Location

The Hotel Ermitage is located up on a hill overlooking the town of Evian on the French side of Lake Geneva. The Franco-Swiss border runs through the middle of the lake from east to west. And in case you’re wondering, yes, this is the same Evian that Evian and Thonon still waters are bottled at.

The hotel sits in the middle of lush grounds. It’s summer and there’s a lovely smell of freshly mowed grass and drying hay in the air. There’s a swimming pool at ground floor level. The sounds of summer, of splashing water and kids squealing with delight drifts into my room on the third floor through the open window. In the distance I can just make out the lake blanketed by the heat haze and the humidity.

What you will notice as you read through this post, is that there are no or hardly any people in the photos. My visit was just before the start of the official summer holidays in Europe, so I guess it’s likely a very different experience in the height of summer.

Reception

The journey from Geneva by car takes us about 75 minutes in moderate traffic. By the time I reach the hotel, it’s just coming up to 20h45. The place seems very quiet. The doors to the main entrance are open, and there’s a soft, gentle breeze lazily sweeping through the ground floor lobby. To the right is a fireplace that has me wanting to return here in the winter just to see what it’s like with logs glowing in it in winter. On the left is the library and bar.

The young man at reception is friendly and enthusiastic. He gives me a rundown of everything the hotel has to offer, including directions to the spa/sauna/gym and then wishes me a pleasant stay.

Service & Staff

Most of the staff at the hotel are fairly young, like the guy at check-in. Everyone here seems really friendly, which is perhaps why the hotel has this very chill and laidback vibe.

The Room – Deluxe Lakeview Room

My room is on the third floor and facing out towards the garden and the lake. Admittedly, the room is rather small, especially if you’re two adults sharing. But in a way that also makes it rather intimate and cozy. The toilet is just off to the right from the entrance, and it’s such a narrow space that I have to squeeze in real tight to be able to close the door.

The double bed is a good, comfortable size, though. It’s a box spring and it’s nice and firm. There’s also a good size desk up by the wall opposite the bed.

At the far end of the room is an alcove with a small coffee table and two comfortable armchairs. I’m guessing that this space was originally the balcony when the hotel was first built.

The view from the room towards the setting sun is simply gorgeous. It looks so tranquil and peaceful! Off to the right I can see the steeple of the small church of Neuvecelle. The mournful sound of the church bells striking the full hour is nearly completely drowned by the sound of the energetic swallows as they frantically zoom past right outside my window. This is just so serene!

Amenities

The room has some good amenities. On the desk is a coffee machine with a capsule system I’ve never heard of, which is a shame, because the coffee it produces is excellent. There’s also real milk with the coffee and there are also teabags.

On the coffee table by the open balcony doors there’s a box with four Madeleines, offered with the hotel management’s compliments.

And in the bathroom there are bathrobes and slippers. The cosmetics are by l’Occitane. The bathroom is quite small, but still comfortable. The fittings all look fairly new, as though they were only recently updated.

Dining – Breakfast

Breakfast is served on the ground floor. When the weather is good, as it is during my stay, you can sit outside on the terrace for breakfast – and it’s gorgeous! The breakfast spread is rather nice and varied. It includes a few French staples – crêpes, French cheese, and other goodies. I guess my only complaint is that the scrambled eggs are also made à la française, meaning they’re still very runny and look half raw. And of course there’s more good coffee!

Dinner at the Evian Royal

A bit further down the hill, and connected through the lush park is the Hotel Royal, which is managed by the same company and is the more upmarket, larger hotel. There are several restaurants. During our stay, we visit Les Fresques, which is the fine dining restaurant with a veranda overlooking the lake. The setting under the stars is lovely, and so is the food. The menu is extensive and varied.

Getting to Lausanne in Switzerland

On Monday morning the complimentary shuttle picks me up in front of The Ermitage Hotel at 09h30. It’s a drive of fifteen minutes down to the waterfront and the landing for the ferry to Lausanne.

The boat arrives from Lausanne just before ten in the morning. The return trip departs Evian at 10h05 and takes 35 minutes – to arrive in Lausanne Ouchy at 10h40.

This is a scheduled regular ferry service, not a cruise ship. There are three decks on the boat, with the First Class deck at the very top. I make a beeline for the outer deck. I park my suitcase in the shade and spend the rest of my time hanging out over the side of the boat, taking in the view and enjoying the breeze.

Considering that we’re on a lake and Switzerland is a land locked country, it feels kind of weird that the trip from Evian is treated as an international arrival, which means that disembarking passengers will have to go through customs inside the ferry terminal building. Nonetheless, it’s a pleasant trip from Evian across to Lausanne.

Conclusion

This has been such a pleasant, rather unexpected stay. When I visited Lausanne earlier this year, I used to see the ferries leaving Ouchy for Evian and thought it would be nice to visit, considering how close it is on the other side of the lake. So when the opportunity arose in the wake of my trip to Bangkok, it seemed like a perfect time to visit.

I greatly enjoyed staying at The Ermitage. It’s a very pleasant and well managed hotel with friendly staff. The fact that the hotel was still very quiet ahead of the opening of the summer holiday season certainly helped. The Royal further down the hill is a very grand building with impeccable service and excellent food. To be honest, though, I think I preferred The Ermitage because it felt more intimate and private. This is definitely a place I’ll be returning to!