Published by Neil ThompsonWhilst it might feel like we have been stuck in 2020 forever, construction and investment has not stalled in Switzerland and destinations have been busy building, renovating and improving hotels and venues, which make Switzerland’s meeting and incentive offer for post-pandemic events even more exciting.
2021 will be an exciting year for Basel, the pharmaceutical hub in the north of Switzerland. The new Mövenpick Hotel Basel**** will open its doors in Q1, in a premium location in the city centre right next to the train station. With 264 rooms, a ball room, a conference hall and 17 additional meeting rooms, the hotel will be a valuable addition to Basel’s hotel portfolio, giving pharmaceutical groups a new base in the city.
Moving over to Switzerland’s largest city Zurich, we come across some major openings in 2021 and beyond. Still in 2020, Switzerland’s biggest construction site right at the airport came to a close, with the opening of The Circle at Zurich Airport. The Circle boasts two new Hyatt hotels, a Hyatt Regency and a Hyatt Place, offering a total of 550 new rooms altogether. Besides the new hotels, The Circle, which has a direct access from Zurich Airport, offers conference facilities for up to 2’500, with a Convention Hall of 5’000 sqm and 16 additional meeting rooms. Apart from this, it includes several new restaurants and bars, shops, cinemas, a health centre and a beautiful park.
Chocolate-lovers will be keen to try out the second major opening in Zurich in 2020, the Lindt Home of Chocolate, an interactive chocolate museum offering chocolate-making classes for groups, event space, the biggest Lindt chocolate shop in the world on 500 sqm and, last but not least, its spectacular chocolate fountain. This is the perfect half-day activity for meetings, incentives or even conferences.
In summer 2021, we will witness the re-opening of the Zurich Convention Center (Kongresshaus Zurich) with its spectacular view over the lake and the close Alps. It boasts a unique location right at the lake front in the city centre, in walking distance of many hotels. The re-opening follows a full renovation, which make events of up to 4’500 attendees possible.
These are just a few of many new developments in Zurich in 2020 and 2021, and it is worth having a look at the complete list on the website of the Zurich CVB here.
The Lake Lucerne region is another destination to watch in 2021 and beyond. The Kempinski Group has just recently announced that it will operate the first 5* hotel in the mountain destination Engelberg, the Kempinski Palace Engelberg. It consists of 129 luxurious rooms, several meeting rooms, a traditional ballroom next door, and of course a plethora of teambuilding and social activities in the mountains.
Aside from the Kempinski Palace Engelberg, the hotel group announced it will take over two hotels in the mountain destination of Melchsee-Frutt from winter 2020/2021. The two Alpine-inspired hotels frutt lodge & spa and frutt family lodge offer 99 rooms in total, as well as 14 suites.
In the city centre of Lucerne, right by the crystal-clear lake, the re-opening of the Hotel Palace Luzern in 2022 by Mandarin Oriental will be another milestone for the region. It will consist of 146 rooms, a restaurant, bar and several meeting facilities, and will be renamed to Mandarin Oriental Palace, Luzern.
Moving over from the German-speaking part of Switzerland to the French-speaking area, to Geneva and the Lake Geneva Region, we come across a new Radisson Blu Hotel in Geneva, opening its doors in 2021. Its 250 modern hotel rooms as well as a 350 sqm ball room, 8 meeting rooms and 8 board rooms will be a welcome new addition to the already extensive meeting offer in the international hub of Switzerland.
It is impossible to list all the exciting new openings in Switzerland over the coming years. All that remains to say is that is worth keeping an eye on the little landlocked country, there might be one or the other gem for those post-pandemic meetings, incentives, conferences and events?
For more new openings, have a look at the dedicated page on mySwitzerland.com. The Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau, based in London, is your first point of contact for anything related to Switzerland:
Contact Us:
Bettina Mumenthaler
Head of Switzerland Convention Bureau UK/Ireland
bettina.mumenthaler@switzerland.com
+44 20 7845 7686
