3 REASONS TO ADORE THE ROYAL SAVOY IN LAUSANNE

I was in the train back from Milan Fashion Week while the Royal Savoy in Lausanne was officially celebrating it’s reopening, and as my social media stream gradually filled with gorgeous pictures from that à-la-Gatsby event, my envy reached the top and I decided that I would, in time, visit the place myself and discover it’s treats.

The opportunity presented itself last week, when Charles and I escaped our Geneva reality  for a few hours of un-guilty pleasure there. Verdict? Asked for a permanent flat there, in the penthouse please. I’m kidding of course, but here are three good great reasons to stop at the Royal Savoy when in Lausanne :

 1. THE NEW DESIGN

Having been freshly and entirely redecorated after more than four years of repairs, we can now say that the five-star hotel is in: 196 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a terrace, a majestic « Lobby Lounge » in an english fashion, a cigare bar as well as a « Sky Lounge » that will be opened soon. They say that back in the years the Royal Savoy was a refuge for royalty and aristocrats from all around the world, well I can’t talk for royals but the place will definitely become the hideout for bloggers and influencers in search of a perfect instagrammable shot. And still, we are not in an all-modern bubble as on the outside the hotel still looks like a castle out from Harry Potter’s movies and this is this line in-between new and historical that I appreciate the most.

2. THE SPA 

A must-see and must-test when staying at the RS for sure! The SPA (or Sana Per Aquam, meaning health through water in Latin) is 1500aqm of pure relaxation. Charles and I started the afternoon by some workout at the Fitness space (yes I have some pictures as proof) so an hour of calm next to the gorgeous indoor pool was very welcome after that. Although I couldn’t get in because the water seemed a bit too cold to me, I enjoyed a good read on a comfy deckchair. After this lazy moment we were invited to take place in the massage salon for a most relaxing half-an-hour – what I liked about the massage experience is that is it entirely personalized. Let me explain: when we arrived we were asked to fill a Treatment Consultation form with basic questions about our lifestyle and body needs, to help the therapist with the main massage focus.

Our SPA experience didn’t stop at the treatment room, as then we headed to the hammam, sauna and steam room where we remained in a vegetable-like state.

3. THE FOOD

When I announced to my friends and family that Charles and I would have dinner at the hotel’s Brasserie du Royal I couldn’t have guessed that this piece of information would be followed by some « Oh » and « Wow » exclamations as well as a long list of dishes and wines names that I just had to try. Needless to say that I had high expectations from the place and that these were not deceived. We had a romantic table in a corner of the Brasserie and were served a three-course dinner – although the dishes were not the ones I would have chosen if I had had the choice, it would be a lie to say that I didn’t enjoy any of them.

The menu was created by Michelin-starred chef Marc Haeberlin and was presented in a quite simple yet elegant way; as first course we had a sort of « surprise egg » (wouldn’t even try to explain it’s mystery, the one thing I’m sure of is that it was yummy), it was followed by the restaurant’s seasonal speciality, which is la chasse (the hunt) – a classic you can never go wrong with – and as dessert we had a light peer with cream and ice-cream. Well, the Brasserie du Royal it not necessarily fancy, but is definitely a good address for a tasty dinner.

Pictures : Charles Legrand/Royal Savoy