0.3 business
Address:
Talstrasse 1, Zurich ch 8001
, Zurich 8022, Switzerland
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Lonely Planet review
- Nicola Williams
- Lonely Planet author
An address any worldly traveller privy to a bottomless bank account knows, this historic haven of opulence by the lake is Zürich's most exclusive hotel. Sumptuous rooms, outstanding service, a spa and landscape park sum up the package.Its history is grand. Austrian baker and businessman Johannes Baur opened his first inn in Zürich in 1836 - but quickly realised it was luxury travellers craved. So two years later he opened Baur en Ville (today the Savoy), only to realise it was total privacy and intimacy with lake view guests travelling incognito sought. So in 1844 he opened Baur au Lac, a gorgeous and grandiose villa where Europe's aristocracy could wallow in luxury away from prying eyes. Tsars, shahs, kings, queens and politicians followed. The 1920s saw the hotel set toes tapping with a 20-piece jazz orchestra, and in the 1950s fashion shows strutted down its catwalk. Incredibly for a five-star hotel, the Baur au Lac remains a family affair today, run by the 5th generation of Baurs (known as Kracht since 1889 when Theodor Baur's daughter wed distinguished Cologne hotelier Carl Kracht).
