Le Mirador Resort & Spa

To call this Swiss hotel “Le Mirador” is a bit of an understatement. The word “mirador,” or lookout, is the same term assigned to tourist-crowded platforms on Spanish roadsides, the kind where everyone piles out of the car to take snapshots of a silvery sea or a faraway horizon at sunset. That’s all well and good, but the “mirador” at Le Mirador Resort & Spa is something more — it’s a jaw-dropper of a backdrop, a spectacle of nature that verges on the sublime.

Switzerland’s like that, of course, especially on the perennially dazzling Lake Geneva. Le Mirador is located on Mont-Pèlerin, overlooking the lake, amid vineyards that UNESCO has specially recognized. Somewhat surprisingly, especially considering the place features a restaurant and a Givenchy Spa, Le Mirador is not a large resort, but a rather intimately sized 64-room hotel. Standard guest rooms, housed in the older and more historic part of the hotel, are spacious, with private balconies overlooking the lake, king-sized beds, large flat-screen TVs, and iPod docking stations. The look is classic, not contemporary — think gold-flecked tapestries and sumptuous floor-to-ceiling drapery. Junior suites, in the hotel’s newer wing, have more of a modern look, plus natural stone bathrooms and more sizable terraces. The collection of suites are, in short, the kind of room you’ll be staying in if you happened to arrive at Le Mirador’s helipad instead of walking through the front door. Amenities vary — some have full kitchens, others carved-marble baths — but they have one thing in common. Views: that’s what you get at Le Mirador, no matter where you’re sleeping.

Le Mirador is home to a spa by Alpeor, not to mention an indoor swimming pool topped with a glass dome, a fitness center with panoramic views of the lake, and several tennis courts. There are also medical and dentistry centers (read: this is a place where the beautiful people come to work on staying beautiful.) Le Patio, the award-winning, seasonal restaurant, works gastronomic magic with a wide range of seasonal ingredients. Nearby, the Bar Lounge & Terrasse comprises an ornate salon with rich red carpeting and elegant leather armchairs and a magnificent terrace overlooking the lake. It’s hard to picture a more impressive venue for sampling the region’s famous wines. Raise a glass of Chasselas and toast to your good health, and your good fortune: if you’re staying at this hotel, your life is going pretty well indeed.

How to get there: Le Mirador is located approximately 84 km from Geneva International Airport via A1 and A9. Alternatively, round-trip train tickets are available from Geneva for approximately 112 CHF; the trip takes one hour each way, and the hotel offers complimentary transfers to and from the station. Helicopter trips last approximately ten minutes and cost approximately 400 CHF each way.