The New Montreux Palace

It’s now time to go back and I need a drink. I hear a vinyl crackle and then some jazz piano. It comes from the juke-box of the Lounge Bar, one of the two restaurants in the Palace. The fireplace is lit. This is like time travel! I don’t want to leave this place. I drink, relax and then look at some of the music memorabilia and photos. Freddie Mercury’s Kimono is framed as a painting. OK, OK, time to go back to my room and shower. My wellbeing and refuelling weekend includes a dinner at La Terrasse du Petit Palais, another little Belle Époque gem, with a view over the lake and the Alps. I enjoy the cool atmosphere – this is where jam sessions take place and DJs come to perform for the Montreux Jazz Festival. After I pay and head on my way, a waiter comes running after me.

‘Wait! Are you Italian?,’ he asks. I answer in the affirmative. ‘Un moment’, he says in French. He comes back with a tiny ice cream as a gift, a tradition we had in Italy in the 1970s. I guess this was his little personal touch, something I hadn’t expected, especially as I can see that nobody else has been so lucky.

The day after is dedicated in its entirety to enjoying the spa. The 2,000 square metres it spans offer plenty to discover. I start with a swim in the indoor pool and also do a bit of cold therapy by swimming to the outside area. From here, I can see the lake again. I find myself shivering before heading to the hammam, where I enjoy a sensory shower.

Breakfast is served in the winter garden, which is once more flooded with light. A delicious mix of traditional and vegetarian/vegan options is on the menu. Most of the staff are female.  One employee compliments my hair and we end up laughing like we’ve known each other forever.

ʻThis is where jam sessions take place and DJs come to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival.ʼ

One hour later there is a pilates lesson. There is no need to reserve in advance and of course I’m in. Some of the ladies are beginners like me, while others are quite advanced. I can’t help but compliment a lady in her 60s, who seems totally at ease and far more skilled than the rest of us. Since I have also booked a massage, I don’t have time to look at every single spa room. I therefore skip the sauna and infrared beds.

Finally, the highlight of the day: a full body massage. I tell my masseuse, Panayota, that I am a runner. ‘Are you also Gemini?’, she asks. I can’t believe it. Yes I am. ‘And you have pain here?’, she says, pointing at a specific area of my back. I am impressed. We laugh and we keep talking until she knows exactly what to do with me. What follows is an hour of pure bliss. I leave the treatment room fully regenerated. 

When it’s time to check out, I am not sure if I have seen all the rooms of the Montreux Palace. I therefore decide to embark on a quick tour of the ballrooms. One can shoot a movie here – it’s a mini Versailles. In front of it is a big room with a grand piano. The precious parquet floor has also been restored. It boasts a beautiful hotel logo and is made in different shades of wood.

The Montreux Palace is the ultimate way to experience the area thanks to its unbeatable location and the way it mixes the traditional with modernity and the surrounding nature with impressive architecture. But what really feels good here is the warm welcome everyone receives –  guests, staff and occasional visitors alike –  and how you are listened to intently. Like the music of the festival, with a lot of soul and a brand new twist.