Fairmont Le Montreux Palace

Our stay at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace was simply magnificent from start to finish. The accommodation was superbly appointed, the welcome was warm, and the staff were friendly and attentive throughout — the kind of service that makes a stay memorable rather than just comfortable. Dinner deserves a special mention: it was genuinely one of the best meals we've had in some time, beautifully executed from start to finish. What stood out most, though, was the sense that this is a great hotel under the very best leadership — everything felt considered, consistent, and run with real care. It's a property that has to be on the must-visit list for anyone coming to Switzerland.

A storied hotel in a prime location with a wonderful pool and spa, Great Lake views yet lacking in other ways. As we now spend a lot of time traveling as I was planning the finale of our two weeks in Switzerland I was seduced by the sirens song of the Palace-beautiful belle époque exterior right on the lake. Plus at over $1,000 a night, I had high expectations. Unfortunately these expectations proved impossible to meet: PLUS: we booked a superior lake view king, but were "upgraded" to a two-rooom suite in the oldest part of the hotel on a very low floor. MINUS: Arrived at the hotel-had to wait 90 minutes past "guaranteed" 4 pm check-in time for our room, although the desk staff parked us in the bar and bought us a drink while we waited. PLUS: across the street or via underground walkway you can reach a new, beautiful spa. We spent a nice afternoon there PLUS: our rate included the lavish breakfast buffet with eggs cooked to "order" MINUS: service is very hit/miss at the hotel. At breakfast instead of eggs Benedict we got a hard poached egg on a dense muffin had after a long wait. Another day in an empty restaurant it took 20 minutes to get a single egg scrambled with tomato. PLUS: the rooms have AC that does a great job Minus: my request on the first morning to fix a noisy AC FAN never happened -lucky it was the sitting room and not the main bedroom. PLUS: we had a two room suite to spread out Minus: the small cramped bathrooms (yes we had 2) had showers the size of phone booths. Bottom line: in my opinion this hotel isn't geared for people like us-luxury travelers looking for a memorable experience. Instead this is a mass-market hotel solely focused on groups and incentive travel. A large Mary Kay convention was in house during the first half of our stay followed by an Edward Jones group. There was also a wedding. Staff is kept busy managing their banquets and events and the individual traveler can get lost in the shuffle. Even the concierge desk is only intermittently staffed. I don't think I could recommend this hotel to a friend-certainly not at $1000 a night (maybe at $500).

Wow! This hotel was breathtaking! We stayed 3 nights at the end of August. Check in was quick and we were shown to our room with an informative tour! We had two rooms with our group and they rearranged to help us be closer together. The rooms were spectacular and we had beautiful welcome amenities. The breakfast is outrageously delicious and beautiful- highly recommend including this in your stay. We ate at Petit Palais and enjoyed it- especially the stunning lake view and sunset. Location was superb! Hope to be back one day!!

When I book a Fairmont hotel I do so for the history and therefore I am happy to overlook any 'little quirks'. Le Palais Montreux didn't disappoint. From the signing of peace agreements to inaugural meetings of international symposuims , with every step you felt like you were following in the footsteps of the great and the good. That's before you mention the multitudinous musical connections. I know it has now become a trend to single out a particular member of staff for praise during a review but I refuse to comply. Everyone I met from reception to the bar staff to room service was charming, professional, and courteous despite having to deal with my own 'little quirks'. However, I would like to make special mention of the housekeeping team whose diligence and attention to detail was, frankly, the best I've experienced anywhere. How they managed to always fully service the room during the short time I wasn't present is beyond me. For me the only downside was the lack of a gold floor which meant the choice of breakfast was either in the restaurant or room service. As I dislike crowds, room service was the only viable option which became a little monotonous after a while. Despite that, I would be happy to return albeit for a shorter stay.

We stayed in a lovely room overlooking the lake. Stunning view. It was a national holiday when we were there so had a fabulous view of the fireworks display. Breakfast was excellent with a wide selection of food and great fresh fruit selection. We found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. The swimming pool areas were really nice inside and out. Would not hesitate to recommend a stay at this hotel.