Park Hotel Vitznau

This hotel does not meet five star expectations during the low season. (I cannot speak to the high season but I would assume more staff then and higher standards.) The Good: 1. Both restaurants were great. We at ate at both the Grill and Focus Atelier. We had been at Burgenstock before hand and both Park Hotel restaurants blew Burgenstock out of the water with food, though Grill at this hotel is twice as much. The service was also excellent, especially at Focus. Focus has two Michelin stars but the service and food level met many three stars we have eaten at around the world. 2. Rooms: we were upgraded to a Lake View Suit (we booked through Amex, but were told at check in that an upgrade from Mountain to Lake view are extremely rare). The room was very spacious with multiple balconies, a bath, half bath, separate bedroom and living room. The Okay: 1. This is billed as a spa hotel, but I found the spa facilities were just nice, but not above and beyond (like Burgenstock). There are only 2 saunas, one large pool, Turkish bath, and indoor and outdoor hot tub. Now these were all nice but I could imagine it feeling quite cramped when the hotel is full and not nearly empty. The spa is about half the size of Burgenstock. 2. We were left treats in our room upon arrival and told the fridge would be restocked every day. Very nice, but standard for this level of hotel. The Bad: 1. The service was just not up to par. It was hard to track down anyone in the spa. When I arrived no one was at reception and no one was around. You have to find someone to turn on the saunas and the Turkish bath if you go before 3 pm on the weekdays. Morning saunas are fairly common. It took a while to find someone despite there being 3 separate couples using the facilities while we were there. It was understandable since the same person seemed to be covering the spa downstairs and bar, but not acceptable at a five star to not have sufficient staff to cover all of the hotel areas. Housekeeping was so-so. We had turndown service the first night, but no one came by the second night, despite our service light being on. Someone came by during the day but didn't refresh the robes. We had taken the robes to the spa and they were filled with chlorine water and I really wanted a fresh one for after the shower and had to call to get one. If this wasn't billed as a 5 star restaurant than the omission would be understandable but unacceptable for a 5 star hotel. 2. There is massive construction currently on the entrance. We received a pre-arrival email but no mention of the construction. We also had no indication of how best to get the hotel. Through internet search I found that we could ferry over from Lucerne (not clear on the hotel's website), but we got here and totally unclear how to enter since the main entrance was closed due to construction, There were no signs or indications of how to get in. We ended up having to call and being told we could enter through a connected medical

We chose this hotel for our ten year wedding anniversary and as much as I’d love to give it 5 stars I just can’t. Firstly we should have been upgraded anyway for buying through Amex, we weren’t upgraded yet overheard another couple checking in that had been. Given it was our 10 year anniversary and we booked months in advance we would have thought we would have been. But we accepted they couldn’t and left it. The food is average at best in the grill restaurant. The hotel did nothing for our ten year wedding anniversary and we thought they might have done something. Just a small gesture. The room cleaning is almost non existent, duvets just thrown on the bed, back to front. Nothing tidied, stuff left on the floor, nothing hung up, or robes replenished. It’s never clear if the room has been cleaned when you come back in. After all is said and done, the location is breath taking. I’ve never seen views like it. The staff are all super polite and helpful. And it’s a lovely hotel. It’s a shame that the bits mentioned above made it fall short of being up there with the best hotels in the world, some of which we have stayed at many times. Would we come back, maybe. But with slightly lower expectations.

The people, service, facilities and location are one of a kind. Everything was impeccable from the moment we were picked up to the time we left. I would recommend this hotel to anyone looking for exceptional service and location that will leave lasting memories.