Le Royal

The mineral water that made Évian famous also made this hotel necessary — when the well-to-do of Europe came to take the waters in the early 20th century, they needed somewhere suitably grand to stay between treatments. The Royal opened in 1909, a Belle Époque spa palace overlooking Lac Léman with the Swiss Alps as a backdrop, and it has been the centrepiece of the Évian resort ever since. The hotel hosts the annual Évian Championship golf tournament and offers a private funicular to the town and lake below. 150 rooms, a spa fed by the famous Évian spring water, and views across the lake that on a clear day stretch from Lausanne to Geneva.