Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa

A 1909 hotel near the lake in Lausanne

Royal Savoy Hotel & Spa is a five-star hotel at Avenue d'Ouchy 40 in Lausanne, part of The Bürgenstock Collection. Its about page says that "Since 1909, the Royal Savoy has embodied the spirit of Lausanne, where heritage meets contemporary elegance, just moments from the lake." The hotel describes itself as "More than a 5-star hotel", a place built around the Spa du Royal, sunlit terraces, restaurants and rooms. For a wedding, the pitch is one address that handles the ceremony setting, the dinner, the party and the guests' beds, with the lake a short way off and the city center close by.

The hotel's events offer sits under a Meet and Celebrate heading with three strands: meetings, weddings and private events. It says it can arrange "anything from a business meeting to a wedding with a range of different rooms available", and that its location near the lake and the city center makes a fine backdrop for guests.

The wedding offer

The weddings section is compact but specific. The hotel calls itself the perfect place to say I do, and promises that its team will build "a bespoke wedding package tailored to your needs". Three points follow.

The ballroom. The hotel's ballroom, which it describes as "the biggest in Lausanne", can take up to 400 guests. The meetings section repeats the claim, calling it the largest ballroom in the city.

The menu. Catering comes from the hotel's own chefs, with "sophisticated catering offers, tailored to your needs". The meetings section lists the formats the kitchen works in: a cocktail, a finger-food buffet, a dessert selection or a three-course menu.

The wedding night. Under the heading "Your wedding night as a gift", the page states that "The bride and groom's room is included for your wedding night."

The private events section adds that event offers are customized, with catering, decoration and entertainment shaped around the couple's wishes, and that the event rooms have an elegant, refined decor the hotel calls unique in Lausanne. A wedding brochure, a gardens brochure and a meetings and events brochure are available from the page.

Gardens and terraces from April to September

The most useful part of the page for a summer wedding is the gardens section. From April to September the hotel offers "the exclusive privatization of its outdoor spaces" for open-air events, with cocktails, buffets or entertainment, and it states that indoor backup options are in place if the weather turns. Three spaces are named with capacities:

• Les Jardins du Royal, from 40 to 400 guests for cocktail receptions or buffets
• The Salon Royal Terrace, up to 80 guests for cocktail receptions
• The Superior Terrace, up to 35 guests for cocktail receptions

That gives a clear shape for a larger wedding: an aperitif or a buffet in the gardens for up to 400, then the ballroom, which the hotel says takes up to 400, for the evening. For a small wedding, the Superior Terrace for 35 is a very different scale of event in the same hotel. The page lists the outdoor spaces for cocktails and buffets only, so a seated dinner outside is a question to raise.

Food, spa and things to do

The hotel's restaurants are The Brasserie du Royal, The Sky Rooftop with its Cucina Italiana, and the Lobby Bar and Japanese Gardens. The offers section lists a Four-Hands Dinner, a Royal Brunch and a series called Les Rencontres du Royal, and the Spa du Royal is part of the hotel. The about page describes the hotel as both lively and peaceful, which a wedding weekend can use: a brunch the day after, a spa morning before the ceremony, and a rooftop dinner for the guests who arrive early.

Rooms and suites are a separate section of the site, and the hotel belongs to the LHW Leaders Club. The pages here give no room count and no rates, so a couple should ask how many rooms can be held for guests and on what terms.

Language and contact

The site is published in English and French, and the English pages are complete. Event enquiries go to events@royalsavoylausanne.com or +41 21 614 88 88; general reservations use info@royalsavoylausanne.com. Each section has an "Inquire now" link, and the booking panel adds that the hotel is "happy to make special arrangements for you." The site also carries a FAQ, a sustainability page and gift cards, and the meetings section notes a complete range of modern audiovisual equipment, which is handy for speeches, a slideshow or a live stream to relatives who cannot travel. The hotel does not say in which languages its events team works, but the full English site makes an English first enquiry straightforward.

What the site does not say

The hotel publishes no wedding prices, no per-person rates and no minimum spend. It gives capacities for the ballroom and the three outdoor spaces, but not for the other event rooms. It does not say whether a civil ceremony can be conducted at the hotel or whether the ceremony it has in mind is a symbolic one, so a couple wanting a legally binding marriage should ask how the hotel works with the registry office. It does not say whether a wedding has exclusive use of the event floor, what time the music must stop, whether outside suppliers are welcome, or whether parking is available for guests. The page gives no directions from an airport or a station.

Who it suits

The Royal Savoy suits a couple who want a city-and-lake wedding with a large guest list, up to 400 in the ballroom and in the gardens, and everything handled by one team: food, decoration, rooms and the spa. The April to September gardens and the stated indoor backup make it a safe choice for a summer date, and the included wedding-night room is a genuine extra.

It is less suited to a couple after a rural or rustic setting, or one who wants the lake at the edge of the lawn; the hotel describes itself as moments from the lake rather than on it. Couples who need prices before they write will have to request the brochure and a quote first.