With a perpetual eye on progress, innovation and evolution are Swiss constants—especially in the meetings, conventions and incentives market, where ongoing investment in hotels, meeting centers and other infrastructure is a ready yodel call for North American groups.
“Opened last year in Lausanne, the Swiss Tech Convention Centre is a futuristic new venue with a revolutionary hydraulic floor system that can transform the 3,000-seat auditorium into multiple room and seating configurations in minutes,” says Caroline Pidroni, the Switzerland Convention and Incentive Bureau’s New York-based director of sales and marketing for North America. “Now under construction and targeting completion by 2018 is the multivenue ‘Circle’ complex at Zurich Airport, which will include two Hyatt Group hotels and a convention center accommodating up to 2,300 people.
“Yet another project is the 500 million Swiss Franc Burgenstock Resort in Lucerne,” Pidroni adds. “Scheduled to open in 2017, this multifaceted venue will feature three hotels, business facilities, a medical wellness center and a spa, set against a stunning alpine landscape. These are exciting developments for the future of our global MICE appeal.”
Yet as Switzerland surges forward, its storied past, centuries in the making, remains as alluring as ever. With heritage anchors in every region and abundant activities tied to music and sports, Swiss-bound groups have time on their side.
Dial Backs
As Switzerland’s financial and cultural center, lively Zurich is a major headquarters for international companies, along with leading educational and research institutions developing key technologies for the future. The nation’s largest city also maintains deep roots to the past, with evocative venues such as the 120-room Baur au Lac (www.bauraulac.ch). Family-owned since 1844, this lakeside escape, close to the financial and shopping districts, offers seven meeting rooms for up to 120 delegates.
From intimate gatherings to standing receptions for 500, Zunfthaus zur Meisen is an 18th century rococo-style guild house with four meeting rooms and a restaurant. Dating to 1898, Schutzenhaus Albisgutli is a multifunctional event facility with four rooms, including a rustic banquet hall for large-scale gatherings. Located at the base of Zurich’s Uetliberg Mountain, the venue offers panoramic views from its garden and outdoor lounge.
Inspiring backdrops, including towering Mont Blanc and the city’s vast namesake lake, put Geneva in the frame for memorable meetings. Enhancing the allure are heirlooms such as BFM, or Batiment des Forces Motrices (www.bfm.ch), the magnificent late 19th century hydroelectric power station built on the Rhone River. Closed in 1963, the landmark structure was revived in 1997 as a theater and now serves as a superb option for functions of up to 1,000 guests.
At the 12th century St. Peter’s Cathedral, visitors can climb the north tower’s 157 steps for breathtaking skyline and alpine views, including the surrounding old town. The cathedral sits on an archaeological site that connects underground to the event-capable International Museum of the Reformation, accommodating receptions for up to 170 people.
Hosting VIP nights and other private events, the 1879 Grand Theatre de Geneve has the largest stage in French-speaking Switzerland, while the 1865 Hotel de la Paix (www.hoteldelapaix.ch) has versatile function space for up to 165 guests.
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With its strong global profile as headquarters of the International Olympic Capital and primary business center of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, Lausanne got a major brand boost from the cutting-edge new Swiss Tech Convention Centre mentioned by Pidroni above.
Historical anchors in this ancient city on Lake Geneva’s northern shore, meanwhile, include the splendid 168-room Beau-Rivage Palace. Regarded as one of the world’s finest hotels, this lakefront gem from 1861 is set amid 10 acres of private gardens and offers regal spaces such as the 1908 Sandoz Ballroom.
Another upscale local icon, the 1906 Hotel Royal-Savoy Lausanne, is set to reopen this summer with 196 luxurious rooms and suites; meeting space including the city’s largest ballroom and five breakout rooms; and the rooftop Sky Terrace.
Groups can sail back in time with evening events aboard the Belle Epoque-era vessels of the Lake Geneva Shipping Company, or repair to Portes des Iris, a landmark 16th century farmhouse on the Chateau de Vullierens estate hosting functions for 700-plus guests.
Seated on the Rhine where Switzerland meets Germany and France, Basel has Switzerland’s highest concentration of museums. The city is home to some 40 institutions, including Basler Papiermuhle. Housed in a restored medieval mill house, this showcase of the history of paper, writing and printing features artisans at work and the opportunity to make and print on your own paper.
Dating back to 1681, the celebrated Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois is a confirmed hot spot for award-winning cuisine and cocktails, while Schloss Bottmingen (www.weiherschloss.ch) is a moated castle also serving award-winning cuisine and hosting banquets for up to 150 people.
Second Hands
From the capital of Bern to the popular incentive getaways of Lucerne and Montreux, Switzerland’s secondary markets clock in with their own well-kept treasures.
Complementing its UNESCO-protected Old City, Bern offers historic group-ready properties such as the 1865 Hotel Bellevue Palace (www.bellevue-palace.ch); 1859 Hotel Schweizerhof Bern (www.schweizerhof-bern.ch); and 16th-century Parkhotel Castle Hunigen.
In centrally located Lucerne, an hour east of Bern, the newly refurbished 1888 Chateau Gutsch (www.chateau-guetsch.ch) has a fairytale perch overlooking Lake Lucerne, while the storied Hotel Schweizerhof is another reborn charmer.
“The Golden Roundtrip” is a day-long excursion that starts aboard a historic paddleboat on Lake Lucerne, continues up soaring Mount Pilatus via the world’s steepest cogwheel train, and concludes via cable car and bus.
Commanding Lake Geneva’s eastern tip, Montreux is readying for the spring 2016 debut of the Chaplin Museum, to be housed in the mythical Manor le Ban where Charlie Chaplin spent the last years of his life. Dating to 1150, Chateau Chillon is an island castle offering tours, banquets and special events.
The Relais & Chateaux Hotel Victoria is a Belle Epoque treasure originally founded in 1869, while the Belle Epoque-era trains of the GoldenPass Classic take groups on glamorous journeys between Montreux and Zweisimmen.
