The impressive Brasserie Le Gogant at Hôtel des Horlogers in Le Brassus, in Switzerland’s Canton of Vaud.
For time well spent beyond the bustling banks of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), head to the Vallée de Joux – birthplace of Swiss horology – a pretty 50km drive or two-hour train journey from Lausanne in the canton of Vaud.
Numerous luxury watchmakers call the valley home, including Audemars Piguet, which opened the Hôtel des Horlogers next to its headquarters in the village of Le Brassus in June 2022.
The hotel’s architects designed it to be entirely wheelchair accessible, sustainable and low energy, using locally sourced natural and biodegradable materials. Ultra-modern interconnecting ramps, boxed in with glass, follow the valley’s topography, zigzagging down the slope and allowing each of the 38 rooms and 12 suites to have unencumbered views of wild flower meadows and Risoud forest.
The striking architecture allows unencumbered views from every room. Credit: Hôtel des Horlogers
Connected with the valley
You feel part of the valley inside, too, with driftwood hanging from the reception ceiling, wall hangings depicting outlines and contours of Jura mountain peaks, and huge lamps in the Bar des Horlogers, Brasserie Le Gogant and private dining room La Table des Horlogers representing the undersides of mushrooms.
Your immersion in the local landscape and terroir extends to the menu, too. Here, chef Emmanuel Renaut (whose Flocons de Sel restaurant in Megève, across the French border in Haute-Savoie, holds three Michelin stars) works only with regional farmers, supplementing this with homegrown produce from the kitchen gardens as well as foraging for herbs, flowers, mushrooms and other edible plants.
Foraged botanicals and extracts also make their way into teas and treatments in the bijou spa, which offers two treatment rooms plus a sauna, hammam and sensory shower. Guests can take home their own valley botanicals too: wooden pencils in each room have a tip filled with thyme seeds, ready to plant.
Panoramic views of Lac de Joux from the summit of Dent de Vaulion in Switzerland’s Vaud canton. Credit: Dominique Weibel / www.myvalleedejoux.ch
Getting out and about
While the hotel has a small but high-tech fitness room, for those wanting to get a sweat on outside, there are myriad walking, hiking and biking trails in the Swiss Jura Mountains, or water sports on nearby Lac de Joux. In winter, the hotel is ski in-ski out and can arrange your equipment hire.
If you love cheese, make sure you visit the village of Les Charbonnières, just a few train stops away (or a 15-minute drive) – home to the Vacherin Mont-d’Or museum, dedicated to this famous AOP-designated soft cow’s milk cheese packaged in a round spruce box.
Even better, time your trip to coincide with the annual Désalpes in mid September, when the cows – adorned with bells and floral hats – are brought down in procession from their alpine pastures, before 6,000 festival visitors jostle to taste the first cheese of the new season.
The Canton of Vaud has six wine regions, and Hôtel des Horlogers is an easy 30km drive from the largest – La Côte – and a convenient stop on the way to or from Geneva airport. Home to half the Vaud’s vineyards, it’s a picturesque region of castles and rolling hillside slopes above Lac Léman, concentrated between the charming lakeside towns of Nyon and Morges.
In the mainly family-run wineries, the white grape Chasselas (aka Fendant) is king – a perfect match for Vacherin Mont-d’Or – with key La Côte subregions to look out for on labels including Mont-sur-Rolle, Féchy and Vufflens-le-Château.
La Côte vineyards at Morges, overlooking Lac Léman. Credit: Morges Région Tourisme
Sustainable principles
As with its food (and with an eye on food miles), the hotel champions Swiss wines, with an emphasis on those from local Vaudois vineyards. The bar, too, is stocked entirely with Swiss spirits, including a syrup…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/dream-destination/decanters-dream-destination-hotel-des-horlogers-le-brassus-switzerland-550062/
