A very disppointing experience from start to finish. We spent 3 days wishing we had chosen a different hotel but unable to leave as we had pre-paid a package to celebrate my wife’s birthday. It started badly as we arrived on a very hot day (34°) to be allocated a stifling hot room in which all the lights had been left on and the sun shade not drawn. Reception advised that the room had a fan (in the absence of air conditioning) but there was none to be found! A small desk fan was brought up to the room later in the afternoon. Our room remained hotter inside than outside for the entire stay. Dinner that evening was not a pleasant experience. The staff were dour, the menu wasn’t explained and the courses were just plonked on our table and then taken away in total silence. The soup (fennel) had no taste, as though it was a mixture of flour and water, and was luke warm. The ambience was terrible due to discotheque-type music (rap, etc) being played so loudly that I couldn’t hear myself thinking, let alone have normal converstaion with my wife. After 30 minutes, I got up from the table and asked the maitre d’ to turn down the volume. One might expect that a classy restaurant would have the gumption to play subtle background music. Breakfast the next morning was poor. The staff similarly failed to offer any sort of greeting or hospitality. I found the coffee to be undrinkable (over-stewed, not fresh) while the scrambled eggs looked and tasted as though they’d been resuscitated from the night before. We attempted to complain to the Manager but were told by Reception that he was unavailable that day. Although I detailed the several issues, no apology was forthcoming neither did anyone (i.e. the errant Manager) seek to make any amends during the remainder of our stay. I was informed by Reception that most of the current staff were “in training”, a lame excuse as the Management should ensure a proper mix with some professional staff available to maintain quality. Perhaps, its just an unhappy place to work. As regards the Restaurant, we voted with our feet and dined elsewhere for the next 2 days - Montreux has many excellent Restaurants. In its heyday, this would have been a fine hotel particularly given its superb location and beautiful gardens. Now, it doesn’t merit its 4 star category nor the prices charged. Our room was dismal, the ventilator in the bathroom was non-functioning with subsequent mould and bad smell, an already bloodstained bath towel was not replaced after 3 days, the external balcony sun-shade was in tatters and stained. Warrants a 2 star category.
46 Ulasan