Review: Hotel President Wilson, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Geneva
We can’t tell you how long we’ve been wanting to visit Geneva and stay at this hotel. When the Laver Cup with Roger Federer was going to be playing there, we were so close to booking the trip and going. Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work and we had to change plans. Many years later, we finally had our chance to visit Geneva and we weren’t passing up staying at this hotel.
We took the train in from Milan, Italy and once again, yes, it is walkable but not enjoyable. Geneva is a bit more hilly than Milan and when we arrived, it was getting a bit darker so we were trying to navigate through the narrower streets of Geneva with our luggage. However, we finally arrived and checked in.
We got our first room on floor 5 and we were a bit underwhelmed as it faced directly into another apartment building which wasn’t the nicest view, in fact, there was no view other than the people across. So we went down and asked the front desk if there was another room and they gave us a nicer room facing the pool and Lake Geneva. It was on the 2nd floor which is lower but that didn’t bother us. It was a fairly nice room, we weren’t overwhelmed by it as it didn’t have the “wow” factor like St. Regis Venice where we stayed just 4 nights prior.
The room was clean, spacious and it featured Diptyque amenities which are top notch. The bathroom was a dark green marble which again, was nice, but had a dated kind of feel about it.
Rounding out the room are the closets, safe and a coffee table with an Nespresso machine. The view was especially nice, unfortunately, the weather during the 5 days that we stayed in Geneva wasn’t the best and we couldn’t enjoy the outdoor pool.
The inside of the Hotel President Wilson was very opulent. Wide open areas welcome you in, however, not 20 or 30 foot ceilings. It looked like fresh flowers were brought in every morning.
We received a welcome drink for two, I had a cappuccino while my better half had a glass of wine.
During this time, they happened to have a once-a-week brunch which seemed to be quite popular at this hotel. We spoke to the staff in the below picture and they were so nice. They explained it was a paid brunch and they were just wrapping up as all they had left were the desserts.
The main floor of the hotel was quite massive as it extended all the way around. There were numerous restaurants, a few shops, conference rooms and sitting areas as well as the front desk and concierge.
One floor below the main floor is the gym and showers. It also connects out to the pool area. We hardly get a chance to use gyms in the hotel as we are always out and about seeing the sites of the city. However, you can see that they use high quality equipment and they are in pretty good shape, I guess they aren’t used much!
As mentioned earlier, the weather wasn’t the best while we were in Geneva. At first, the weather was showing that it was going to rain all 5 days that we happened to be there. Fortunately, it changed and the warmest day (day 3) we scheduled to go to Chamonix which is a mountain peak where we had a fantastic time. The other days were OK with about 18-20 degrees Celsius (around 67 Fahrenheit), most were cloudy but at least the rain stayed away for the majority of it. The pool was beautiful and we wished we could have used it as it was just a lovely area to sit, grab a drink or bite and relax in the sun.
The hotel itself has a few shops but the one that sticks out is the Dr. Vranjes. The diffusers were adorned around the hotel and the bottles ranged in sizes from ones that you would normally see in homes to sizes that were absolutely huge, like 2 feet tall bottles that must weigh around 50 pounds!
As beautiful as this hotel was, it wasn’t without an issue. One night we woke up to what sounded like moving furniture across a dance floor above us at 1:30am and lasted for 20-30 minutes. We were so tired though that we let it slide. However, it happened again the next night and we called the front desk to let them know. By the time they got to checking it, it had stopped. Next day, Juliette, the Guest Service Manager spoke to us and offered us a room on the 7th floor which we gladly accepted. It was a suite and nobody was above us on the 8th floor. As you may know, the 8th floor is reserved for select clientele at over $80,000 USD per night and occupies the entire floor with 1680 square meters (18084 square feet)! It has a private terrace, 12 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, pool table, Steinway piano, a 103 inch TV and more. Celebrities like Bill Gates, Michael Jackson, Sir Richard Branson and other presidents have stayed here. Feel free to check it out!
Our 7th floor suite wasn’t too bad either as it featured a hallway entrance which you can close the doors to block off any sound from the hallway. It had a spacious family room and the overall room with bed was just so open and airy. The bathroom was also much larger and featured a separate shower, although we can never understand showers that use glass closing doors where the water just leaks out all over the floor. Oh well, I guess that’s what the extra towels are for!
Was the hotel the nicest and most opulent that we have stayed regarding the price? Was it in the best location of Geneva? No and No. However, the staff were top notch. Julien and Pascal and all the concierge staff were just fantastic. When you come down the stairs or elevator you are always greeted by them as they are the first thing you see when the doors open. Julien booked us for our day trip to Chamonix and had the tickets delivered to our room. He also provided us with helpful tips around the city and his three favourite chocolate stores in the city which we found two of them and bought some of the best chocolates we have ever had.
We chatted with the front desk and told them that we were heading to Lyon after this. Amelia was from Lyon so she wrote a long list of places to go and especially to visit Rue de Merciere which was the best restaurant block we have ever seen/been to in the world.
Juliette, the Guest Service Manager was so nice, she helped us gather our belongings and carry up even the water boiler and luggage to the suite.
Would we stay here again? Without a doubt, yes. Geneva is not a large city and for us, we like to walk to get to know a city. So walking along the lake shore to the downtown core is something that we very much enjoy. What we also enjoy is great service and Hotel President Wilson Geneva delivers in spades.
Here is the Google Maps to help you determine if this is a hotel you would like to stay at:
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