Fairmont Le Montreux Palace

Fairmont Le Montreux Palace is a luxury hotel located on the shores of Lake Geneva at Avenue Claude Nobs 2, in the city of Montreux in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and managed by Michael Smithuis. Built in 1906, the hotel is a member of the Swiss Deluxe Hotels and Historic Hotels Worldwide. The hotel is part of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. The Fairmont chain has been part of the AccorHotels group since 2016.

History

Tourism took off in the 1850s, and by the end of the 19th century, in 1881, two Swiss pioneers from Montreux Alexandre Emery[1] and Ami Chessex bought the Hotel du Cygne (built in 1837). In 1895 they founded the company Le Montreux Palace & Cygne.

Swiss architect Eugène Jost built the Palace[2] in a record time of 18 months and the hotel opened on March 19, 1906. The new hotel connected to the original Hotel du Cygne comprises a Salon de Musique, a Grand Hall and richly decorated ballrooms.[3] The new Palace offering heating, electricity and private bathrooms with hot and cold running water was considered a modern hotel; Distinguished guests from all over the world including European aristocrats, Russian princes, New York bankers, and maharajahs came to the Palace. Entertainment was offered in the afternoon and evening in the theater, ballrooms and music salon.

A sports hall was built in 1911 to entertain guests during the day: The Pavillon, housed a tea room, a skating rink and a shooting range,[4] tennis tournaments took place on the lawn. [5][6]

World War I: the hotel was used as a hospital to shelter wounded French and British Allied soldiers.[7] After the war, in the 1920s, Montreux regained its former glory with the return of the rich and famous. In 1928, the Montreux Palace took part in the foundation of The Luxury Hotels of Europe and Egypt association.[7]

On 20 July 1936, the important Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits treaty (a peace pact between Greece, Turkey, England, France and Russia), was signed at the Montreux Palace in the Salle des Fêtes.[8][9] Five hundred diplomats invited by the Turkish Republic arrived at the Palace on 23 June 1936. The pact signed on 20 July at 10pm is recalled by a plaque in one of the salons.[10]

During World War II, tourism receded and the hotel was used as a hospital again.

Since then, the palace has been listed as a cultural property of national importance in Switzerland so as to be preserved.

Guests

Since its opening, the hotel has welcomed celebrities; exiled Richard Strauss composed his Four Last Songs at the Palace,[11] Vera Nabokov and her husband Vladimir Nabokov lived in the hotel for the last seventeen years of Vladimir's life and she continued to reside in the hotel after her husband's death.[12][13] Since the first season of the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1966, many renowned musicians have stayed at the Montreux Palace.[14]

The hotel's Belle Époque decor was selected for some film sequences by Peter Ustinov (Lady L - 1964), The BBC and Luc Besson productions (Kiss of the Dragon - 2001).[15]

The hotel continues to be the venue for conferences,[8][16] in May 2019, the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace hosted the Bilderberg Meeting.[17] <!--1897 – Theater star Sarah Bernhardt stays at the Cygne on May 1.

1947 – Richard Strauss spends the winter months in the Montreux Palace and writes "Im Abendrot", the first of his Vier letzten Lieder.

1961 – After writing Lolita, the Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov takes up residence in the Cygne wing where he lives until his death in 1977.[18] The Palace celebrates in 1999 the 100th birth date of Vladimir Nabokov in attendance of his son Dimitri and a Russian delegation from Moscow. A bronze statue of the writer is offered to the Palace by the artist Alexander Rukavishnikov and the Mayor of Moscow, Yu. Luzhkov.

1964 – Sir Peter Ustinov’s movie Lady L, starring Sophia Loren, David Niven and several other stars is filmed in the Montreux Palace.

1966 – First Montreux Jazz Festival. Every year, a host of world-renowned artists stays at the Montreux Palace, such as B.B. King, Miles Davis, Georges Benson, Al Jarreau, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Eric Clapton and many more.

1969 – Mel Stuart is filming its film If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium[19] about a group of Americans traveling through Europe in 18 days.

1978 – Freddie Mercury stays for several days for the recording of his album Jazz

1981 – The film The magic mountain[20], based on a novel of Thomas Mann, is being filmed in the hotel with famous actors such as Curd Jürgens, Charles Aznavour et Marie-France Pisier.

1982 – Freddie Mercury stayed again at the hotel during the recording of the album Hot Space.

1985 – For the recording of the album A Kind of Magic[21]”, Freddie Mercury came back at the end of the year and stayed several weeks.

1990 – In April the Grand Prix Ferrari is being held with 150 cars and a gala dinner at the hotel.

1995 – The BBC is filming an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the night at the Palace. Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raissa stay at the Palace during a meeting of the Green Cross International foundation. Further stays follow with their family.

1997 – Michael Jackson stays for two weeks in the Tower Suite in January while recording a new song at the Mountain Studios in Montreux.

The hotel welcomes the German tennis player Boris Becker.

1999 – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Henry Kissinger, John Major and Lee Kuan Yew are guest speakers for the Top to Top conference of PEPSICO.

