Montreux Hotel Advice
 

Could somone please advise which is a better option: (We are a couple in our mid twenties)

Le Montreux Palace - Mountain View
or
Suisse Majestic Hotel - Lake view

Both are the exact same price, which overall is nicer location, hotel, lakeside etc?

Hi oatmeallover,

Well the Palace is a five-star hotel that intimidates me just by walking past it!! No no no, the service is great, not intimidating, it's just me! I guess I think it's kind of stuffy. It's located at the edge of town, almost in Clarens, across the street from the Auditorium Stravinsky and the lake. The street in front of the hotel is Montreux's main street.

The Suisse Majestic is just across from the train station, which will be great if you're taking the train but a bit of a traffic-hassle if you're driving. It's about a block from the lake, but high enough to have lakeviews from some rooms. The hotel is right in the center of town, and you'll be very close to a lot of restaurants, the Casino, and the Forum.

Hope this helps.

s

ps (sorry, I don't seem able to keep from posting twice these days),

Have you looked into the Eden Palace au Lac? It's right on the lakeside next to the Forum and close to the Casino & the Marche. The Eden is usually cheaper than the Palace, though its lakeview rooms will probably be more than the Majestic's. I also think the Eden's interior design is nicer -- regional rather than business/bland that I see in the Palace's photos.

s

Oh yes, we LOVED the Eden Palace and we booked online direct and got a much better price than the others, including a lake front room. We expected it might not be so nice because of the better price, but we were very impressed.

I would look at the hotels that are right on the quai (lakeside promonade) and right in town.

The hotel located across from the train station does not seem particularly desirable imo.

thank you for your messages. The Eden Palace au Lac is sold out for my dates. Any other suggestions?

Did you consider one of the lakeside hotels in neighbouring Vevey? Les Trois Couronnes (if affordable) or Du Lac for example?

wow! thats a beautiful hotel, but only room available is $1,500!!!

These aresome other Montreux hotels with lakeside rooms:

Au Splendid: http://www.hotel-splendid.ch/

Miramonte: http://www.miramonte.ch/eng/index.html

Rene Capt Top Golf Hotel: http://www.montreux.ch/golf-hotel/

how is the rene golf? I have been quoted a decent price on it.

Hi Again,

Some comments on the hotels suggested by JoyceL:

The Miramonte is a 2- or 1-star hotel; if you're looking at 4- or 5-stars, I don't think you'll be happy with it. It's also quite a ways from town; it's actually in Territet.

The Splendid has been reported as "fading," so again you may not be happy with it.

The Golf Hotel (direct site at www.golf-hotel-montreux.ch) is a lovely place where I'd like to spend my next trip there -- but it's also quite a distance from the center of town. It, too, is in Territet (about two miles from the center of Montreux).

Another thought is the Hotel Ermitage (www.ermitage-montreux.com), which describes itself as an inn with rooms. It only has seven rooms. It is *right* on the lake, actually in Clarens (just a few steps from the Auditorium). I should add that when I stayed here in August, I had to keep the windows open for air -- and the noise from the diners below kept me awake until past 1 am.

My final thought, if you're thinking about five stars, is the Royal Plaza (www.royalplaza.ch). It's across from the Palace, next to the Auditorium, right on the lake. I stayed there once and though I didn't like the decor, I LOVED the location. Dinner on my balcony overlooking the lake was worth the price of the room!

If these don't work, I'd go with the Majestic.

Best of luck!

s

swandav2000
Thank you for all of your advice.

I am leaning toward the Royal Plaza (looks very nice) or the Majestic. Of the two which is nicer, location etc?

Hi again,

Hmmm. "Nicer"? Hard to say. Each is excellent, I think.

I've never stayed at the Majestic, deterred by the busy location. There's a lot of traffic and noise & such around the train station, of course. It looks nice from the photos though. I think they used to say that all the windows were sound-proofed, so you should be ok.

But the Royal Plaza also has drawbacks -- the rooms are smaller, the decor is bland, and your fellow guests probably won't intrigue you at all. BUT -- I should also say that eating at least once at their outside cafe is a ritual I haven't broken in about a dozen trips to Montreux. One year they had an all-you-can-eat raclette night, and another time they were selling fresh strawberry pie by the millimeter. Yumm. Strawberry pie & champagne, lake views, and I'm a happy camper!

Oh, and the service at the RP will probably be better than at the Majestic, a function of the RP's five stars.

Good luck!

s

I booked the Royal Hotel. It had the best overall price.