JohnRain

That's the way to go. The Signature Lakeview Suites are especially nice IMO.

Yul_voyager

300 CHF is a good price, I would pay for it if I can get a lake view. You must get a room with a lake view.
They generally upgrade from the standard mountain view to a Junior Lakeview suite with a suite certificate.

PokerHammy

Stayed two weeknights here as a short stop from Zermatt to Paris.

The hotel is conveniently accessible and only a few minutes walk from the train station. We had a junior suite and was upgraded to the Signature suite, which was luxurious with an amazing view:


Received a welcoming letter with a box of delicious Swiss chocolates, and fruits replaced daily:


Nice big bedroom, although I found the European bed a bit hard for my preference:


Two bathrooms with Molton Brown toiletries.

We were woken up to construction noises and inquired about it. Turned out they were building a restaurant. The noises stopped and never heard from again for the rest of our stay.

The free Riviera Card was very useful and we had half priced train tickets to Broc for the chocolate factory tour, which on the return we stopped at Gruyeres. Also easy access to bus 201 that stopped right in front of the hotel, which went to the Chillon Castle in one direction and Vevey in the other. The card was also good for free furnicular rides in Vevey.

We were surprised with a pretty tray of Swiss cheeses and meats the second day, for the construction noises.

The breakfast buffet (40eur) had a big selection with an omelette station, with very attentive staff members.

The jazz cafe had live music playing. The shrimp curry was tasty. Service was a toss up - it was really nice in the evening, but during the day we had a very surly older waitress.

All in all it was a great stay at one of the prettiest places I've ever been to.

mintcilantro

Has this hotel disappeared from virtuoso and amex FHR? I found a decent rate for a stay next sept: 359 CHF. Would have been great to get some more benefits out of it. Any suggestions?

Yul_voyager

The hotel has never been part of FHR or Virtuoso (AFAIK). But it is part of the Visa luxury collection if you have one (which means free breakfast, maybe an upgrade and a 25$ or CHF credit).

mintcilantro

Thanks for the tip. The continental breakfast would be better than nothing.

Yul_voyager

It's actually the buffet breakfast which is more than just "continental" IMO...

CanadaDH

And it's a very, very good buffet breakfast. I think the regular price for that breakfast is about 60 CHF each. Had it not been included in my rate, I'm not sure I would have shelled out 120 CHF each day just for breakfast, but we certainly enjoyed it. After a while, I started to get used to the fact that everything is just expensive there.

mintcilantro

That sounds great. I booked 2 nigths with visa signature for 359 CHF each. When my new certs arrive in feb, I'll add the 3rd night free and the use a suite upgraded. I will also get a free night cert from credit card in May so I blocked a base level room for a day after that. A 4 night stay would be good as I hate to change hotels frequently.

italdesign

Will be here in a few days. Any on-site restaurant recommendation that won't break the bank?

CanadaDH

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that such a place exists. All of the onsite restaurants have their menus posted on the hotel website, and you will see that none of them are inexpensive.

Apart from some appetizers and desserts on La Terasse du Petit Palais one evening, we mostly ate away from the hotel during our time in Montreux (other than the included breakfast each day). There are a lot of great food options around. Some days, we ended up just buying sandwiches from the Coop supermarket and making a picnic by the water.

Enjoy your time there. Montreux is a very beautiful town, set in beautiful area with many things to see and do in the area, and Le Montreux Palace is a wonderful hotel.

CanuckFlyHigh

Booked to Switzerland and going to use my 4 free nights here. Rep let me book 4 nights on a Fairmont room. Wife and I used two suite upgrade certs and they told me I could call and apply the other two free nights after July 1. Will be getting GREAT value. Junior Lake View Suite is 750 CHF, which is a value of $4000 CAD of value for 4 nights. Going out of FPC with a bang.

CanadaDH

Why would you need to use 2 suite upgrade certs on a 4 night stay? A single cert should be good for up to 5 nights. I've used suite upgrades and free nights in Montreux before, and it's one of my favourites (the area and the hotel).

CanuckFlyHigh

whoops. Typo. We used 2 free nights. 1 SU cert.

codesinvan

Stayed here earlier this year for my Birthday - Stayed 3 nights and used a suite upgrade certificate. Hotel was most beautiful Fairmont we ever stayed at. Suite Upgrade was best use of a suite upgrade ever and the service level was over the top. It was Mid-March - so the hotel was pretty empty - which made it nicer for us I think.

I used the Aeroplan Diamond rate to get the free breakfast. Best breakfast we ever had - highly recommend any rate that includes breakfast. Because it is really expensive. We used our "authentic local dining" experience here - which was basically a free dinner for two (all in - including a couple glasses of wine) at the Bistro. Best value we ever got out of the certificates because of the cost of food in Montreaux in general. It was a great meal too. Amount was charged to our room and then taken off by the front desk at check-out.

Our favorite Fairmont ever and our favorite use of suite upgrade and 'local authentic dining' experience certficates. Going to try to get back before the certs are gone forever.