24 Hours at the Hotel President Wilson, Geneva
Geneva is a very interesting place. I have been there for my third time never did I see the most famous sight of the town: The Jet'Eau - the famous water fountain in the Lac Leman. Neither did I see it this time simple because it was turned off. Anyways I am happy to be unlucky with the sights only, because my recent stay at one of the most famous hotels in Switzerland was kind of perfect. I decided to spend the weekend in Geneva and therefore arrived at the hotel on Saturday around noon. Although I asked for a king bed, which was already ready at check-in, there was a last minute change with my travel accompany and we had to move into a twin bedded room which of course needed to be prepared and inspected. I like if hotels are flexible and this time the staff certainly was. We decided to wait for the room in the bar and Alessio took good care of the room preparations and the luggage allocation, while the Front of House Manager showed us the product range of the hotel's own Tom Ford shop - which was an amazing and impressive add-on. While my colleague was trying some of the perfumes and lipsticks, I leaned back and checked my mails after having ordered a coke and a schweppes for 12 francs each.
Before we could finish our drinks, Alessio arrived with the keys and informed us that the room would be ready and we could pass by him so he can show us around. At this point I have to mention that the entire ground floor is styled in an amazing way, matching perfectly the clientele and the style of Geneva - very upscale and elegant with modern touches. We immediately took the elevators up to the 5th floor where we found our Deluxe Twin Room with partial lake view. Generally, the room was filled with daylight and the view was also somehow special. There was a welcome gift consisting of some homemade chocolates along a bottle of water which was really nice. The room was on the smaller site, which could also be due to the fact that the twin rooms let it look smaller than it actually was. Two comfortable armchairs in front of the windows offered the possibility to relax for a few minutes. There was a Bang & Olufsen TV along with a writing desk and plenty of wardrobe space in the hallway.
Unfortunately the downside of the room was the bathroom, which did not came up to the high standards of the modern and dazzling lobby nor the chic appeal of the hotel. To be honest, the most glorious thing inside the bathroom were the Hermes toiletries. The shower-/tub combo is not something I could handle for a longer stay, also because it was hard washing my hair not being able to stand in full - the maximum height of the shower head was 1,80-1,90 meters. I also found the toilet to be in a uncomfortable position with the wall to your immediate right and the wash basin to your left. I didn't hesitate for a long time and went to the gym where there is a huge walk-in shower PLUS plenty of Acqua di Parma shampoos -so this was an amazing alternative. Since we were planning to walk around Geneva all day, we didn't min neither and to be honest the beds totally came up for everything else, cause they were heavenly as were the views.
The previously mentioned gym is situated next to the outdoor pool (which is open from May to September) and the hotel's La Mer Spa. While I thought the jacuzzi and steam room are accessible to all guests, I was informed that you need to book the Spa Suite for a certain package. Since I did not have time anyways, I opted for the small but well equipped gym - a cheap and healthier option by the way :). While I could also mention more about the perfect service of the hotel, we always had the feeling service went beyond far to offer an amazing experience, the main highlight of our stay remains the Sunday Brunch. As a special place in Geneva, the President Wilson set up a winter pavillon on top of the swimming pool where the brunch is hosted.
From the moment we arrived, we felt the perfect service and the massive amount of staff serving the quite few tables in the brunch room. I have to admit, I am new to that kind of food outlet, however I totally love it. For an amount of 85 CHF you get free flow michelin-starred food plus the opportunity to meet the chef himself who showed up to the tables around us. No need to mention the gorgeous lake view that comes with the stunning buffet. My favourite part was the meat station with best foie gras, truffled turkey croissant as well as thinly sliced beef carpaccio. However it is really hard to decide since the Sushi bar had the best sushi I had in Switzerland plus the fish area served best squid carpaccio one could dream of.
Well, no need to mention anything about the mouth-watering dessert corner where they had cakes that looked even more stunning than at the Laduree shop or a movie set-up. Honestly, the main highlight were the four hot dishes from the a la carte menu: black truffle risotto with foie gras or white truffle perfumed chicken breast with potatoes gratin. Gosh, this brunch was fully worth the money, considering that it also includes free flow soft drinks, water and freshly squeezed orange juice. After having spent nearly 2 hours at this gorgeous buffet, we nearly were unable to move and I am already planning a comeback. This is definitely the best way to spend rainy, cloudy Sundays on Lac Leman.
The President Wilson Hotel is located near the WTO headquarters and therefore a bit remote if you plan to be in the Left bank area of Geneva, however we managed to walk there as it only takes 15 to 20 minutes and the hotel offers free passes for the public transportation so there is no excuse for doing a little bit of sightseeing.
I was guest of the President Wilson Hotel and my stay was complimentary in exchange for the editorial service. However all above written expresses my own opinion and has not been influenced.
