Swiss Source of Rejuvenation

13 August 2020

What share Winston Churchill, Konrad Adenauer, Dwight Eisenhower, Charles de Gaulle, Miles Davis, Pablo Picasso, Marlene Dietrich or Marilyn Monroe? They stayed at the hotel-clinic La Prairie in Montreux for shorter or longer periods.

There are many Grand-Hotels and hospitals in Switzerland. A combination of these two is exceptional, however. The principle is to provide medical care in an environment and with the service of a five-star hotel.
The care of the body has a long tradition in Switzerland, dating back to the first Roman baths in Baden in the canton of Aargau.

Until the late eighteenth century, this was Switzerland’s most famous bathing resort. Their prestige was so great that the peace treaty of the Spanish War of Succession (1701-1714) was concluded in this town.

The most significant development came in the nineteenth century, especially in Graubünden and around Lake Geneva. In 1848, the country had no less than 350 registered and recognized bathhouses/clinics and water sources. Thomas Mann, Victor Hugo and Léon Tolstoi made it the subject of their novels.

The concept of luxury clinics dates from this period. The wealthy bourgeoisie and the (high) aristocracy from Europe and America visited them in large numbers until the First World War.

This sector experienced a decline after 1945. However, the tide seems to be turning. Health in a pleasant environment is considered an increasingly high priority. The combination of medical care in a hotel environment attracts more (wealthy) visitors/patients. The clinic La Prairie is a forerunner and an example.