2000 – The French production company of Luc Besson uses the Palace for 10 days in November for scenes for his new film Kiss of the Dragon with Jet Li and Bridget Fonda. The American soul singer Lionel Richie stays at the Palace during the Montreux Jazz Festival.

2002 – The Grand Prix Ferrari[22] is again being hold with a gala dinner at the hotel. Jamiroquai and David Bowie stay at the hotel during the Montreux Jazz Festival.

2004 – At the occasion of the "Panda Ball" from WWF, the hotel had the honor to welcome Queen Noor of Jordan with her daughter.

During the Montreux Jazz Festival, the hotel had the visit of Seal, Carlos Santana and Band, Patti La Belle, Dido, B.B. King.

2005 – Stars such as The Corrs, David Sanborn and Roberta Flack are among the famous guests of the hotel. Michael Gorbachev revisits the hotel as a guest.

2006 – During the Montreux Jazz Festival, the hotel had the pleasure to welcome artists like Salomon Burke, B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Shania Twain and many more.

2007 – The hotel had the honor to welcome Prince Albert of Monaco at the occasion of the "Panda Ball" from WWF. Musicians such as The Corrs, David Sanborn, Seal, Van Morrisson, Prince, Norah Jones stayed at the hotel during the Montreux Jazz Festival.

2008 – International stars such as Quincy Jones, Nana Mouskouri, Petula Clark, Alicia Keys, Mick Hucknall and many more stayed at the hotel during the Montreux Jazz Festival.

2009 – During the Montreux Jazz Festival, the hotel had the pleasure to welcome many stars such as Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Lily Allen, Grace Jones, Prince and many more.

2010 – Bryan Ferry, Norah Jones, Gary Moore, Angélique Kidjo and many more famous artists are staying at the hotel during the Montreux Jazz Festival.

The XIII Summit of the Francophonie was held in Montreux in October 2010. More than 30 head of States, including Nicolas Sarkozy stayed at the hotel during this important summit. The official gala diner of the summit took place at the Salle des Congrès of the hotel.

2011 – During the Montreux Jazz Festival, artists such as Liza Minnelli, B.B. King, Tommy LiPuma, George Benson, Ricky Martin, Nathalie Cole, Sting, Paul Simon and many more stayed at the hotel.

The hotel participated ib the Swiss Hotel Film Award. The awards took place on the 25th in August in Zurich with over 500 guests. The hotel won the Public prize for the film "Stille Post" by the cineaste Alejandro Gasser.

2012 – During the Tennis Davis Cup in Fribourg in February 2012, Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer stayed at the hotel.

Katie Melua, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Bobby McFerrin, Nile Rodgers, Herbert Grönemeyer, Lana del Rey, Anastacia are just a few artists who were guests at the hotel during the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 2012.

2013 – During the Montreux Jazz Festival the hotel hosted several stars, such as Leonard Cohen, Prince, Sting, Joe Cocker, Dandy Crawford.

2014 – In January 2014 the Syrian Peace Talk Conference[23] was held at the hotel with more than 35 foreign delegations and their minister, such as John Kerry[24] (USA) and Sergei Lawrow (Russia) with UNO General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and Federal President Didier Burkhalter as host.

Chris Rea, Pharrell Williams, Robert Plant, Amy MacDonald and many more, stayed at the hotel during Montreux Jazz Festival.

2015 – In March 2015 the American delegation including John Kerry stayed at the hotel for the Iran Nuclear Discussions.

During the Montreux Jazz Festival, the hotel hosted again some well known musicians, such as Lionel Richie, Santana, Herbie Hancock, Melody Gardot, George Benson.

2016 – John McLaughlin, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Quincy Jones, Neil Young, Deep Purple and many more artists stayed at the hotel during the 50th Montreux Jazz Festival.

2017 – In July 2017, Quincy Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, Tom Jones, Grace Jones, Bryan Ferry, Brian Wilson, George Benson are a few of the artists who stayed at the hotel during the Montreux Jazz Festival.-->

The hotel

Modernized and redecorated over the years, the hotel, with views over the lake and the Alps, offers:

The hotel offers 6 venues – plus 24-hour in-room dining:

• 236 rooms and suites (some named after preferred guests like the Quincy Jones suite),
• 15 meeting rooms and ballrooms,
• 2000 m2 Spa with indoor pool, outdoor pool, treatment rooms, hammam, sauna, Jacuzzi, beauty salon, fitness,
• Shops, laundry service, valet, hairdresser.

• La Palmeraie where breakfast is served every day as well as the Sunday brunch,
• The Montreux Jazz Café inspired by the atmosphere of the Montreux Jazz Festival,
• The Lounge Bar where snacks, hot drinks and refreshments are served,
• The MP'S Bar & Grill offering pieces of meat, fish and seafood,
• La Terrace offering a view of Lake Geneva with Italian and Mediterranean specialties, open in summer only,
• The Funky Claude's Bar offers cocktails accompanied by a simple restoration and live concerts,
• The Pureaty Café is part of the Fairmont Spa and serves healthy food all year round.

External links

• Fairmont Le Montreux Palace official website
• List of cultural property of national significance in Switzerland: Vaud
• Fairmont Hotels and Resorts