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This article is part of a guide to Zürich from FT Globetrotter
With its grand exterior, fluttering flags and striped balcony awnings, this elegant century-old lakeside hotel looks unchanged, albeit in very good nick for its years. In 2022, however, it was reborn as the rather wordy La Réserve Eden au Lac Zürich, after a giant revamp by none other than Philippe Starck.
I admit to having felt a tad sceptical about how Starck’s sleek modernism would translate within the framework of such a beloved period property. But it does: the designer’s reimagining of the interiors as a luxurious yacht club lend this 40-room hotel an intimate yet upscale glamour, making you feel you’ve been invited somewhere rather exclusive. And, indeed, with the proximity of Lake Zürich, you could almost imagine you are on the water itself.
The hotel’s location is one of its many draws — just a short walk along the esplanade or a zippy tram ride — to the Opera House and on to the centre of town. But, as far as I am concerned, the real reason to stay there is that just across the road is Seebad Utoquai, one of Zürich’s loveliest Badis (open-air public baths), built in 1890 in an Art Nouveau-esque Moorish style.
Itching to experience Zurich’s famed Badi culture, before checking in I enquired at reception how one might go about it. I was handed a tote bag complete with flip-flops, towel and a special fob giving access to Utoquai at any time of day. Without further ado, my husband and I fished out our swimwear and goggles from our luggage and within seconds found ourselves padding along Utoquai’s spotless warm decking to the steps leading into the lake below. The water was clear, clean and cold — just the tonic after a delayed flight.
As we dried off in the sun, we took in our fellow bathers — a mix of ages and genders, some working from laptops while tanning their legs, others sipping glasses of rosé with friends, all seeming remarkably relaxed for a Tuesday afternoon. It was an almost comically civilised scene.
Rooms
In our compact bedroom (similar in size, I imagined, to top-notch quarters on a large yacht), we sat plumped up on the bed with the balcony doors open, watching swans bob about on the water in the glittering late- afternoon sunshine, and a bit further out, speedboats tearing their way out into the expanses of the lake. Down on the street below, polished chauffeured cars purred past, ferrying Zürich’s lawyers, insurance brokers and financiers to their villas out of town. After a second glass of the hotel’s excellent house champagne (the hotel proprietor Michel Reybier’s own vintage), I began to fantasise that I might move to Zürich (this was knocked on the head the next day when I discovered the cost of a flat white in a hip café — a mere SFr8, or £7.20).
The decor was a pleasingly tactile mix of wood, leather and silver, with a mirrored wall behind the bed reflecting the lake to add to the slick nautical feel. The bathroom was on the small side, dominated by an immense granite statement sink, and a power shower that nearly blasted me out of the cubicle.
Restaurants and bars
The ground floor of the hotel is more mountain lodge than yacht, and the large open-plan Eden Kitchen & Bar is part-Alpine, part-American national park in feel, with exposed brickwork, leather and suede upholstery and cosy plaid soft furnishings. Think Moncler meets Ralph Lauren. The restaurant, however, is modern Italian, presided over by chef Marco Ortolani. In keeping with this international feel, our young waiter revealed he was fluent in four languages when he brought us our “American menu” breakfast of poached eggs, fruit platter and pancakes. Around us, business meetings were in full swing with groups of (mainly) men in crisp white shirts and V-necks talking quietly over pots of coffee.
That evening, we headed to the hotel’s sexy sixth-floor rooftop bar and restaurant, La Muña, an upscale Japanese-Peruvian joint that attracts the city’s glitziest crowd for its 360-degree views and imaginative takes on sashimi and ceviche. It was a balmy evening, so we sat on the terrace, watching the light fade over the lake, while sipping glasses of Swiss Viognier and making our way through delicately arranged plates of sea bass ceviche with black truffle and lime, and crab rolls with cucumber, jalapeño and spring onions.
The restaurant’s inside section is cross between a Peruvian cabin and the hull of an explorer’s ship, with hanging canoes, lanterns and other nautical mementos. It is a cosy space to hunker down in with a cocktail in Zurich’s many winter months.
At a glance:
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Good for: Lakeside location; excellent service and a very knowledgeable concierge
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Not so good for: Size of bedrooms, given the price. Also, there is only a small fitness room, although access to a nearby gym is available
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FYI: Don’t miss the hotel’s rentable electric car — not yet operational when we visited, but perfect for whizzing about town.
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Rooms and suites: 37 rooms, three suites
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Rates: Double from SFr690 ($780/£620), including breakfast
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Website; Directions
Rebecca Rose was a guest of La Réserve Eden au Lac Zürich
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