When the League of Nations – forerunner of the UN – was established in Geneva in 1937, it wasn’t too difficult to notice the drawbacks of a hotel complex that was in dire need of more rooms. And so in the place of a grocer, a wine vendor, and a bicycle merchant, it was decided to construct a hotel on the banks of the Rhone river. Goaded by the neo-classical orderliness of the Quai des Bergues, architect Marc J. Saugey opted for in his own words “a concave facade that would follow the course of the river and the urban landscape of downtown Geneva.” The result is splendid: the facade, set with the vertical might of pillars covered in a light beige stone from the Bergame region, positions itself as a model for the Swiss hotel tradition. An exceptional family presided over its construction: the Lendi family. By fusing futuristic aesthetics and the use of cutting edge technology, the Hôtel du Rhône soon became a mainstay. This is where you were first able to make a phone call from the bathtub… It was “a passion for innovation within tradition”, according to Lendi’s son. This passion is incarnated by the invention of the “Lendi system” in 1963, a brand new unit that is still used in the hotel today. It’s a mini bar with two access points: one from the inside of the room and the other from the hallway so as not to bother the occupants of the room! The hotel thus became a rite of passage with exceptional guests like President Eisenhower, Errol Flynn, Jayne Mansfield, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, or more recently under the auspices of the Mandarin Oriental Lucy Liu, Sophie Marceau, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Christian Louboutin, Sigourney Weaver, Maggie Cheung, or Jerry Hall.
In 2013, after two years of renovation, the Mandarin Oriental unveiled a seventh floor. Magnificent, poetic, and perfectly perched, there’s now a whole new selection of rooms available to clients. 161 rooms to be exact, each with a marble bathroom, and 27 suites, most of which are equipped with a balcony overlooking the river. The Mandarin Suite Royale is the most stunning of all: with an enormous, magnificently furnished room facing the Rhone, a private dressing room, and a sumptuous marble bathroom. The suite is decorated in refined shades of gold and violet. Perfect for guests seeking a bit of intimacy, it has its own private elevator from reception. Indeed, the renovation of the seventh floor, entrusted to interior architect Sybille de Margerie, leaves a number of secrets to be revealed; from one side, the urban landscape of Geneva sprawls out before you, while on the other, the Rhone, Geneva, and the Alps stretch out into the horizon. But this isn’t the only surprise in store. The Mandarin Oriental also boasts a beauty center, where services are offered by famous Geneva luxury spa L.Raphael: a team of seasoned professionals, where each facial and body treatment as well as every message is developed in a unique way to revitalize the skin and the senses and to soothe the mind.
To sweep guests off their feet, Director-General Lars Wagner’s philosophy of “always doing better so that the best is yet to come” works wonders. The hotel is committed to making each day a different experience. As proof, this summer the Mandarin Oriental, Geneva is teaming up with Swiss jeweler Chopard to offer an unequalled lodging experience. Once arrived at the hotel in a private limo from Geneva International airport, guests will be greeted with champagne in their suite where they can enjoy a panoramic view of the city and its mountains, before being guided to the Chopard workshop for a private tour that promises to reveal close to 1,001 secrets… The Mandarin Oriental, Geneva has also been long recognized for its excellence and innovation when it comes to dining. Your Gourmet Geneva, Our Chef’s Secrets offers guests the unique occasion to handpick the best ingredients from local producers, guided by the hotel’s chef Yoann Le Bihan and sommelier Fabien Mene, who will lead them to the best specialist in order to choose the ideal accompaniment for their meal. 2014 also saw a succession of starred chefs pass through their gates such as the illustrious Marc Veyrat or Moha Fedal and his cuisine that unfolds like a Moroccan escapade. And the Mandarin Oriental won’t be letting up anytime soon, since starting in the fall dishes from famous chef Hélène Darroze – crowned best female chef in the world with the Veuve Clicquot prize given by World’s 50 Best Restaurants – will be served up. She honored French cuisine within the hotel’s restaurant, the Café Calla, from September 22nd to the 26th. The restaurant Rasoi by Vineet, Switzerland’s very first gastronomical Indian restaurant, also shines bright with its star. “Having a Michelin star is like winning an Oscar for a chef, it’s the supreme reward,” declared chef Prashant Chipkar. This summer, the chef offered his clients the possibility to discover the secrets of his starred Indian gastronomy through his signature dish, grilled lobster with curry leaves and “khichdi” ginger, broccoli in a spiced lobster juice with bitter cocoa powder, and plenty of other surprise dishes.
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