There are thousands of hotels you can choose for your vacation.  Many hundreds are top-notch boutiques and 5+ star hotels that may be a great fit if you’re a luxury lover, lover of high service levels, or enjoy the unique.  But which would you choose for a special celebration, or a romantic week away without the kids, if you wanted the perfect location or the perfect view out your window?  Keep reading to learn of a few that are a cut above, worth your time and your money, and why we think so.

Le Meurice – Paris, France

Le Meurice is one of those grand Parisian hotels that just seems to ripen and mature with age. Of course, constant renovation and investment by the Dorchester Collection doesn’t hurt. But Le Meurice is as super in 2023 as it undoubtedly was in 1923—or when it became the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht in 1940; or when Jane Fonda watched Maximillian Schell meekly consume a humble breakfast of hot milk and one egg in the Lillian Hellman movie “Julia”; or back in 1835 when Charles-Auguste Meurice opened it. Except now the Wi-Fi is a lot better.

What To Expect

It’s now just a stroll across the Tuileries Gardens from Le Meurice to the River Seine and the Musée D’Orsay, which displays some of the world’s most exquisite works of art. Until 1986 this was the Gare d’Orsay—the Orsay Station—from which trains once steamed to and from Orléans, south of Paris.

Its former persona as a massive, belle-époque terminus of the railroads’ golden age explains its grandeur. The gorgeous Monets and Pisarros and Renoirs are, at the end of the day, just temporary interior decoration. It’s the 19th-century grandeur, nay grandiosity, that makes this monumental structure so stupendous. And, of course, for those of us who care, it’s all about travel.

Back at Le Meurice, you can dine on breakfast. Enjoy granola, freshly squeezed orange juice and a latte macchiato served in a dining room that would have done nicely for the wedding of Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie in 1853.  Isn’t there something deliciously sybaritic about munching breakfast beneath a gilded ceiling with a giant mural done by one of Delacroix’s acolytes?   But then that’s the point. Hotels like Le Meurice aren’t mere hotels, they are “grand” hotels. Which, with a rolled “R” and a silent “H” sounds even more seductive in French.

Bar Au Lac – Zurich, Switzerland

Picture this: You’re met by a staff member of this sumptuous hotel at the airport.  Yet instead of taking the usual escalator, followed by an elevator and then taking a hike through a gloomy parking lot that has you almost peeking behind columns into dark crevices, your driver will wheel your bags through a swing door directly to his 1,000-foot-long Mercedes that in less than 20 minutes glides into the courtyard of the Baur Au Lac.

The History

Opened by Johannes Baur in 1844 (nine years after Le Meurice) and still run by the same family, the Baur au Lac is one of many Swiss “grand hotels” that confirms again and again that Swiss hotel-keeping retains a 1 percent notch above almost anything on earth. It’s the art of subtle service and dignity that lets you silently know (no matter whether your jeans are Balenciaga or Walmart) that anything your heart desires is possible here.

The service at the Baur au Lac, perhaps because it is located steps from some of the world’s most exclusive and secretive banks, seems to shout out the rule hammered into the staff to “look at everything, but see nothing; listen to everything, but hear nothing.” At the Baur au Lac, quiet discretion is paramount.

What To Expect

A few years ago, the hotel’s lounge, renowned as the ultimate meeting spot for Zurich’s elite and wealthy, underwent a transformation. It turned from its timeless, gloomy wood-paneled design into one of the most attractive hotel spaces you can find—featuring warm colors, carefully curated art, abundant flowers, soft lighting, and chic waitstaff. Since my last visit, a similar makeover has propelled the lobby forward from 1923 to 2023. It turned from its timeless, gloomy wood-paneled design into one of the most attractive hotel spaces you can find—featuring warm colors, carefully curated art, abundant flowers, soft lighting, and chic waitstaff. Since my last visit, a similar makeover has propelled the lobby forward from 1923 to 2023.

It still feels suitably Baur-au-Lac-kish, but now it’s light and airy. Navy blue walls contrast with pale wood. The newsstand has been updated, but it’s still there. The reception staff now stand behind a gracious counter. This is instead of inside a curious window, with a massive contemporary painting behind them.

