Located on the shores of Lake Geneva La Réserve Genève is a place to turn off your phone, take off your watch and wind down
Words: Will Moffitt
The first hotel in Michel Reybier’s impressively assembled hospitality portfolio La Réserve Genève is a statement property with wholesome ambitions. Resting on the shores of Lake Geneva, sheltered in an immaculately manicured park, the luxury hotel and spa has been delicately concealed from the outside world if not entirely secluded. Located just over three miles from the city centre, it's an intimate and idiosyncratic luxury hideaway, with state of the art wellness facilities that make it the ideal place to retreat back to after a day spent in Switzerland’s watchmaking capital.
Helping guests find time away from a world run by the clock is La Réserve’s raison d'être and Spa Nescens is a good place to start. With top-of-the-range facilities encompassing 17 treatment rooms and a philosophy built on the ‘better ageing’ principles of professor Jacques Proust, Nescens has a variety of treatments designed to soothe the body and the mind. Next door guests can graze on guilt-free morsels with a gourmet touch at the hotel’s ultra-lean Café Lauren.
Image above: La Réserve’s Spa Nescens
A chicer, more vibrant dining experience can be found in Le Loti, the hotel’s signature restaurant and bar. Orchestrated by French architect and interior designer Jacques Garcia, the aesthetics of a Japanese tea house and a rugged African lodge have been skilfully married here to create a ‘fantasized elsewhere' and a ‘travel diary'.
The decor throughout the hotel is equally idiosyncratic – think cosy Alpine Switzerland meets safari tour exoticism. The traditional Swiss chalet decor of wooden panels and burgundy hues are present, but are livened up by dashes of colour, encased butterflies, and animal sculptures dotted about. Le Loti’s eclectic tastes and pumping music – at night the hotel’s resident DJs let rip – set the tone for a playful menu that has a bit of everything: from sushi and linguine to lobster and sole meunière to Black Angus beef fillet and chicken schnitzel. The wine list, never in doubt given the Reybier influence, is rich and extensive and the bar has a quirky mix of cocktails to sip on.
Above: Le Tsé Fung, La Réserve's Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant
Lastly, no trip to La Réserve Genève is complete without a trip to Le Tsé Fung. With a decor of red velvet, black lacquer and silk hangings the restaurant has the spirit of a Shanghai palace of the 1930s. Drawing on head chef Frank Xu’s well documented talents this in-house Chinese restaurant is a novel addition to a hotel full of surprises and interesting flourishes.
Hailing from Shenzhen with more than 30 years' experience behind him, Xu and his band of Chinese chefs reinterpret traditional dishes of Cantonese cuisine, subtly refining old favourites like Peking Duck and elevating them to the highest echelon of Chinese gastronomy. The end result is a selection of dishes that are so delicious it's no surprise that Le Tsé Fung clinched Michelin star status. Like the rest of this thoughtfully crafted haven, Xu's downstairs hideaway is a pleasant place to spin a Lazy Susan and escape from the outside world.
Rates at La Réserve Genève Hotel & Spa start from £400 per room per night in a superior double room, breakfast included. lareserve-geneve.com/en/
