Grand Hotel Belvedere, a Beaumier hotel & Spa

Grand Hotel Belvedere’s name suggests a classic grand hotel from over a century ago, and that’s what it was before it was acquired — and thoroughly renewed — by France’s Beamier hospitality group. No mere restoration, their reimagining of the Belvedere leaves it as modern as any luxury hotel in Switzerland. But thanks to the sensitivity of its designers, the modern Belvedere is warm and welcoming, rather than edgy and overdramatic.

Plentiful bare wood serves to maintain a connection with the hotel’s Alpine heritage, and while the rooms and suites verge on minimalism, they’re full of visual interest, and contain comforts that are anything but spartan. (The views, too, are as inspiring as the Belvedere name suggests.) The one avant-garde note is struck by the spa, with its concrete surfaces and acute angles — but if there’s anything a spa is supposed to be, it’s a departure from the everyday.

The hotel’s dining and drinking venues include a modern brasserie and a fine-dining restaurant, and both French and Swiss culinary traditions are represented with pride. Add to this all the charms of a car-free Alpine town, surrounded by world-class winter and summer recreation, and you’ve got a modern classic in the making.