― DESTINATION ―
― DESTINATION ―
T
we’re keen to offer the finest setting and the very best in interior architecture and decoration – but our guests, whose main concern when they stay here is to get a good night’s sleep, must immediately feel the comfort they’re entitled to. That’s why we go to Elite for all of our Sandoz Foundation hotels; that way we’re sure we’re not taking any risks.
he Sandoz Hôtel Foundation has been coun- ting on the comfort of Elite mattresses in all its hotels for many years now. For this reno- vation, it was therefore only natural for it to
call once again on all the Vaud-based firm’s craftsmen and their knowhow in the manufacture of bed frames, bed bases, headboards, beds, and sofa beds. We went to meet Benjamin Chemoul, the current deputy manager and soon-to-be CEO of the Beau-Rivage, who supervised the work.
Yes, and all the more so after the period we’ve all just come through. Our guests are seeking better balance in their lives,
Do you get the impression that sleep is at the heart of your guests’ concerns?
You’ve just completed a major renovation. Tell us about your collaboration with Elite!
Elite brought all its skill to bear in bringing to life the sketches and ideas of our ar- chitect Pierre-Yves Rochon, well known for the design
and more and more hotels are offering wellness pro- grammes; we ourselves have expanded our Wellness of- fer considerably. Our programmes and personal coaches now address sleep issues as well as sports and nutrition. Everything that’s conducive to relaxation (such as hyp- nosis and meditation) contributes to better sleep, but the best relaxation and the greatest relief we can offer our guests remains a really comfortable bed!
and renovation of iconic hotels. You can well imagine that with seventy bedrooms, no two of them alike, there were a great deal of adjustments to be made. For ins- tance, many of the sixty-five headboards are of different widths or heights; and in the rooms where we didn’t want headboards, quilted hangings were used instead. Your firm made 96 mattresses and delivered us with 28 sofa beds, complete with armrests fitted with USB ports and lights connected to our ‘smart home’ system. In short, we were able to fit our bedrooms with unique, bespoke sofas, beds and other amenities.
Our guests sometimes ask us what brand the beds are, and we’re always very proud to be
Were you keen to work with a Swiss company?
able to tell them that our beds are made by a historic, lo- cally-based partner. The Beau-Rivage Palace is owned by the Sandoz Family Foundation, which is very committed to giving its custom first and foremost to local players. For this latest renovation work, we called on companies based in Lausanne itself, the surrounding region, or at the very least from within Switzerland. When I visited your factory, I was fascinated to see all the craftsmen building beds from start to finish. Going on that kind of tour brought home to me the immediate impact of a hotel like ours on our neighbouring economic and social envi- ronment. Our renovation has made its modest contribu- tion to keeping high-quality players in Switzerland; I’d be disappointed if I had no choice but to go to the other side of the world to buy a mattress of this quality.
Benjamin Chemoul, current deputy director
of the Beau-Rivage Palace, appointed soon general manager.
BiHow could it not be? Of course, we have to offer our guests plenty of other things in terms of comfort, too: USB
Is the bed always a determining factor in the comfort of a hotel room?
and USB-C ports, induction phone chargers, centralised controls, and a smart home system to control curtains, lights and AC, and so on. This renovation has also been an opportunity for us to add Bluetooth speakers and even aromatherapy in the bathrooms! While this level of amenities has become much more common in luxu- ry hotel rooms, the bed and the night-time comfort it provides remain the most important promise. Of course,
‑ 46 ‑
‑ 47 ‑
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software