The concierge area is discreetly updated, too. However, the gentlemen with the cross-key pins on their lapels still stand in front of the slots of room keys. The Baur au Lac has yet to surrender (or hopefully it never will) to electronic key cards. No, this “grand hotel” still hands you a hefty brass. A blue leather fringed key that is so weighty, you leave it with the concierge when you exit the hotel. It’s that kind of “grand hotel” touch that has been eliminated by those dreary pieces of coded plastic.

Despite successive renovations, the doors of the guest rooms still swing outwards at the Baur au Lac. It’s a gentle reminder that this place is 180 years old. Everything you touch, from the buttons of the discreetly snazzy new elevator to the surfaces of your room, is spotless and polished. Lavish yet without a hint of ostentation.

Make Way For Modern Luxuries

The Baur au Lac screams “old money.” The bedding, the bathroom, the cushions, the draperies ooze elegance. The only jarring note is the nasty vinyl “do not disturb” and “please make up my room” signs. Both are possibly unnecessary anyway. This establishment instinctively knows when not to disturb. Or that when you go to breakfast, or out to dinner, it’s the moment to enter silently – time to change the sheets, plump the pillows and freshen the towels.

As a bonus, one of the loveliest restaurants in Zurich is only a 10-minute stroll across the Limmat River bridge from the Baur au Lac. The Kronenhalle will be marking its centenary in 2024, and it is little changed from the day it opened. The dun-colored walls, the banquettes, the coat racks, the crisp white napery all emanate a refined sense of cosseted well-being. The wait staff have been waiting for years, always friendly, always polite, always breezily casual yet intensely professional.

After dinner, head Back to the Baur au Lac and climb into your crisp sheeted bed.  Wake up and have a beautiful breakfast. Served in the Pavillon dining room, which at lunch and dinner earns its two Michelin stars.  Again the service has that “whatever you want can be made available” flair.

One of the charms of breakfast at a “grand hotel” is finding out who else is staying. In the lounge or the lobby, you never know who’s just visiting or here to sleep.

It takes just over two hours to journey from Zurich’s belle-époque train terminus to our next grand hotel is located, Lausanne. 

Beau-Rivage Palace – Lausanne, Switzerland

Compared to Le Meurice, the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland is a newcomer, having opened its door in 1861. Actually, it was the just the Beau-Rivage that opened in 1861, while the Palace wing opened in 1908. But it was in 2021 that the Beau-Rivage wing reopened after a head-to-toe renovation.

What To Expect

Rooms are snug and gorgeously appointed.  You’ll find about a hundred silk pillows in various shades of yellow. From lemon through pineapple to gold, and the crispest linen duvets, arranged atop the bed.  French doors lead onto a vast terrace. The views are incredible. Overlooking the hotel’s vast private park, Lake Geneva and, in the distance, the French Alps.  

At the hotels Café Beau-Rivage, “Café” is a misnomer. This is a no-holds-barred French restaurant. It has some of the continent’s most delicious fare. Like, skate done up in burned butter with capers and microscopic croutons.  Absolutely mind-blowing.

The Beau-Rivage Palace is one of three great hotels (one six-star, two four-star) owned by Switzerland’s Sandoz Foundation. The hotels are all located just short strolls apart. All are in the chic, lakeside Lausanne neighborhood known as Ouchy. Take note – it’s pronounced “ooh-she,” not the “ouchy” of a five-year-old’s grazed knee).

The Adlon – Berlin, Germany

The Adlon in Berlin is the newest of the “grand hotels” of this European circuit. It opened in 1907 opposite the Brandenburg Gate. It makes up the fourth corner of the elegant Pariser Platz. The home to the embassies of both France and the United States. Built by Lorenz Adlon, the hotel was formally inaugurated by no lesser mortal than Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Within hours, the Adlon was the center of Berlin’s social life, and “the” place to stay in the German capital. The 1930 movie “Grand Hotel,” starring Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo, was set in a nameless Adlon. The stage musical version of the movie opened in New York three days after the Berlin Wall came down.

Historical Significance

The Adlon managed to survive World War I, the Weimar Republic, the Nazis and the carpet bombing of World War II. Just five days before Germany’s unconditional surrender, a fire was begun in the Adlon’s wine cellar (purportedly by drunk Soviet soldiers) and the hotel burned to the ground. A small, pathetic, Communist-run pension, then hostel, (but still named Adlon) limped ungraciously along until 1984.

