Park Hotel Vitznau

Disclaimer - this will be long; TL;DR just below. Park Hotel Vitznau (PHV) doesn't need much introduction - it's been on my "stay list" for a long while now. I booked a few months back while looking for the ideal place for some R&R and nice outdoor activities.

TL;DR - I had a truly wonderful stay that ranks at the top of all hotels I've stayed at.

Pre-arrival communication with the hotel left a bit to be desired. Response times weren't horrible, but definitely not what I've come to expect - response times were 24-36hrs. And a few items that were confirmed via email were incorrect upon arrival.

PHV is located in a sleepy town on the shores of Lake Lucerne. As I was traveling in "winter" season (really only early-October) there wasn't a whole lot to do in the town.

Transfers to and from Rotkreuz station are included in the rate (easily accessable to Lucerne, Zurich, ZRH, etc via train). Upon arrival from Lucerne, it took quite a bit of time to find the driver - nearly half an hour. Rotkreuz is not exactly a big station, so it took two phone calls with the hotel to establish exactly where I was and they had me go stand by a nearby grocery store so the driver could find me. 

Once the Mercedes S600 showed up though, I was at-ease and happy to be taken care of. The driver was very polite and extremely apologetic it took so long to find him. We had a nice chat about the car and things to do in the area, and we arrived at the hotel about 20-25 minutes later.

Check in was extremely smooth. Upon arrival at the hotel, I was met by a member of staff who checked my Swiss COVID Passport and arranged for my bags to be brought to my room. I was immediately booked for a wine cellar tour at my time of arrival, so went ahead with that before returning to reception where they escorted me to my room to show me around.

I booked through Virtuoso (our very-own BESVISOR) who did his thing and got me double? upgraded from a mountain-view junior suite to a full on mountain-view suite. PHV has 47 entirely different rooms, and in my case, I was assigned the Hertenstein Suite, named after a nearby peninsula that hosts a sister hotel.

The bathroom area is immediately upon entry. The design is somewhat odd in that the toilet is in its own room completely separate from the rest of the bathroom, across the hall from the shower facilities.

The hallway then leads to the living area that has a nice couch, several chairs, a table for two, and the mini bar (all included). Additionally, there is nice sized balcony again with some tables and chairs. The balcony offered a nice view of the mountains (pretty much across the street) and had the addition of the peaceful sound of cowbells when sitting outside.

The bedroom is separated from the living room by a sliding door and had a super comfortable bed and linens, as well as ample closet space. Though no iron that I could find, which was annoying.

There are four restaurants at PHV, focus ATELIER (two stars), Prisma (one star), Verlinde bar, and Grill Restaurant/Lake Terrace. Grill Restaurant and Verlind have similar menus with a focus on meat (they have a "meat sommelier"). Some of the items I had were bone marrow, wagyu flatbread, a carrot burger, and a club sandwich. I would rate food at both as being solid.

I also dined one night at focus ATELIER, which is a French-style restaurant with a focus on local ingredients. There are two menu options - seven courses for CHF225 or ten for CHF265. I had the seven course menu with highlights including foie gras ice cream, lightly-cooked local trout, and quail breast.

Lastly, one night I dined at Prisma which is described as "European cuisine meets Asian flavor" and has a selection of a few separate omakase menus ranging from two courses for CHF125 to five courses at CHF195. Calling them courses is a bit misleading since each course includes several "small" dishes, and I put that in quotes because it was a lot of food with each course. Highlights included veal tatar, scallops, and iced coffee with banana sorbet.

Service at focus ATELIER and Prisma were as you would expect for their respective Michelin Stars - focus ATELIER was technically on point and a bit more reserved whereas Prisma was still technically sound yet seemed more engaging and "familiar". And I mean that in a good way. Prisma suited my tastes a bit more, but both were worth the visit and I would gladly return.

Additionally, PHV has quite the wine cellar (six in fact) with about CHF21M in wine. The cellars largely focus on Old World, but they do have quite a bit from USA, Australia, and S. Africa. Prices were surprisingly reasonable. More than a few bottles under CHF100 including a lovely Premier Cru Burgundy that I had with dinner one night, They also offer private tours and tastings in the cellar. If you're interested in wine, I would highly recommend them. 

The spa at PHV is world-class, and included all the amenities you would expect - sauna, sanarium, turkish bath, foot baths, tepidarium, and stunning infinity pool. Massage and beauty treatments are plentiful (for a steep cost). My back and neck massage was great.

Service is what took this hotel up a notch. Preferences were remembered quickly and throughout the hotel as was my name. A couple examples - it was no issue to order a glass of wine on the terrace even though it was technically closed for the season; preference for water was remembered at each meal, as was my coffee order at breakfast; I was approached nearly immediately upon sitting in the lobby to do some work and offered food and drink, even with the lobby bar closed. The other piece that's hard to describe is just that they made me feel comfortable - service was never stuffy and they all seemed genuinely interested to help and serve. I'm younger and tend not to dress "fancy" by any means and sometimes feel like an afterthought at certain luxury hotels, but even coming back from a hike with dirty boots and clothes, they greated me enthusiastically and made me feel at home.

Even with a few hiccups with pre-arrival correspondance and the transfer, I was blown away with this stay. Hard product was great, location remote and stunning (in a good way), and the service ties it all together. My best stay yet.