WE’RE onboard a speedboat gliding across Lake Lucerne and then we disembark to chug up the mountainside on the Bürgenstock funicular that leads us to this Alpine retreat.
Rising 450 feet above sea level, the Bürgenstock Resort has been welcoming guests since 1873. Having once been home to Sophie Loren and Audrey Hepburn, it has managed to retain its glitterati status thanks to a recent $450m renovation.
Alpine Spa Exterior Infinity Edge Pool
The entire resort comprises of 383 rooms and 12 restaurants spread across four hotels. We’re staying at the swish Bürgenstock hotel with its Alpine spa, the largest in Europe, complete with a steamy outdoor wrap-around infinity pool that seemingly balances over the lake.
The floor-toceiling glass wall in the lobby-lounge of the hotel provides us with front-row views across the sparkling lake and the autumnal treetops below envelopes the Bürgenstock mountain forest.
Bürgenstock Hotel Deluxe Lakeview Room Bathtub
We head up to the fourth floor into our glamorous bedroom suite. Our marble bathroom, filled with shelves of Bulgari toiletries, comprises of a plunge bathtub set between a double sided fireplace and an oriel picture window (a feature of all the Bürgenstock rooms).
Our favourite restaurant for dinner is Spices, with its show kitchen featuring a Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indian menu. We tuck into an delicious plate of sushi and sashimi, prepared by head chef Chatsorn Pratooma, the resident master of Asian cuisine.
Our evening ends at the hotel’s private 66 seat cinema, where we watch the James Bond movie, No Time To Die.
Bürgenstock Hotel Guestroom Deluxe Lakeview Room
After breakfast, we inhale the Alpine air as we follow a rocky path along the mountain ridge. Accompanied by the sound of clanging cowbells from cattle grazing below, we head to the Hammetschwand Lift, the highest exterior elevator in Europe, from where we continue to soak up the panoramic scene surrounding us.
by Amanda Bernstein
Prices start at CHF 1300 per night at Bürgenstock Hotel