4 Best Hotels in Vevey, Vaud

Honeycombed by dramatic atrium stairwells that look down on marble columns and gleaming floors inlaid with golden coronets, this regal landmark was Henry James's home base when he wrote (and set here) the novella Daisy Miller. Burgundy brocade with floral swags and coverlets contrast boldly with striped wallpaper in generously sized guest rooms. The spa, called Puressens (Pure Senses), offers a full range of restorative services that are a relaxing extension to time spent in the lower-level pool. A vast lakefront terrace overlooks the pollards, the promenade, and the steamers plying the lake.

Offering the best of old and new, this hotel contains 1920s frescoes of a winegrowers' festival on the ceiling of Brasserie La Coupole 1912, the old-fashioned restaurant, as well as a modern annex of guest rooms wired with up-to-the-minute technology. Adjacent to the train station, the congenial family-run place has an outdoor café and coffee bar, both convenient rendezvous points. An underground garage uses an elevator to lower cars from the narrow alley entrance to parking spaces beneath the building.

Anita Brookner set her novel Hotel du Lac in this lakefront doyenne, where readers find an abundance of refinement and global sophistication proffered beneath the Relais & Châteaux banner. Dramatic Asian decor in the lobby and lounge are a sharp contrast to soothing pastels and honey creams that outfit luxe guest rooms. The veranda takes on a garden-party air at Sunday brunch, when, fortunately, hat and gloves are no longer de rigueur. An intimate spa and the only outdoor pool in town add to the attraction for today's discerning sojourners.

This hotel blends right in with the estates facing the lake on the main road between Vevey and Montreux. Its breezy rooms with blond modular furniture overlook a small marina and the turrets of the village castle. The building was once home to the Order of St. Joseph; the nuns still maintain a small chapel on the main floor. Request a lakefront room not only for the superb view, but also to avoid street noise. Keep an eye out for l'Olivier's chef harvesting herbs and vegetables for Provençal-inspired dishes from the walled garden below.