Iconic Hotels

A name is not a guarantee

The Alps hold a small number of hotels that are genuinely part of the region's history: the belle époque palaces that invented winter tourism, the family houses that have run for five generations, the addresses whose guest books read like a century of Europe. They are worth knowing about whether or not you ever book one.

We write about what they were and what they are now, which is not always the same thing. Some have been renovated with real judgement. Some coast on the name. Some are far better value in the shoulder season than their reputation suggests. Where a legendary address is no longer the best hotel in its own village, we say so — that is exactly the kind of thing a reputation hides.

Set against everything else in their destination: Switzerland, Italy, France.