Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix Geneva review

Quick take

Getting there

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, Geneva is in the heart of the city, right across from the lakeshore. Getting there from Geneva Airport (GVA), taxis or Ubers cost around $40 and take anywhere from 20-40 minutes, depending on traffic.

If you’re traveling light, you can also take the 5 or 10 bus or the SBB national railway train from the airport to Geneva’s central station and walk about 10 minutes from there. Buses take about 30 minutes and trains take seven minutes. Both cost 2 Swiss francs, or around $2.25.

Booking details

Standout features

• You can’t ask for a better location — prime lake views, walkability to the main points of interest and easy access to public transport.
• Striking historical and architectural features blend with contemporary decor and showstopping elements such as an enormous, jewelry-inspired chandelier.
• You don’t need to venture out to experience some of Geneva’s most enticing dining and drinking options, from fruit- and herb-infused aquavits at its cocktail lounge, Fred, and southern Italian-inspired fare at Fiskebar, to an evening of eating in complete darkness at “Dans le Noir?”

Drawbacks

• As the hotel is a historical landmark, accessibility features are limited, and wheelchair users need to request a special entrance ramp to be set up.
• Though Switzerland is known for its wellness culture and skin care lines, the hotel doesn’t have an on-site spa and the gym is on the small side.
• Rooms surround a dramatic, multifloor atrium, but this also means you’ll hear every door slam and hallway conversation, even those on different levels.

The vibe

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix’s classic Italian Renaissance revival facade makes an immediate impression when you pull up: Historical events (and a treaty negotiation or two) have unfolded here.

Formal elements like bellmen standing at attention to help with your luggage and a soaring atrium with marble columns, elaborate crown molding, profuse floral arrangements and a pendulous gilt-and-crystal, jewelry-inspired chandelier lend the arrival experience a sense of occasion. But that’s balanced by cozy art deco-inspired seating vignettes and a warm, multilingual reception from the staff, both of which imbue the hotel with a more casual, contemporary style of hospitality. The result is a setting in which everyone from well-heeled business travelers to diplomats involved in high-stakes negotiations to vacationing families can feel equally at home.

Speaking of guests, start on the sixth floor and walk your way down the stairs from level to level to admire the bespoke tapestries depicting famous guests who have called in at the hotel, including Grace Kelly and Victor Hugo.

The room

It’s counterintuitive these days, but some of the best rooms and suites at the hotel are on the lower floors since there were no elevators when it was originally constructed. Hence the second-floor (first by European designations) corner location of my 463-square-foot lakefront junior suite.

Once through the heavy front door, there was a small foyer with parquet flooring and a large closet and dressing area to the left.

To the right, the expansive room had high ceilings and contained an elegantly curved work desk and was illuminated both by a mobile-like chandelier of circular cutouts as well as two French doors framed by heavy drapes. Beyond them was a small balcony with a table and two chairs — the ideal spot for catching the first or last rays of the day and watching the nonstop parade of promenading tourists trooping past.

A small sofa and a marble-topped table formed the central seating area. In addition to a welcome amenity of Laurent-Perrier Champagne, I found fresh berries and swan-shaped meringues, a sweet and playful nod to the aquatic birds that famously glide along the surface of Lake Geneva just outside the windows.

Food and drink

Adjacent to the lobby and open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, the Living Room Bar & Kitchen is the social center for the hotel and serves seasonal menus of international fare throughout the day in a parlorlike setting (snag a table by the ornate stone fireplace on the side closest to the lake for a little seclusion from the bustling waitstaff and other patrons).

The breakfast menu offers continental ($46) and American ($54) set menus that include juice and hot drinks, baskets of fresh pastries, fruit, yogurt, granola and more, while a la carte specialties include avocado toast with eggs to order ($21). Lunch and dinner dishes might harken from farther afield, such as grilled Atlantic John Dory with zucchini, coconut sauce and yuzu ($50).

Across the lobby on the ground floor, Fiskebar is the hotel’s signature restaurant, with nautically inspired Nordic-chic decor and seafood-focused menus inspired by the bounty of the Mediterranean and interpreted by Puglia-born chef Francesca Fucci.

Although you can order a la carte, better to go with the three- or five-course tasting menus ($108-$160), which might proffer delicacies like a tangy-sweet amuse bouche of caviar with yuzu ice cream that launched the meal with a sense of occasion; succulent baby octopus cooked on a Japanese grill with almond cream, cucumber gel and dill; and fluffy bao with smoked beluga sturgeon and summer pea cream that is equal parts filling and delicate. The wine list, meanwhile, is mainly European, with a strong focus on biodynamic producers.

