Swiss Hotel Palafitte sees the green light
NEUCHATEL - Switzerland is famous in part for its stunning lakes. If you want to enjoy swimming in one of them in style, five star Hotel Palafitte is the perfect hotel for you. An electric buggy parked in the hotel’s foyer ferries guests and their luggage to roomy private suites – quite an experience indeed! 24 out of the hotel’s 40 luxury lodges stand on stilts above the beautiful Lake Neuchatel. You can simply open your balcony doors, slide down private ladder and dive into the refreshing waters of the lake.
We visited the hotel in summer when a swim in the lake was a welcome way to escape the heat. But, winter offers an entirely new experience for hotel guests – a spectacular view and five star service combined with the cosiness of hot chocolate on your balcony.
The hotel’s manager, Mr Gibson, told us all about how the Palafitte is looking to step up in making their hotel eco friendlier. At present they use water from the lake in their toilets and to power their heating. They recycle all of the paper, glass and food waste created on site and they even send the food waste to a company that uses it to generate biogas. Each lodge has been built using wood from Swiss trees that fell during one of the country’s worst storms. And they’re thinking of making their already partially green roofs even greener with sedum bases and solar panels. Overall, Hotel Palafitte’s green adventure has had a decent beginning but it’s certainly not yet eco enough for Strawberry Earth.
Considering the quality of local Swiss products and the number of farms in and around the area, we expected more local and organic products on the hotel’s menu. We understand they’re working on that… What’s more, although “disco” lights in room showers might be a fun extra, LED disco lights would have made the showers fun and green.
Hotel Palafitte is a favourite amongst celebrities. The pages of the guest book we flicked through included thank you notes from Iggy Pop and Kate Moss’s ex boyfriend Pete Doherty. All in all, Hotel Palafitte ticks all the “luxury” accommodation boxes for a relaxing stay in the beautiful countryside of Switzerland.