Twenty-nine months after Ronald Reagan told the Soviet leader in Berlin “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” And Mr. Gorbachev actually did. And the race was on to reunite sophisticated West Berlin with shabby, derelict, foreboding East Berlin.

One of the focuses of the reunification was restoring the bullet-scarred Brandenburg Gate. As well as rebuilding the offices and embassies of Pariser Platz and, of course, rebuilding the Adlon. In August 1997, the president of Germany inaugurated a new Adlon, the jewel in the crown of the Kempinski hotel group. Is it a total restoration of the original? No. But its architecture and design are certainly an hommage to its predecessor. What’s more, just as in 1907, the vaulted lobby lounge of the new hotel once more became instantly abuzz with the capital’s social frenzy.

Opulence Remastered

Inside the hotel you’ll find polished mahogany, damask drapes and oversized bathrooms. Its parade of windows face the panorama of the iconic Brandenburg Gate. When the Adlon reopened, traffic was still permitted through the gate. After a much-needed repair job, the gate, and its surrounds were pedestrianized twenty years ago. They are now Berlin’s number one-draw for visitors.

Lunch at Quarré restaurant, just off the lobby, is had in a traditional space with pinkish-beige stucco walls and Pompeii-style friezes. Its windows face Pariser Platz, and in summer, its much-prized tables spill out onto a sidewalk terrace. There’s also a Michelin two-star restaurant, Lorenz Adlon for your dining enjoyment.  And the hotel’s monumental breakfast buffet offered on the Adlon’s mezzanine, includes Champagne and caviar as well as more simple granola and passion fruit.

Vier Jahrezeiten – Hamburg, Germany

Like the Meurice, the Baur au Lac and the Beau-Rivage Palace, the Adlon reeks “grand hotel,” as does the last hotel on this exceptional list, the Vier Jahrezeiten in Hamburg. Vier Jahrezeiten is German for “four seasons,” but the hotel has no connection with that Canada-based hotel chain. Fairmont, now part of Accor, absorbed the Vier Jahrezeiten sixteen years ago.

The city’s massive and historic train station is a prelude to a mass of architecture. It recalls Hamburg’s past as a member of the Hanseatic League. The baroque city hall is exquisite—like Bruges on steroids.

Indeed, 80 years after the fire-bombing of Hamburg by the Royal Air Force during World War II, the city is arguably Germany’s most beautiful. It sits upon a web of canals, and two giant lakes, which lead to the port that once processed millions of immigrants en route to Ellis Island.

What To Expect

The luxurious Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten is the epitome of a European Grand Hotel. Since 1897, the elegant hotel has provided guests from all over the world with charming luxury and timeless elegance in the heart of the Hanseatic city, close to several cultural and architectural sights, a number of shopping opportunities and the Hamburg Messe and Congress Centre.

The Vier Jahrezeiten sits on the lake shore, a giant white pile, truly grander than grand.  Some rooms overlook the lake and most are wonderfully old-fashioned and at the same time they’re entirely up-to-date.

And that is one of the secret arts of a European “grand hotel”. Maintaining the grandeur, the history and the historical. At the same time, it means ensuring modernity. The room’s Wi-Fi whizzes, the giant flat-screen TV works, and the Nespresso machine dispenses perfect espresso. Here, too, as at the Beau-Rivage Palace and the Baur au Lac, bedroom doors open outwards, unlocked by keys on heavy chains.

The staff who work there contribute greatly to the hotels character – you’ll experience a special kind of service within minutes of stepping through the doors up until the time you leave.   

And speaking of checkout, the Vier Jahrezeiten behaves very grand indeed.  With charming front-desk clerks, a buffet of coffee and snacks, and water for the road, they make checking out less painful!

Luxury Travel Authority Extras

If planning a stay at one of these historic grand dame hotels isn’t enough! Luxury Travel Authority’s Virtuoso affiliation and preferred partner status at these hotels allow us to offer you exclusive luxury perks. Enjoy extras such as:  breakfast, $100 hotel credit, early check-in and upgraded rooms. 

We look forward to helping you plan your next stay at one of these or other iconic hotels around the world.  Let us help you make your next vacation extraordinary!