THE  PALACE LUZERN
The PALACE LUZERN, a five-star hotel in the deluxe category, is situated on the shores of Lake Luzern, framed by an idyllic alpine landscape and five minutes away from Old Town. Hospitality, a luxurious ambience and a century of hotel tradition are the keywords of this "Leading Hotel of the World"

Luzern has many faces: gentle, loud, colourful, strident, always the same yet always different. Luzern has the culture, beauty animation and joy of life of a medieval town, as well as every possible modern comfort. Historical landmarks and exclusive shops for jewellery, watches and fashion are all within easy reach of one another.

In 1994, the PALACE LUZERN invested 15 million Swiss francs for renovations to the existing rooms and extensions to the roof storeys. The result is 48 new, luxuriously furnished rooms and suites, bringing the hotel's total up to 168 guestrooms. During the first four months on the year 2000 the so far latest renovation was undergone: 26 guest rooms and suites in the Eastern wing of the property were completely renovated. As in the past, maintaining the original "Art Nouveau" atmosphere of this Grand Hotel was an important guideline for this 2.5 million Swiss francs renovation plan.


 

 


NEW MEETING AND INCENTIVE DIMENSIONS

With the 6 new meeting facilities added in early 1999, the PALACE LUZERN now features 13 fully air-conditioned meeting and conference rooms with state-of-the-art infrastructure. The facilities for up to 350 persons reflect the grand tradition of this leading hotel and offers a unique meeting atmosphere.

For supporting programs the PALACE LUZERN offers a wide range of unusual active- and event-packages for incentives, meeting and conventions. In co-operation with professional outdoor partners tailormade programs for successful team-building or fun-oriented X-tensions.

WELL-BEING
The modern "Wellness Corner" is equipped with saunas, a solarium and steam bath, and massage facilties.
The picturesque lake promenade, a bar, elegant halls and lobbies and two exclusive restaurants ensure that the most discriminating of guests can enjoy variety and a sense of well-being.

 


AN EVENTFUL PAST

At the last run of the century, Lucerne tourism was in the throes of a wave of optimism and enterprise in which the great Swiss hotel pioneer, Franz-Josef Bucher-Durrer, was a leading figure. His group of hotels, the "Schweizerische Hotelgesellschaft AG", which was founded in 1900, owned the "Europe" in Lucerne, the "Quirinale" in Rome, the "Semiramis" in Cairo, the Bürgerstock hotels and the Palace Hotels in Lugano and Milan.

In 1903, Franz-Josef Bucher-Durrer bought a vacant, 3,285-metre-square piece of land at the end of the National Quai in Lucerne from the Pfyffer siblings from Altishofen for 880,000 francs (at 270 francs a square metre a high price at the time): and the PALACE LUZERN, built to the plans of the architect team Meili-Wapf, was inaugurated on May 7, 1906.

Luzern enjoyed a steady increase in tourist activity during the 1920s, and the hotel, which was then only open during the summer, got off to a flying start. This proved to be a financial advantage to Bucher-Durrer's group, and the PALACE LUZERN soon became a plaything of foreign speculators.

During World War II, the hotel was used as a military ambulance station and a storeroom for the High Military Commissariat. Thanks to farsighted planning, the whole building was thoroughly renovated in 1945/45 at a cost of almost 1 1/2 million francs, and the luxury hotel was reopened in 1946.

 

 

 


Constant innovations and improvements to the hotel soon became a tradition and will secure the leading position of this property also in the future. In all a total of over 100 million Swiss Francs have been invested during the past 30 years.

April 1997 saw the fusion of two partners who have already worked together in the area of Incentiv Travel for many years when the PALACE LUZERN was taken over by the VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Grand Hotel & Spa AG in Interlaken.

This merger enables these two hotels to combine forces to meet the challenges of our day and age, in particular in the area of marketing and the launching of the joint products of these two "Leading Hotels of the World"