I’d never really considered
Geneva for a leisure break before – especially one that didn’t include skis -
but after spending two nights at the gorgeous La Reserve Geneve I’d recommend
it to anyone for a super-stylish city break in a heartbeat.
Tucked
away in beautifully landscaped grounds just minutes from the city, the hotel
boasts one of the fastest and easiest transfers I have ever experienced. And,
of course, being Switzerland, it naturally ran like clockwork ensuring we
arrived in perfect time for lunch.
Like
its sister hotels in Paris and Ramatuelle, near St Tropez, the Geneva property
has its own distinctive scent which greets you the moment you step into the
reception, thanks to the lovely lit candles dotted decoratively around. The
dark wood and cosy crimson interiors are brilliantly balanced by huge glass
windows throughout the hotel, inviting the crisp, autumn sunshine and bright blue
skies in. The juxtaposition creates at once a very open, yet intimate, atmosphere
and I immediately felt at home.
With
its giant display case of exotic butterflies in the lobby area, and magnificent
wildlife portraits adorning walls throughout the property, the hotel is
reminiscent of a grand African game lodge. I don’t think I would have batted an
eyelid if a herd of elephants had lumbered their way slowly past the window!
Touches of African influence can also be seen in the large, super-comfortable
bedrooms that boast just about every modern convenience you can imagine and
French doors out on to your own terrace.
The
bed was a dream and the super-size flat screen TV made the thought of a night
in with a Michelin-starred takeaway and a glass of the house ‘Reybier’
Champagne more than tempting. But who wants a takeaway when you can dine at
Switzerland’s first-ever Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant without even
having to venture outside the hotel? Yes, the already lauded Tse Fung on the
lower ground floor of La Reserve, led by celebrated chef Frank Xu, has recently
been awarded a very well deserved Michelin star. Moving continents from Africa
to Asia, the restaurant’s decadent surroundings, inspired by a 1930’s Shanghai
grand palace hotel, provided the perfect setting for an unforgettable gourmet
feast that delivered melt-in-the mouth Cantonese classics like dim sum, with a
new and exciting twist. It does come with a warning, however…it will ruin your
appetite for the usual Friday night take away forever!
Tse
Fung is one of five dining options at the hotel and they are all worth a visit.
The Loti, in particular, is another really exciting restaurant with a very
distinctive menu and a relaxed atmosphere. Award-winning French chef Virginie
Basselot is doing it for the girls with stunning combinations of the best
locally sourced produce delivering powerful and subtle flavours in equal
measure, but always in perfect harmony.
Before
dinner, we enjoyed impressive early evening cocktails in the sexy bar that undergoes
a complete transformation from its lakeside lounge daytime persona. As well as
the hotel guests, the bar attracts a young, sophisticated, local crowd who make
the most of the plush, laid back surroundings – and the lengthy cocktail menu! After
all that great food and wine – including an afternoon’s chocolate tasting with Swiss
chocolatier extraordinaire Philippe Pascoet at his nearby village shop – a
visit to the hotel’s award-winning spa was definitely on the cards for the
following day.
The
Nescens Spa at La Reserve Geneve is a destination in its own right. Elegant,
contemporary interiors and soft, gold-hued lighting immediately plunge you into
a world of essential oil aromas and pure tranquillity. Just thinking about it
now slows my breath and helps my shoulders relax back to where they should be.
No mean feat as I crouch over my mac on a wet winter afternoon in
Hertfordshire!
A
formidable menu of treatments that cover all areas of wellbeing and anti-ageing
are offered using a combination of Nescens, La Prairie, specialised
cosmecutical brands and a crack team of seriously qualified medical
practitioners to administer them all. There’s a whole brochure of treatments
dedicated purely to creating lovely legs – smooth, shapely and cellulite free –
and don’t even get me started on the fabulous, age-defying facials. Really,
just fabulous. There is also a gym, pool, steam room, sauna and a choice of studio
classes throughout the day. I did a really good body balance class before
breakfast with a very patient American teacher who managed to make it as fun as
it was challenging.
The
spa is also home to another of the hotel’s dining venues, the Café Lauren.
Serene, clean and deliciously guilt-free (well almost, we did enjoy a glass of
crisp white wine with our healthy lunch), the café boasts a lighter menu that
certainly doesn’t skimp on taste or variety. Again, the spa and its restaurant
attracts a laid back Genevan crowd who use the facilities as a local country
health club and only add to the chic, yet welcoming vibe that greets every
hotel guest.
There
is so much more to tell you about La Reserve Geneve – the magical winter lodge
and skating rink in winter; the lakeside outdoor dining and great family
activities in the summer; the extremely stylish water taxi that provides a free
shuttle across the lake to the city centre; the BEST service you will probably
ever experience. I could go on, but I really think it’s time you went and
checked it out for yourself.
