Évian-les-Bains, Lake Geneva, France
Hôtel Royal, Évian
A 1909 Belle Époque palace on a wooded bluff above Lake Geneva, built around water.
The Hôtel Royal opened in June 1909, commissioned by the Evian mineral water company and named for King Edward VII, who promised to be among its first guests and had a suite set aside. He died in 1910 without ever using it. Gustave Jaulmes' neo-Baroque frescoes still cover the vaulted ceilings of the Grand Salon and the dining room that takes its name from them.
It sits in a 47-acre private park on the bluff above the lake, looking straight across the water to the Swiss shore at Lausanne. A hundred and twenty of its hundred and fifty rooms face that view. All of it was renovated in 2015, and the spa was rebuilt from the ground up and reopened in 2024 as the first evian-branded spa in Europe.
What makes it special
The frescoes are original
Jaulmes' work on the Grand Salon and Les Fresques vaults was restored rather than replaced. The Michelin-starred dining room is literally named after them.
A spa built around the water
1,700 square metres, reopened in 2024: indoor pool, an outdoor hydro circuit held at 33 degrees, a snow cave, cold plunge and ten treatment rooms. Named France's best wellness retreat two years running.
A major championship on site
The 18-hole Champions Course has hosted the Amundi Evian Championship since 1994, and it has been one of the five majors in women's golf since 2013. The only one in continental Europe.
Switzerland by boat in 35 minutes
The CGN ferry crosses to Lausanne year-round. The hotel's own speedboat reaches Geneva airport in under forty-five minutes by water, which is a lovely way to arrive.
The largest kids' club in France
A 1,000 square metre space with a baby club from four months, a kids' club from three and a teen club to seventeen, plus its own lifeguarded pool. This is a genuinely easy hotel to bring children to.
A closer look
What to do
- 01
The hydro circuit, whatever the weather
The outdoor course is held at 33 degrees, so it is at its best in the cold. The spa runs late, to about eleven.
- 02
Play the Champions Course
Or take an hour on the six-hole par-three Lake Course at the Academy if you do not want to give up half a day.
- 03
Take the boat to Lausanne
Thirty-five minutes across, then the train onward to Montreux and the Lavaux vineyards. The best day trip here by a distance.
- 04
Yvoire
A walled 14th-century village on the lake, thirty minutes west by road or reachable by boat. Cars are kept out of the core for most of the day.
- 05
Walk down into Évian
Under ten minutes by shuttle to the Art Nouveau Buvette Cachat, where you can fill a bottle at the source, plus the lakefront promenade and the casino.
- 06
Dine on property
Les Fresques holds a Michelin star under the frescoes. La Véranda is the all-day room, and its Sunday brunch is an institution.
Good to know
- Rooms
- 150 rooms and suites. 120 face Lake Geneva
- Dining
- Les Fresques (one Michelin star), La Véranda, L'Oliveraie, Le Bar
- Spa
- evian®SPA, 1,700 sq m, rebuilt and reopened in 2024
- Golf
- 18-hole par-72 Champions Course, host of the Amundi Evian Championship
- Location
- Geneva airport about 45 minutes by road. Lausanne 35 minutes by ferry
- Families
- Yes. Baby, kids' and teen clubs, and a dedicated pool
My honest take
Évian itself is quiet. That is the point for some people and a disappointment for others: the town is handsome and oriented to the water, but it is thin on restaurants and nightlife, and the honest advice from people who know it is to eat on property. Reviewers also rate this hotel lowest on value of any category, and opinion splits on whether the decor reads restored or merely bland. It is at its best as a family base, a golf trip, or a spa week with the lake and Switzerland at hand.
Written from research and public information, and kept current as I go. Photography is courtesy of the property. For live availability, rates, and the perks I can add as a preferred partner, let's talk.