Le Richemond is a 109-room luxury hotel located in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. The hotel was established in 1875 by Adolphe-Rodolphe Armleder and after World War II, his grandson, Jean Armleder, transformed the hotel to what it is known for today. It was a part of the

Rocco Forte Hotels Rocco Forte Hotels is a British hotel group that was established in 1996 by hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and his sister, Olga Polizzi. Their 14 hotels are located in European cities, as well as beach resorts in Sicily and Apulia. Sir Rocco Forte is Ch ...

Collection from 2004 until 2011. In August 2011, Le Richemond became the eighth hotel acquired by the

Dorchester Collection Dorchester Collection is a luxury hotel operator owned by the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA), an arm of the Ministry of Finance of Brunei. Dorchester Collection owns and manages nine luxury five star hotels: The Dorchester (London), The Beverly H ...

. The 140-year-old hotel is located in Geneva's business district with views of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and sets on the banks of

Lake Geneva , image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg , caption = Satellite image , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = Switzerland, France , coords = , lake_type = Glacial lak ...

. The Royal Armleder Suite of the hotel was ranked number nine in Wealth Bulletin's survey of most expensive suites worldwide. The suite measures 230 square meters with two terraces and views across the Alps, Jura Mountains, Lake Geneva and the Old Town. The property includes a meeting center, Le Jardin restaurant, Le Bar cocktail bar, Le spa, and fitness center. Famous guests who frequented the hotel include

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

, and

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

, who wrote her last novel at the Richemond and has a suite named in her honor. The hotel has been closed from July 2020 as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. Management is hopeful of reopening in 2022/23 (as of September 2020). In February 2023, it was announced Le Richemond had been acquired by the Jumeirah

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

History

Adolphe-Rodolphe Armleder, the son of a German maker of oak wine barrels, first opened Riche-mont in 1875 as a guesthouse with 25 rooms. The building belonged to Swiss artist

François Diday François Diday (10 February 1802, Geneva - 28 October 1877, Geneva) was a Swiss landscape painter and art promoter. Biography His father was a watchmaker and scrap dealer. His mother worked as a tailor. After completing his primary education, ...

who rented the building. Armleder took a hands-on approach when renovating the structure to maintain cost efficiency all while building a client list. The building was transformed from a modest structure to a well known hotel throughout Switzerland. The hotel was passed from father to son for four generations. Financial difficulties prompted the Armleder family to sell the declining hotel in the 1990s. The

Rocco Forte Sir Rocco Giovanni Forte (born 18 January 1945) is an English hotelier and the chairman of Rocco Forte Hotels. Early life Born in Bournemouth, the son of Charles Forte, Baron Forte, and his wife Irene, he was educated at St Peter's Catho ...

Collection acquired the hotel in 2005 and closed the hotel for renovations until 2007. The renovation project expanded the hotel to 109 rooms with 26 suites, the addition of a seventh floor for the Armleder suite, an Art Deco and eclectic design, and the addition of restaurants, Sapori and Le Cottage Bar and restaurant as well as Le Bar, cocktail bar. Meeting rooms, a ballroom, an on site

day spa A day spa is a business that provides a variety of services for the purpose of improving health, beauty, and relaxation through personal care treatments such as massages and facials. The number of day spas in the US almost doubled in the tw ...

treatment facility and a fitness center were also added. Le Richemond joined the Dorchester Collection in 2011. Renovations to bring the unique design elements of Dorchester hotels were implemented in the restaurants and bar areas as well as hotel suites. In March 2015, Le Richemond Hotel was host to the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

's Human Rights Centre's 50th anniversary. The former

President of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Republike Slovenije), is the head of state of the Republic of Slovenia. The position was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (S ...

, Dr.

Danilo Türk Danilo Türk (; born 19 February 1952) is a Slovenian diplomat, professor of international law, human rights expert, and political figure who served as President of Slovenia from 2007 to 2012. He was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Nat ...

, gave the keynote.

Restaurants

* Le Jardin * Le Bar

References

External links

Le Richemond website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richemond Hotels in Geneva Hotels established in 1875 Buildings and structures in Geneva Economy of Geneva