ceremonies. For all its sense of tradition, the Schweizerhof is anything but a museum. In the rooms, French opulence meets Swiss understatement: velvet, glass, bronze, bathrooms with cultivated luxury. Those who want to take it easy in the afternoon can retreat to the small, refined spa area. "Nature that works" is the team's motto and the spa menu includes healing products from Pharmos Natur - Sacred Plants, an extremely credible, still relatively unknown pioneer of sustainable natural cosmetics and health products.
In the evenings, the path leads outside to the Sky Terrace in the warmer seasons. There, Bern is bathed in soft evening light, with the rooftops of the old town at your feet and the Mönch, Jungfrau and Eiger with their ice caps in the distance. Life up here: very easy. Who would have guessed that at the peak of power?

Champagne atmosphere and Belle Époque

ROYAL SAVOY HOTEL & SPA LAUSANNE

Clear the stage for a change of scene, straight into the sensuality of the south. Because on the shores of Lake Geneva lies the third hospitable universe of the Collection - and perhaps the most charming.
Where Switzerland speaks French, the Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa Lausanne nestles on the hills overlooking Lake Geneva. A hotel that looks as if it has never changed since the Belle Époque - and yet in which the wind of modernity blows from the elegant, almost intimate entrance behind the impressive Art Nouveau façade to the finely furnished rooms: a grand hotel with a boutique character, romantic ambience included. An extensive park smells of magnolias, inside gold shimmers on wood, chandeliers cast soft shadows on marble tiles and the staircases are reminiscent of films in which people whisper instead of speak.
The clientele here is cosmopolitan, informal and casual: Lausanne families on a Sunday outing, guests from all over the world with a penchant for nostalgia, well-heeled couples with a sense for an extraordinary work of art. The Royal Savoy is a hotel for people who don't need to study L'Art de Vivre.
The Spa du Royal smells of lavender and citrus. Royal treatments with inspiring experiences. Korean Ritual, Future Mom, Mini-Me & Me, Detox Swiss Salts or a Custom Body Ritual recharge your batteries. Then take a dip in the pool or a private yoga class in the garden, a city tour through the self-confident Lausanne with its relaxed shopping offers at the highest level or a (bike) tour along the lake to the nearby vineyards, whose delicacies can be enjoyed in the restaurants in the evening.

Less Alps, more Riviera in Lausanne

The rooftop terrace, known here as Le Sky Lounge, celebrates the beauty of the moment all year round with cocktails, lounge music and elegant guests. A glass of Chasselas from the Lavaux region, a summer breeze in the palm trees, the coziness of a chalet in winter and a Christmassy atmosphere: all this with spectacular 360° views and excellent authentic, highly seasonal cuisine under principal Paolo Principe - nomen est omen.
The sensual side of the Bürgenstock Collection - less Alps, more Riviera - continues in the Brasserie du Royal, the gastronomic heart of the hotel. Chef Nicolas Diegues serves up the great art of classic dishes and adorns them all with his personal creativity. Tradition and innovation, familiar and unexpected at the same time, the dishes are presented in style in an elegant and charming ambience, and the wine list is world-class.

In the morning, when the nearby lake glistens, Lausanne is almost Côte d'Azur. Relaxed and always in a good mood, the hotel team exudes southern savoir vivre. Ultimately, it is always the hotel staff who make luxury approachable and outstanding at the same time. And so the future can be visited in all three hotels in the Collection:
How the elegance of the past can be preserved with the help of first-class staff and how it can be combined with a cosmopolitan outlook without the need for sugar-coated nostalgia.


www.burgenstockcollection.com