Stop for a nightcap at Fred by Fiskebar next door, where the decor feels equal parts 18th-century salon and 1970s discotheque and you can sample a variety of caviars paired with Champagne or vodka, plus house-infused aquavits and creative cocktails like the fresh Freya’s Flower with chilled vodka, Chambord, Aalborg Taffel aquavit and lime ($28).

The most unusual dining experience at the hotel, and perhaps in the whole city, however, is an evening at “Dans le Noir?” — dinner in the dark. With just two seating times per evening and a limited number of reservations, guests are guided through a gourmet three-course meal ($108-$141 per person) by the visually challenged and incredibly gregarious waitstaff — all in a pitch-dark room. It’s an enlightening experience as you try to parse the flavors in each dish and rely on your other senses to perform otherwise everyday actions like using cutlery or pouring water for yourself.

Amenities and service

As you might guess from its history of hosting conventions and peace talks, the hotel has a variety of conference and event spaces for guests in town on business or for a special occasion.

It also has a small business center with a computer and printer for guest use on the second floor.

Nearby on the same floor, the small gym has a room with a Technogym treadmill, stationary bike and elliptical; a rowing machine and a weight machine; and another room with free weights and medicine and inflatable balls as well as stretching equipment.

Unfortunately, there is no spa on-site, but the hotel staff can arrange for treatments at a nearby partner spa, as well as help facilitate pretty much any other request you have.

The front-desk agents were only too happy to recommend sights for a self-guided tour of the Old Town and their favorite galleries and museums (the Patek Philippe Museum is a must) based on a quick, casual stop by reception on my way out the door. At breakfast the following morning, my server gave me the rundown of the city’s best lake beaches (the weather was exceptionally hot during my visit) while the concierge called to ensure that all my dining reservations were to my liking. In short, the service was exceptional but not overbearing, balancing the right level of caring for guests without overstepping.

Out and about

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, Geneva is along one of the city’s main lakeside thoroughfares, the Quai du Mont Blanc. Although there is a lot of car and foot traffic, the noise is not bothersome within the hotel, and that location means you can pretty much walk anywhere you want in the city within about a half-hour.

A short stroll northeast brings you to the Paquis Baths beach, where you can high-dive into the lake. Just behind the hotel is the leafy Square du Mont Blanc park, while the city’s antique and instantly recognizable white Compagnie Generale de Navigation ships dock opposite the hotel entrance. Not far from there, you can also catch water taxis that stop at various points of interest along the waterfront, including the famous Jet d’Eau.

A walk across the Mont Blanc bridge just outside the front door brings you to the perfectly manicured English Garden, and from there, it’s a short meander to some of the city’s best shopping streets and the winding alleys of its hilltop Old Town and St. Peter’s Cathedral.

A (brisk) 30-minute walk in the other direction (away from the lake) brings you to Ariana Park, the Palais des Nations and the International Museum of the Red Cross. Both taxis and Ubers are plentiful but can be costly, so consider taking the city’s affordable trams or buses instead.

Accessibility

Like many old hotels, the Hotel de La Paix has been constrained in the way it could add accessibility features during renovations and updates. Service animals are welcome, and while the public areas, restaurants and hallways are wheelchair-accessible, guests must request a ramp be set up to enter the hotel through Fiskebar.

Buttons for the elevator to get to guest floors — both those to summon the lift and those inside — are at a height that might require assistance for wheelchair users.

The hotel offers accessible guest rooms with features like bathtub seats and grab rails, roll-in showers with adjustable handheld showerheads, wheelchair-accessible toilets, flashing door indicators and telephones and wheelchair-height viewports. However, if you have specific accessibility needs, you should call the hotel directly to ensure you can reserve an accommodation that will meet your requirements.

Checking out

Ritz-Carlton is a globe-spanning chain with properties that encompass everything from city-center skyscrapers catering to professionals on business trips to tropical beach resorts perfect for carefree family getaways. But the brand also includes unique and characterful hotels exemplified by the stately Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, Geneva.

The building’s historical spaces, fresh-feeling rooms, destination dining outlets and the warmth exuded by its genuinely friendly staff all combine to create a distinctive stay in one of Europe’s great cities. It’s one that feels even more rewarding given the opportunity to earn or redeem Marriott Bonvoy points.

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