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BEAU-RIVAGE PALACE,

‘TRADITION AND PROGRESS’

François DUSSART
When I am asked to talk about my job as general manager of the The legacy of our prestigious past and the desire to keep moving
Beau-Rivage Palace or to describe my vision for the future of the hotel, forward has inspired the hotel motto ‘tradition and progress’. But
I always find it difficult to speak in the first person singular. The truth is, this is more than just a motto, it is a mission statement expressed
and always has been, that it is a task involving an entire team, based on a through certain core values – hospitality, excellence, pleasure and
dynamic, harmonious relationship between management, the board of tradition. Summed up in a few phrases, our aims are: to promote team
directors and the principal shareholder. That is why I feel that the rather spirit, initiative and innovation; to respect the tradition of an historic
impersonal term ‘hotel’ comes closer to defining a reality which is the monument and the surroundings in which it stands; to re-examine
sum total of the goodwill, passions and experiences that have been the the workings of the hotel continually and never allow it to ‘rest on its
driving force behind the establishment for a century and a half. laurels’ – an attitude to which guests are extremely sensitive.
Since its foundation, the Beau-Rivage Palace has never closed Today, the Beau-Rivage Palace celebrates its 150th anniversary
for a single day, which is quite an achievement in a sector as vulnerable with new projects – proof indeed of its vitality and assurance. The
to economic fluctuations as the hotel business, an industry which spaces at the heart of the hotel and the way they are used are to undergo
is heavily dependent on financial and political conditions both in a total rethink. The Grammont Room, where at present breakfast is
Switzerland and in the countries from which its guests are drawn. Over served, and the restaurant La Rotonde, will be switched around. The
the decades, the hotel has been extended and modernised in order to Bar Anglais and the lobby will interconnect. All of this is designed to
respond to customer expectations and to expand and improve the make these spaces easier to maintain while also bringing the hotel up
range and quality of services we can offer our guests. A succession of to date and achieving much greater efficiency in operating day to day.
renovations and restorations has clearly shown we have a great ability And since, ideally, we should never cease to have a dream, the
to adjust, by adapting our buildings and our organisational structure. hotel would like to restore the historical link it once had with Lake
Encouraged by the continuing confidence of its guests, the hotel Geneva. The idea is to reconnect – albeit only visually – the Beau-
has fulfilled the demands of each new era while managing to preserve Rivage Palace’s four hectares of parkland with the lake shore and to
its unique character and maintain the quality of service for which it recreate a landing stage, a walkway across the water in a contemporary
is renowned. Recently, we have brought the Beau-Rivage Palace into reinterpretation of the version used by the steamer companies until
line with current tastes and marked its entry into the 21st century by 1884. After all, why shouldn’t Ouchy become famous for its boardwalk
creating an elegant and comfortable spa. or its pier, like those at Brighton or Deauville?

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