The Hotel

Lucerne

At the foot of the Pilate and Rigi mountains in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne is one of the world’s most visited cities. Located on the banks of Lake Lucerne, also known as the Four Cantons Lake and the banks of the Reuss River, the city is well known for its architectural wealth. Founded in the 12^th century, it became the most important city in the Confederation after the opening of the Gothard Pass in the 13^th century, an obligatory passage for crossing the Alps from north to south.

Reminders of this era of splendor are present in many medieval houses with superb carved or painted facades surrounding the numerous city squares and churches. The Kapellbrücke or Chapel Bridge is considered to be the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe and, along with its Musegg rampart, one of the city’s most important sites.

Other emblematic sites are the 17^th century Jesuit church, the oldest Baroque religious structure in Switzerland, the two towers of the Hoofkirche church, the Dying Lion, carved out of the rock and the ultra contemporary KKL, the city’s cultural and congress center built by architect Jean Nouvel. An ideal starting point for a number of excursions, visitors also come to Lucerne to climb the Pilate or the Rigi mountains, take a cruise board a steamboat on Lake Lucerne, and to hike in the Tessin, on the southern slope of the Alps.

A tribute to the cinema

The incredible KKL, considered to be one of Jean Nouvel’s most successful buildings, inspired Urs Karli, a creator of restaurants and luxury hotels. He contacted Nouvel, and The Hotel was born out of the encounter between these two personalities. From the exterior, the façade is animated with images that are projected inside the building via large cinema screen type windows. There’s cinema inside as well.

The 25 rooms and suites are each dedicated to a different film. The works of Bunuel, Almodovar, Fellini, Wim Wenders, Fassbinder and Peter Greenaway are spread over the ceilings of each room like the antique frescoes of old palaces. The walls are painted in the same tones as the ceiling and decorated with special effects by Alain Bony. The furniture was especially designed by the architect. Minimalism is the rule, with wood and metal like these closets in brushed stainless steel and jojoba wood, the Costanza lamp and the Foretebraccio lampshade. The play of light in each room recreates the atmosphere of the film it represents.

In the corridors and the staircase, the atmosphere is austere, which was Jean Nouvel’s manner of creating a contrast with the warmth of the rooms. On the mezzanine floor however, to better capture the light, large window facades were placed in the lounge bar. And in the basement, in the lacquered red Bam Bou restaurant, high windows, cut like cinema screens were equipped with mirrors. The sophisticated Asian cuisine was awarded a rating of 15 in the prestigious Gault and Millau guide. By combining simplicity, spirituality, elegance and refinement, the hotel creates a unique environment.

A legend recounts that Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea during the time of Jesus Christ, used to rest in the lake at the summit of Mount Pilate. For a long time, no one dared venture to the summit for fear of disturbing the soul of the deceased which would have provoked his anger and caused storms and flooding to take place.