High above Lake Zurich, against a scenic backdrop of rolling wooded hills and with amazing views over the city, lake and mountains, the Dolder Grand has been one of Switzerland’s most iconic properties for over a century. In 2001, having secured financing for the renovation work at the legendary hotel, entrepreneur Urs Schwarzenbach engaged world- renowned architect Norman Foster to oversee the structural renovations. Lord Foster added two modern wings with sweeping glass façades to either side of the hotel’s 19th century main building with its traditional wooden frame, carved awnings and fairy-tale turrets. The hotel closed for four years while the renovations took place and reopened in 2008.

The impeccable service struck me from the moment I checked in. The rooms in the modern wings, where I stayed in a spacious junior suite, are outstanding examples of modern design and the spa is a staggering 4,000 sq m of European-Japanese opulence with just one purpose: to make you feel like royalty. And it succeeds. And there is of course the acclaimed two-Michelin-starred The Restaurant headed by innovative chef Heiko Nieder. Last but not least, The Dolder Grand is one of the very few hotels with a blue-chip art collection which is regularly changed. I say this because it is not unusual for many five-star properties to say that they are connected to art and have a collection but often this is just talk. Here, however, you experience the real thing. You can admire works by prestigious artists including Andy Warhol, Julian Schnabel, Joan Miró, Urs Fischer, Duane Hanson and many others. The hotel offers its guests an Art i-Pad to guide you through the works on display.