Best for:

Gourmet, Luxury, Spa and Extraordinary experiences

Points:

9.5 out of 10

The perfect song:

Your Skin - Möwe

What we love:

The views... there is nothing more spectacular
Amazing design throughout the hotel, extremely expensive furniture and out-of-this world beds
complimentary minibar with 10 soft drinks, Nespresso machine, two bottles of wine, snacks and digestif
The sexiest spa within Central Europe, with a super photogenic heated outdoor pool
Its all about the toiletries: an exclusive line by Molton Brown plus La Prairie travel size in the spa

Switzerland has got some pretty amazing luxury hotels and in general it is famous for its perfect luxury hospitality. While one could think it doesn't matter in which of the 41 Swiss Deluxe Hotels to stay, in fact it matters a lot. If you can, go for them all! If not, Park Hotel Vitznau is an excellent choice, since it is the perfect combination of history, design, spa, food and service. When we consider hotel rates in Switzerland in the five-star segment all over the year, Park Hotel Vitznau is forming the peak (not considering the top hotels in St Moritz and Gstaad which are only opened in winter). Daily rates rarely go below 700 euros a night. So what makes this place so special? Is it really worth the price?

The arrival itself is magnificent: You start driving through the lovely Küssnacht, where you get a first glimpse of Lake Lucerne, before you move forward to Weggis. After that the most scenic part begins, where you will be driving through gold, orange and red woods until you have the deep blue lake to your right. Now you get a first glimpse of the Park Hotel but as soon as you register it, it is gone again. The town sign arrives and a big, picturesque building arrives to your right: Yes, this palace has been my home for the weekend. I entered the gate and arrived at a glass cube where the kind porter was already waiting for me. He opened the door, took care of my car and invited me to enter the heavy glass doors and have a seat in the lobby.

Just in time, after I took some pictures of the - OH MY GOSH - view, Mr Langenegger (the General Manager) arrived and welcomed me personally, he has been accompanied by the kind front desk attendant who was welcoming me in the most professional way, showed me around the hotel and of course did the check-in en-suite! No paperwork is done in a rush, nor is there a "usual" reception - better call it two super stylish glass tables next to the entrance with very well trained staff members. I cannot remember if I ever had such a long introduction tour, however there is really so much to explain at the Park Hotel Vitznau. Yes, there is a finger-print panel to open the wine cellar, and yes you don't need to get your room key out of your pockets as doors unlock automatically when they register the room key in a radius of 5 metres (This is so super-cool).

As soon as I entered my room - I was staying at the "Winner's Suite", which is one of their Signature Residences spread over 95 square metres and of pure luxury - I was breathless. Although I have stayed at the most amazing suites in Milan, Andermatt and Istanbul, I began to fall in love with this one. I would say the complete suite had lake views and I loved every single square metre. Let's begin in the living room, equipped with a Bose Surround-System (I loved it), an enormous and complimentary (!) minibar with plenty of soft drinks, white wine, red wine plus a digestif - one bottle of each plus four different kinds of snacks. The guest bathroom was a nice add-on but unused. Normally I would continue with the bedroom but I have to add the lovely welcome amenities which consisted of a fruit bowl, biscuit and a handwritten letter as well as a glass of champagne freshly brought to the room once settled which came along with small olive muffins. I really felt like the King of Lake Lucerne.

The bedroom was nearly as stunning, with another balcony and a high tech terrace door as well as a super comfy bed - probably one of the ten best I have slept in. My general highlight of the room was the bathroom: Not just because of the special Molton Brown toiletries, also because of this AMAZING free standing tub, which I would have wished to use twice but time was too short, as well as a out-of-this world shower with touch-screen handles. Pressure of the shower was amazing, the tub filled within 2 minutes and there were really plenty of toiletries (2 times a set of 80ml and one with 40m). The separated toilet was nearly as big as a bathroom in a Parisian hotel and the complete room could have been controlled either by the panels on the wall or via the private in-room iPad! Welcome at the Park Hotel Vitznau - a hotel suite that has everything. Well, the only thing that was missing in such a high tech hotel would have been the ToTo electronic toilet.

After 1,5 hours of inspecting and playing inside the suite (Normally I am done within 30-60 minutes), I was ready to discover the spa which again was much better than expected. I did not know that this is a La Prairie Spa and it therefore was so amazing to see that they have these very exclusive travel size shower gel and shampoo in the general showers. Another reason to love this hotel. Well back to the basic, the spa was spread over three floors: the third floor is dedicated to the treatment rooms while floor number two was supposed to be the pool area with the magnificent infinity pool (heated to 31 degrees celsius), the outdoor jacuzzi (with 32 degrees celsius) and finally my favourite part: the indoor jacuzzi in amazing marble stone with 33 degrees celsius. The first floor has been dedicated to the two saunas, steam room, cool pool, bar and relaxation area overlooking the lake. Although the style is very chic, some might find the atmosphere a little bit cold. If you are looking for a cozy place to soak a tea, I would have a seat in front of the stunning aquarium.

I had the pleasure to dine at their more casual restaurant Prima, next to the pool serving mediterranean cuisine - which I will feature in a separated article. So after a relaxing and good-night-sleep I headed towards the restaurant Focus (their two michelin starred restaurant) where the breakfast was set up. In general I was very satisfied with the quality of the products and the service, as well as the presentation of the food. The major part of the breakfast is served at your table, the rest a la carte and a small selection of bread, sweets, fruits and yoghurts can be found at the buffet. I really loved the scrambled eggs along with the magnificent Salmon with cucumber and dill sauce. Simply amazing! Unfortunately there was no possibility to get a late-check out (not even until 1pm) so I had to leave the amazing suite, however used the spa until 4pm and changed there. At check-out everything has been packed and the car was ready. I was sure that they would provide a bottle of water, which they did not. However I had the feeling that my front screen of the car has been cleaned but I am not a hundred percent sure. Last time in Milan, they wrote a nice letter advising they did.

In general it was a flawless stay at an amazing and perfect hotel. The hardware was a full 10 out of 10 and despite the high price, which in fact is absolutely alright as they offer so many extras and amenities, I would definitely return to this picture-perfect property! Should you be hesitating just because of the price, I can assure you that you won't get a suite at any other Swiss luxury hotel at this price, offering this amazing location, spa, breakfast and overall experience. The vast complimentary minibar, the wonderful details provided by the staff and hotel as well as the bathrooms are worth the surcharge and worth a visit to Switzerland's most exclusive hotel and my new favourite health & lakeside retreat!

All above written expresses my own opinion and is based on my recent stay at this hotel. This has not been influenced in any way. I was guest of the Park Hotel Vitznau and Hospitality Visions Lake Lucerne and my stay was complimentary.