Travel Review: Htel Royal, Evian-les-Bains, France

Take a deep breath of clean mountain air aaaaand relax in this sumptuous five-star spa hotel perched in the hills above Lake Geneva. Everything about Htel Royal focuses on its glorious setting overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps. Both the hotels restaurants (more on them later) and the bar have panoramic views, as do many

Hôtel RoyalEvian-les-Bains, France £££

Take a deep breath of clean mountain air… aaaaand relax in this sumptuous five-star spa hotel perched in the hills above Lake Geneva.

OUR TOP 5:

The views

Everything about Hôtel Royal focuses on its glorious setting overlooking Lake Geneva and the Alps. Both the hotel’s restaurants (more on them later) and the bar have panoramic views, as do many of the bedrooms – even a stroll through the immaculately kept gardens is all about the lake below and the mountains beyond. If you need a breather from the chaos of everyday life, this is the place; you can’t help but find your Zen as you gaze out over the water.

The spa

A first-class facial using my all-time favourite beauty brand La Prairie, followed by a spot of light reading by the pool, and any sign of polluted city life was banished. With outdoor and indoor pools, plus a heated outdoor hydro circuit (i.e.: sit in in toasty warm bubbles even on a chilly early-spring day) you could easily while away a day in the spa.

The activities

Hard to believe, but apparently some people get bored just lounging poolside in a fluffy robe. If this is you, then there’s no shortage of sporty offerings – Hôtel Royal is part of the Evian Resort, a collection of hotels, golf club, tennis centre and casino (free shuttles will take you between the different venues) which is all about making the most of the location. On-site sports specialists can organize anything from skiing to watersports – although we took it easy with a guided mountain walk, you can be as active (or lazy) as you fancy.

The food

From seriously fine dining at Les Fresques (oh hello, four courses of pure joy!) to low-key lunches at La Véranda, Hôtel Royal does food in style. As do the resort’s other venues, in fact – melted Raclette at the golf club restaurant was the stuff of this cheese-lover’s dreams. Wherever you eat, we can recommend the fish – everything we tried was local and lake-fresh.

The rooms

Generously sized and with balcony and seating area, our bedroom wasn’t just a place to sleep in between eating and spa-ing. Do try to book a lake view room – even though the mountains don’t make for a shabby backdrop, we may have mentioned already that the lake is pretty special to look at.

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