Burgenstock Resort
A vast resort above Lake Lucerne, first opened in 1873 and grandly restored: Belle Époque splendour, a 10,000-square-metre Alpine Spa and ten restaurants.
Bürgenstock Resort makes its case with both Belle Époque splendour and architectural prowess, and it has had a long time to perfect the pitch. First opened in 1873 on a ridge some 500 metres above Lake Lucerne, the resort reopened after a nine-year, multi-hundred-million renovation that refreshed its twelve landmarked historic spaces and added new hotels, spas and restaurants.
The result is one of Europe’s largest resorts: a village in itself, spread across 60 hectares of forested mountain. Accommodation runs from the Bürgenstock Hotel & Alpine Spa to the medical-minded Waldhotel and the Bürgenstock Residences, every room framing the lake and the Alps beyond.
The wellness offering is the headline. The Alpine Spa alone covers some 10,000 square metres (among the most impressive facilities of its kind anywhere), with the Waldhotel’s more clinical spa alongside it.
Dining stretches to ten restaurants and bars, from Swiss classics to Persian cuisine and pan-Asian cooking in an open kitchen. The arrival is half the pleasure: a catamaran across the lake, then a vintage funicular, restored to its 1888 glory, for the final climb.
Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin both spent time here: good company for a celebration.
For a traveller who wants an Alpine resort at full, historic scale, Bürgenstock is a confident recommendation. Take the funicular up, and give the Alpine Spa a full day.
