I read through a lot of posting, we will be visiting Lake Geneva area from May 14-May 17 and looking for a 2 nites stay around the area. A lot of people prefer Vevey b.c it is less touristy. I am leaning towards Montreux b/c things open late and there's more to do (learned from reading other threads).

OK, here are the hotels I gathered:
Hotel Helvetie
Hotel-Restaurant de la Rouvenaz
Hotel Masson

Seems like a lot of people like Hotel Masson, but it seems a bit too "old school charm" for me. We are in our early 30s. We are looking for something around 120CHF to 200CHF and near train station. My wife is pregnant, so she cannot walk too much uphill.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi augiechang,

I think the Helvetie will be your best bet of these three. The Masson is not near the rail station at all (maybe two miles), so you would be constantly waiting for the city bus, the ferry, or the local train. The Rouvenaz has a restaurant and a wine bar downstairs, so it will probably be very noisy. The poster called "suze" here has described the Helvetie as faded, though, so I don't know if you will want that. But I think it's closer to what you want.

If I can think of another option, I'll write again.

Good luck!

s

Good morning, stayed in Montreux at the
HOTEL HELVETIE many yeas ago, recal is was a very old hotel, we did have a very
nice room. Windows with a pretty good
view other than the large building between the Helvetie and the lake room.
The hotel was excellant in services and
would return should we ever go back to
Montreux. Reminded of the life of the
1920's and Wagon-Lits....Richard of LaGrange Park, IL

Definitely Hotel Helvetie of those three. I did use the word "faded" but with "grandeur". It's a red velvet fairy tale kind of place with an excellent location right on the main street. Has a rooftop deck, good if the weather's nice. I stay with friends in Montreux about a block away, but if I needed a hotel this is where I would pick. I have visited and walked thru the common spaces, lobby, restaurants, talked to the staff, and it is charming, imo.

Masson is too far outside town to be practical for a short stay. And la Louvenaz is located over a noisy Italian restaurant and next door to a gay bar (both have great food, shared kitchen, but I wouldn't want a room above it).

I like both towns, but don't agree that there is more to do in Montreux. It's just the two towns have a different feel. They are both lovely.

Somewhere buried on Fodor's is old trip reports with reviews of Helvetie. One person I remember in particular went there at my suggestion, and posted back that it had worked out fine, and gave details of the rooms. I'll see if I can top it for you.

If you put 'Helvetie' in the Search box there are 10 threads that come up with some mention of the hotel.

My husband, son and parents spent the night in Hotel Helvetie in Dec. 04. The hotel is walking distance from the train station (uphill) and extremely close to the casino and the quai level. The hotel is, like the others have said, a faded piece of the past but not bad. We had a huge room (triple) and the bathroom was actually in 2 connecting rooms. You opened a door in the room and there was the dressing area with the sink and some cabinets. A connecting door took you to the room with the tub (european hand-held shower)toilet and bidet.

The staff was nice and the breakfast buffet was ok. Location was perfect.

Oh good! Thanks Sandi, I was hoping you'd see this question and reply!

Across from Helvetie is the Forum which is handy - the mall has a Pic N Pay (for wine and snacks), two floors of Migros grocery store and lots of other shops, a couple restaurants. It's sits between the main street and the quai.

I's recommend Hotel Victoria in Glion (in the hills above Montreux). Very nice with exceptional views overlooking Lac Leman.

Glion is a beautiful setting, but how do you get back and forth to place in town? Would you need a car?

As long as swandav dosn't see this ...

From Glion you can either take the funicular down to Territet or the train to Montreux (the Montreux-Caux-Rochers-de-Naye route).

thank you Ingo

Hi all,

Right about Glion to Montreux or Territet --

I've stayed at this hotel four times, only once with a car. It's my favorite for ambiance & service, but lately I've wanted to stay right ON the lake.

Anyway, the reason I didn't recommend it for augiechang is that it's way beyond the 120-200 chf range (270 chf for mountain-view room, 280 chf for lakeview). Website at www.victoria-glion.ch.

See ya!

s

swandav2000 - thanks! you are right about the budget, we want to stick to our 120-200 chf budget as much as possible

suze/ingo/loriS - thanks for chiming in!

sure, and i do hope you'll let us know how this turns out. i've always stayed with friends in both vevey or montreux but because of changing domenstic arrangements, i may want a hotel next trip similar price range to these.

topping for Kate