< SWITZERLAND | BERN: Hotel Schweizerhof Bern

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The history of the Schweizerhof Bern goes back to 1857 and it was originally known as the Hotel Fetzer. It received its current name in 1859 when Daniel Vogel bought it and combined it with the Zähringerhof next door. Between 1881 and 1897, the hotel belonged to the Hauser brothers, part of a well-known family of hoteliers from Wädenswil, while in the spring of 1911, a consortium of hotel and brewery specialists built today's Hotel Schweizerhof Bern, which opened its doors on 1st July, 1913. At that time, the Bel Etage and the Salon Trianon were already part of the hotel.

A golden age of the Schweizerhof Bern began in 1939 when it was taken over by the Gauer family. Jack Gauer, whose name is immortalised in Jack’s Brasserie, turned the hotel into a premier location with an international reputation. The rich and famous first began to stay at the hotel in the early 1950s, bringing their own lustre and glamour to the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern.

Almost every day witnessed the arrival of someone famous: Liz Taylor, Grace Kelly, Ursula Andress, Ornella Mutti, Sophia Loren, Mala Rubinstein, Peter Ustinov, David Niven or Mireille Mathieu. The famous medical missionary Albert Schweitzer, former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, Bavaria's inimitable Franz Josef Strauss, shipping heiress Christina Onassis, as well as many stars from the world of sport including football genius Diego Maradona and skiing superstar Alberto Tomba, also stopped off at the Hotel Schweizerhof Bern. But it was the parties at the hotel that really made the headlines, especially those that were held in the legendary ballroom, the Salon Trianon. Today once again, reborn in its old glory, it exemplifies the special atmosphere of this extraordinary hotel.

In 2005 the hotel was closed for extensive refurbishment. Having changed hands a number of times, the hotel was eventually acquired in 2008 by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. Comprehensive renovation work that was to last two whole years began the very next year. The grand reopening on 24th June 2011, marked the start of another glittering chapter in the more than 150-year story of Bern’s famous luxury hotel.

Today, The Hotel Schweizerhof Bern is part of the Bürgenstock Selection – Katara Hospitality Switzerland AG. The house offers 99 rooms and suites, an 800 m2 conference centre with 11 halls and rooms, including the legendary “Trianon” ballroom, the Jack’s Brasserie restaurant, which has been awarded 14 Gault Millau points, a cigar lounge, a 500 m2 spa and an unparalleled sky terrace.

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