24 Hours at the Hotel Metropole, Geneva
I love surprises. If you would have asked me two years ago whether I would like to be surprised, I would most probably have answered no, but now, two years later I registered it's the things we can't control and we can't plan that make our lives that special as it is actually. It is also true that I said: "life is too short to stay in bad hotels", so stop experimenting and follow Luxury Executive. Fun aside, I love when actual average-looking hotels perform in such an excellent way I would have never imagined. I thought I knew how the hotel market in Geneva worked: You either pay rocket-high prices and get a world class property or you pay less and you shouldn't expect too much - at least that's what I learned in Zurich two years ago with a pretty average experience at the Renaissance or the 25 Hours Hotel. However when I drove into entryway of the Hotel Metropole right on one of Geneva's busiest streets, it felt different from any usual hotel stay. The bellmen immediately took care of the car and started unpacking the trunk, while I was whisked over inside the entrance where I was shown the way to the slightly hidden front desk.
Generally the main entrance really felt like coming to an ancient friend's palace instead of having arrived to a hotel that was once used to be a Swissotel (a brand I have never had any encounters with interestingly). But times changed and the Metropole is now an independent luxury hotel along with the sister property Parc des Eaux Vives just a few minutes out of town. All my prejudices went away within seconds when I arrived at the front desk and they welcomed me with a smile, which soon followed by a personal welcome through the Marketing & Sales Team who were chatting with me for a few minutes. After that both of us - me and my colleague - were assigned one staff member and given a personal, private introduction tour of the hotel plus accompany to our generously upgraded Lifestyle Double Rooms (we were booked on a Standard room, tough Geneva is less busier on weekends) on the second and third floors. Both our rooms were lakeside facing and I was impressed when I glimpsed out the window - to see the most gorgeous light one could have for such a stunning view.
The lovely front desk lady gave me a brief orientation of the room including the modern touch panels to regulate, light, AC, mood and privacy plus showed me how to work the en-mirror television. I absolutely loved the modern and chic room as well as the plenty of welcome amenities consisting of a box of chocolate, a handwritten welcome letter and a fruit basked with raspberries along two bottles of water - I love these lovely attention to details as much as I loved the view and the highlight of the room: my bathroom! Altough not the best when opting for privacy (no worries in case you are with someone unfamiliar, there is a huge curtain separating the bathroom and hallway from the bedroom), the glass walls and mirrors actually gave the room a feeling of being huge and you could see the lake from every corner of the room which was just magnificent. To be honest, even tough I never expected the room to be so good, it's a full 10/10 points in terms of comfort, design and amenities.
With the toilet being separated, and me having a walk-in shower that even had an amazing rain-shower head (really huge!) plus offering good smelling (and high quality) toiletries - tough not branded - I was in (bathroom-) heaven. When I finally found out that the shower turns into a steam room within 30 seconds, I couldn't stop myself of enjoying the luxury of this bathroom for half an hour. Before we headed towards Grand Hotel Kempinski for the Salon du Champagne, we wanted to at least see the famous rooftop bar and lounge which is open on summer days. After having asked the front desk, they opened the doors to the terrace so we can take pictures and "instagrammable" shots. Indeed, I feel the pictures are amazing and represent the gorgeous location of this Swiss Grand Hotel.
A good night's sleep later I found myself in the breakfast room of the hotel which looked very casual and low-key - compared to the other areas of the hotel and especially the Gusto restaurant which looked stunning. The breakfast being on the small site priced at 42 CHF, I was surprised to see egg dishes at an additional charge of 10-15 Swiss Francs. Since I was slightly expecting a better breakfast in terms of service, lovely presentation and variety (anyways the quality was good), I went for eggs Benedict and when they arrived, I did not regret paying extra for a minute - they were outrageous. Nearly as good as the ones I had in the Caribbean which blow my mind away. Really well done and once you plan to have breakfast, just go for their amazing egg dishes. Maybe it's just all about ambiance. Once I arrived, there was nobody asking for egg orders nor were they asking how many persons we are so they just set up for myself - a slightly more dedicated service would make the 42 CHF feel more valuable.
Once it was time to check-out, the counter being busy, I waited for a few seconds until the front desk manager arrived. She immediately apologised for not being able to see me on the CCTV (I hided around the corner waiting for my colleague), which I found super lovely and attentive - this actually gave me the feeling she was happy to do her work which is not the case in many international hotels in today's time. Absolutely 10/10 points in terms of Front Desk staff. Generally the Hotel Metropole is an amazing property and absolutely worth the money compared to other 5-star properties in Geneva. At a rate of around 250-300 CHF a night, it is an actual bargain in a city like Geneva considering it is one of the most dedicated team you can have in town. When we headed towards the Concierge, he informed me that the car was already grabbed and the luggage has been packed. I mean that's how I expect a 5-star hotel in Switzerland.
I was guest of the Hotel Metropole Geneva and my stay was complimentary in exchange for editorial services, however expresses my own opinion and has not been influenced.
