A 1901 Belle Époque Landmark on Lake Geneva Begins Its Most Ambitious Chapter Yet

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THE WOODWARD, AUBERGE RESORTS COLLECTION

Designer: Pierre-Yves Rochon

Location: Quai Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland

On offer: Quai Wilson—Geneva’s Right Bank promenade, a stone’s throw from the Bains des Pâquis and the city’s diplomatic quarter—has always attracted a certain gravity. Last year, the 1901 Belle Époque landmark at No. 37 got a new name on the door. Originally designed by François Durel and reopened in 2021 after decades as a bank office building, The Woodward has passed from the Oetker Collection to the Auberge Resorts Collection, sharpening its identity as a 26-suite residential manor on the lake. Behind the post-Haussmann façade, Pierre-Yves Rochon’s interiors unfold like private apartments: handmade azure wallpapers, marble fireplaces, Baccarat crystal, and bespoke marquetry. The Royal Suite crowns the building with a 10-seat dining room, four balconies trained on the French Alps, and a private elevator. Downstairs, the original bank vault has been converted into a cigar lounge—its heavy door preserved alongside a vintage “No Smoking” sign that now reads as pure deadpan.

Standout features: The culinary program, overseen by The Bastion Collection and Executive Chef Olivier Jean, punches well above the property’s 26-key size. L’Atelier Robuchon is Geneva’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant, its open-kitchen counter format and exacting French technique unchanged from the Robuchon playbook. Le Jardinier, the vegetable-forward dining room in a glass-walled veranda, holds a Michelin star of its own. Two subterranean floors house the 1,200-square-meter Guerlain Spa, anchored by a 21-meter heated indoor pool—the longest private pool in the city—plus a full Nordic-style thermal circuit of saunas, hammams, Swedish baths, a snow shower, and six private treatment rooms crafted by Swiss cabinetmaker Gruyeria with mother-of-pearl insets.