Review: Four Seasons Geneva Hotel Des Bergues (Gorgeous Landmark)

While this hotel is above my pay grade and comfort level, it does look really nice. Thanks for the peek into how the 1% lives.

How come you concider the "value" when you rate low-cost alternatives like ZIPAIR (and give ZIPAIR 4 stars due to the low price) but when you rate top-luxury experiences you don't even concider the cost/value? For most people, paying 1000-1500 USD per night is a terrible value, even for a luxury hotel in Europe.

100%. I think it has something to do with being a Four Seasons affiliate.

FWIW, this is not a paid endorsement or anything like that, but The Hamlet is far and away the nicest and most tasteful property in Geneva, in my opinion. In old town. Enormous and beautiful townhomes with a common area and discreet entrance. I think it's more where like diplomats rent for months at a time, but we stayed for a long weekend a few years ago and it was magnificent, felt less like an oligarch's petro-fortress. thehamlet.com

Hey Ben I really think posts like this would go a long way if you had a post you could link that discusses how you ensure you judge a hotel fairly (as fair as possible) whether it is free/significantly less or full price. That is my only beef with these. Like the more I spend on a property, the more I am less forgiving for minor things, right?

Because most people who are booking a Four Seasons hotel don't consider "value", they book it because it's a Four Seasons.

@ Marius -- That's a fair question. I think the simple answer is that it's borderline impossible to judge hotel "value" nowadays, assuming you're not redeeming points. And the reality is that when you look at the global hotel industry, only a tiny percentage of rooms are booked with points.

I don't think anyone would argue that the Andaz Maui for $1K+ per night, or the Waldorf Astoria Maldives for $2K+ per night, or the St. Regis. Kauai for $1K+ per night is a good value. Heck, the Hyatt Place St. Petersburg (where I often stay with points) retails for $300-400 per night over many dates.

It's hard to say that any of those hotels are a great value, assuming you're not redeeming points.

@ mmo -- I appreciate the recommendation, and will try to check it out on a future trip through Geneva, thanks!

@ Andrew -- That's a great idea, thank you! Let me see what I can come up with. 🙂

That is actually a very good point. See you already wrote a piece of the blog post I suggested above lol

Was deciding to stay at this Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental down the block. Ended up going with Mandarin… decor there is a bit more modern. With that said, had a great meal at Il Lago at Four Seasons. It was one Michelin star and worth the price. Unfortunately, chef Massimiliano Sena from Il Lago had moved on earlier this year and menu is now different.

How is it "full disclosure" if you don't tell us what price you paid??

Your reviews of Four Seasons properties would be much more helpful if you fully disclose how much you paid for the stays. I have a specific discount through a college that gets me great deals in a big US city. I can stay at the Four Seasons for less than $300/night. Would I pay the regular $900/night rate? No. But at $300 it is hard to pass. Geneva is not a place I would spend time inside the hotel, thus paying over $1,000/night makes no sense to me. If it was an amazing resort location, that is completely different.

I’m glad you and Ford had a great stay, as I love this hotel. FSHdB represents the best of an increasingly variable Four Seasons hotel group. I find the Woodward charmless by comparison.

Great review. If you are staying in Geneva for a night or two each year and you're paying for the hotels, I highly recommend ditching and heading to Lausanne for your next trip. Significantly nicer town, and Beau-Rivage Palace is gorgeous (and has the best views of the lake). If you want to spend a slightly longer stay in the area, you can also check out Evian resort, which was recently renovated. It's really nice seeing the lake from other parts, and frankly Geneva is not exactly a destination most are dying to go to.

The easiest thing to do is to provide the price you paid, just like other reviews. Give a reasonable range if you can't disclose the exact price. Your photos do a lot of the storytelling, which I appreciate. The rest, well, if you stayed for $500/night vs $1000/night, the expectations are going to be a little bit different no matter who you are, right?

@Ed, agreed.
@Ben, It would be helpful if you gave 1) a range of the price you paid (or even something like "20-60% off BAR" or "comparable to a MIA-LAX FC o/w"), 2) the published rates of the base room (you already do this), and 3) the published rates of the room/suite you actually stay in.
If you need to adjust (2) so that that becomes a range, too, so be it.

Agree with many of the comments besides the price for the room you should also disclose the price for the consumption such as the bar tab and the dinner tab. About the other comments regarding the stars, may be you remove the stars you give airlines and hotels and give it ratings if it was value for money or value for the prices. Consider relative to the cost, ZipAir is good, but of course you are not expecting the level that Emirates or similar provides.

I've never stayed at a Four Seasons before. The pictures of the lobby look great. Same goes for the rest of the pictures when I'm scrolling down until I came to the pictures of the room. Then it starts looking at an old white lady's living room, which is not what I'm looking forward to seeing when I'm on travel, unless I'm visiting my grandma. Big pass for me.

Lausanne is more of a secondary city, it is even less appealing and has limited access to the Lake, plus it is far from the airport. I would just do one night in Geneva and go in the mountains the following day. You can do lunch in Vevey, Montreux, Lavaux or Lausanne on the way if heading to the Swiss Alps. I agree with you on the Royal Evian being the best option on Lake Geneva, the spa is fantastic (but skip the other hotels from Evian resort).

exactly, I find this very important but provably as in the Singita review, there will be total silence on the topic. This is a shame that detracts from an otherwise excellent blog that I follow for years now.

I loved my two nights at the Beau-Rivage and the price was really good!

And don't forget there's a Ladurée at that Four Seasons.

planning trip including Geneva. Wanted to stay at the Ritz Carlton. Looking at your reviews Four Seasons looks nice. (although I think it's more expensive compared to Ritz)