The outdoor pool and spa at the luxurious La Reserve hotel on Lake Geneva, Switzerland. For more great pictures, visit our main site, www.luxurytravelblog.net.
YOU KNOW that line about how a rich man can only wear one shirt at a time, sleep in one bed, and so on? It’s meant to make the rest of us feel less lousy about our relative poverty, because there is a natural limit to how much the super-wealthy can consume at any one time. I never thought there was much to that homespun philosophy until I was sitting down for breakfast at La Reserve on the edge of Lake Geneva. Right across from me was a well-known billionaire, having exactly the same buffet as we are, drinking the same coffee, the same orange juice, and dressed like he’s a mature student rather than one of the world’s wealthiest people. He even had to sign his own bill before drifting off to (presumably) make more millions. I gave him a little nod as he passed. He acknowledged it with a weak grin. It was OK to be recognised at La Reserve. It’s the kind of place a guy like that can chill out during a rainy May Bank Holiday.
Getting to La Reserve is super easy from London, as long as you use the Swiss service from City Airport to Geneva. Thank Heavens for London City Airport on a Bank Holiday weekend - no Heathrow, no desperate lines at security, no long queue to get on the plane. Once you land and get through passport control (with typical Swiss efficiency), it’s only a ten minute taxi ride before you are pulling into the gates of La Reserve. As you can see from the picture above, the building isn’t going to win any architectural awards, but once you get inside, this is one luxurious resort.
It was early evening when we arrived, and the smart young things of Geneva were already gathering in the plush bar which occupies most of the upper floor of the main part of the building. Once our bags had been taken away, we decided to join them on the big red, leather sofas. And it was there we stayed for most of the night, as one cocktail after another slipped down. Looking around, it was clear that almost everyone in the bar was a local of one sort or another. They looked like they had just about everything in life - which is probably true if you are lucky enough to inhabit this gorgeous part of the world. I have no idea where most of the other guests were, but they missed a fun night at the La Reserve bar.
It was early evening when we arrived, and the smart young things of Geneva were already gathering in the plush bar which occupies most of the upper floor of the main part of the building. Once our bags had been taken away, we decided to join them on the big red, leather sofas. And it was there we stayed for most of the night, as one cocktail after another slipped down. Looking around, it was clear that almost everyone in the bar was a local of one sort or another. They looked like they had just about everything in life - which is probably true if you are lucky enough to inhabit this gorgeous part of the world. I have no idea where most of the other guests were, but they missed a fun night at the La Reserve bar.
The Room
You could probably spend the GDP of a small African country on a suite at La Reserve (see, that’s where the billions come in handy). We scraped together enough to stay in this more modest, but very swanky deluxe job (above). There was plenty of room to swan around, and a little outdoor terrace leading onto the internal courtyard. It would have been a perfect place to watch the sun go down, if it hadn’t been raining cats and dogs every night we were there.
The Spa
Given the fact that the weather was so lousy, we were not able to spend much time at the outdoor pool (top). But we did make use of the enormous spa, which has a large swimming pool (above) and lots of space for lounging around (which we did). There is also a gym, although what kind of nut comes here to jump on a treadmill, I can’t imagine. There are also many treatment rooms where you can indulge yourself in everything from a back rub to beauty treatments like the exotic-sounding ‘Cinq Monde’ or ‘Thalgo manicure’. I was intrigued by the ‘weight loss massage’ which apparently involves the use of coffee cream from Brazil. Hmmm. I am just WAY too Presbyterian for that!
Lake Geneva
Don’t worry about being too far out of town if you stay at La Reserve. The hotel is right on Lake Geneva, and you can book a spot on the boat which leaves every hour to the city. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from reception through the gardens to the underpass which leads directly to the hotel’s private jetty. And then it takes little more than half an hour to land right in the middle of Geneva.
Parc Des Eaux Vives
Geneva doesn’t have any restaurants with the Big 3 Michelin stars, but it does have one which thoroughly deserves its 2-star status: Restaurant du Parc Des Eaux Vives. From the hotel, it’s about a twenty-minute drive through the city to the other side of Lake Geneva to get to this 18th-century estate (above), which has now become public property. There are two restaurants in this building: the Brasserie on the ground floor, which serves ‘light Mediterranean cuisine’, and the Art Deco, fine-dining salon upstairs. Naturally, we headed to the latter and enjoyed every minute of Olivier Samson’s cuisine. There is a first class seafood section on the menu, including Brittany coat blue lobster roasted in its shell. And from the ‘Land’ menu, you can savour (as I did) the Rex du Poitou rabbit saddle rolled in violet mustard, fondue of tomato with Swiss chard greens and potato roll. It was an excellent evening, made even more memorable when we were greeted with a warm handshake by the chef on the way out. How often does that happen in London??
Hanging Out In Geneva
It’s a beautiful town, full of fancy shops, magnificent old buildings like the Cathedral, and a gorgeous lakefront which you can enjoy from numerous cafes and bars around the bay. My favourite hour in Geneva was spent at the museum of Patek Philippe, where many of the masterpieces from the Polish emigre watchmaker are housed. I never really appreciated before the incredible combination of artistic genius and technical brilliance that goes into making time pieces like these. The billionaire in the breakfast room probably has several.
The Verdict
It’s very simple: La Reserve is the perfect place to
spend a bank holiday, especially if you live in another European city
with easy links to Geneva. Much to my surprise, the Chinese restaurant
at La Reserve is one of the best I have been to in Europe. I’m hoping
to be back in 2009.
How we got there
We flew from London City Airport to Geneva on Swiss, and stayed at La Reserve for three nights.
Our ratings for La Reserve, Geneva
1-5 stars
*****
Service
****
Dining
*****
Location
*****