You do not arrive in Wengen by accident. This chocolate-box Swiss village, perched on a shelf of rock some 1,200 meters above sea level, is located deep within the Lauterbrunnen Valley and—to put it mildly—requires a little effort to reach.
If you’re traveling from Zurich Airport, as I was when visited in the summer, it will involve three trains before even get to the village of Lauterbrunnen, at which point you board a yellow-and-green cogwheel train to grind your way up the mountainside. (Thankfully, the Swiss train system is—no surprises here—exceptionally efficient.) Once you finally disembark, though, you’ll be rewarded with lungfuls of that sharp, fresh mountain air, and some of the most spectacular views in all the Alps. Here, sheer cliff faces on either side of the valley form an enormous chasm, framing the mountains that are topped with a tapestry of green fields, tendrils of cloud weaving between them. If you’ve ever pictured a perfect, bucolic Alpine vista, it’s that, but even better.
It’s here—well, actually, it’s a few minutes up the road in an electric taxi, as there are no cars up here, thankfully—that you’ll find Grand Hotel Belvedere, the latest stay (and first Swiss property) from Beaumier, the French hotel group behind cult-favorite gems like Les Roches Rouges on the Cote d’Azur and Le Fitz Roy in Val Thorens. It’s a debut, however, that feels less like a splashy new opening and more like a thoughtful restoration of a forgotten friend. The chalet-style property was first constructed in 1912 during Wengen’s heyday as a glitzy Belle Époque resort—guests back in the day included J.R.R. Tolkien, and it’s said those epic valley views provided inspiration for the great mountain passes of Middle Earth. But despite watching over the valley across the decades since, it was eventually abandoned, falling into a peaceful slumber.
After acquiring the property in 2024, Beaumier—working with the Geneva-based architecture firm Clavien Associés and interior designers Complete Works—has (gently) shaken it back awake. You’ll sense that renewed energy as soon as you step through the Art Nouveau arch entryway and into the Wes Anderson-core lobby, where a roaring fireplace crackles and illuminates the decorative pine paneling covering every wall, as well as the fresco of Adam and Eve above the hearth that was uncovered during the restoration process. Step further into the building, and a long, wide corridor reveals itself with windows running the length of one side, with slick contemporary armchairs set up all along it for you to sip tea and take in the views. (The entire complex is actually spread across two buildings, with a second, equally imposing edifice set a minute’s walk down the hill, making for a pleasing, gentle hum of activity at all times as guests wander through the landscaped gardens to move between them.)
I was to be stationed in the main building, being swept up to a third-floor room with a bijou wooden balcony looking into a glade of larch trees. In each of the bedrooms and suites, the design philosophy comes into clearer focus: it’s all about local materials and craft techniques, but reinvented to be a little sleeker than your typical Alpine decor scheme. Walls are clad in natural lime and pale timber, with custom-made, solid and simple furniture crafted from local spruce and pine artfully placed around each room; all of this is punctuated by a thoughtfully curated selection of artworks dotted across the walls. (Particular standouts were the pieces crafted from thick, felted wools by the artist Manon Daviet, featuring motifs of local flora as a playful nod to kitschy Swiss folklore but updated to feel entirely of-the-moment.) The setup and stocking of the rooms also feels more modish than your average Swiss mountain stay: minibars are full of local chocolates and soft drinks, as well as pre-mixed cocktails prepared by the in-house mixologist from the Waldrand lobby bar.
If the main buildings are a love letter to the property’s past, then the radically designed spa is a taste of something more futuristic. Located in a separate pavilion, it’s a shock of brutalist angles that somehow sits in perfect harmony with the surrounding forest: co-designed by Clavien Associés with the French architecture practice Saint Lazare, the team drew inspiration from Japanese onsen and the result is a space of stark, meditative beauty. An afternoon spent alternating between the sauna, ice bath, and concrete-lined outdoor swimming pool is an afternoon very well spent indeed. (Bonus points for the Susanne Kauffmann treatments too: the grande dame of Alpine wellness, beloved for her bath oils infused with mountain botanicals, has set up a rare outpost here, offering barrier-building ectoin facials, scrubs, and massages: pure bliss.)
It’s all so lovely in and around the hotel that you might feel compelled to hunker down by the fire each morning after breakfast, or take a leisurely stroll through the streets of Wengen to peruse its delightful cheese stores and cafés—but Grand Hotel Belvedere also has a more adventurous streak that’s worth exploring. In the winter, there’s skiing and snowboarding of course—but also glacier climbing, sledding, and even trail running in the snow; in the summer, you can pick your own pace too, whether that’s the hair-raising thrills of paragliding and via ferrata, or an afternoon foraging for mushrooms or cruising the lake on a jetboat.
Working on the assumption you’ll no doubt have worked up something of an appetite, which Grand Hotel Belvedere has also taken into consideration: its two restaurants are stationed in each of the different buildings to offer an entirely different feel depending on your mood. (Though both are overseen by Will Gordon, whose slow, seasonal—and most importantly, delicious—take on modern Swiss cuisine first earned him attention while working at the beloved Cambrian Hotel in Adelboden.) The main restaurant, Brasserie Belvedere, is set within the breathtaking setting of the former hotel’s dining room, with striking arches to frame the light that floods in at lunchtime and arches decorated with elaborate Art Nouveau floral motifs; the perfect backdrop for elegantly presented platters of local charcuterie and cheese, or more elaborate dishes like Gordon’s elevated take on Alpine macaroni made with Belper Knolle, or homemade pastas and perfectly crisp schnitzel.
For an even more casual feel, you can head down the outdoor pathway to the hotel’s Sonnenbad restaurant to raclette or a perfectly grilled bratwurst with tangy sauerkraut (or, if you’re seeking something a little lighter, a spinach salad with local berries—a surprisingly delicious combo—and a delicate plate of homemade wagyu bresaola scattered with a mushroom tapenade). Oh, and a special shout-out for the mocktails and cocktails, too, which are heavy on herbal infusions and local spirits without feeling overly medicinal, and all whizzed up in the atmospheric surroundings of the Bergwald Bar, where you can take in those views from a stool perched at the theatrically rounded white bartop.
Wandering through the main street of Wengen on my final morning, as hikers gathered to stop for coffee outside the classic Swiss chalet-style shops and with the peaks of the mountains rising beyond in every direction, there was the feeling once again of it being a town that exists somehow out of time. (Or, you know, maybe it was just the fact there’s no cars around—it’s surprising how conducive that is to a general air of serenity.) That timeless quality left me feeling, I must admit, a little inspired. To create what, exactly, I’m not entirely sure—but it’s not hard to see why Tolkien found the region such fertile ground for the imagination, and with London’s creative set already beginning to flock to the hotel, there’ll be plenty more works of art prompted by those views, no doubt. As I hopped on the cogwheel train to begin my odyssey home, there was that strange but pleasant feeling after returning from a trip that it was all some sort of dream; landing back in London at night, I couldn’t quite believe that I’d been meandering through forest paths in complete silence that same morning. Yes, you may not arrive at Wengen by accident, but a new guard of creative travelers look set to discover that it’s well worth the journey.
