Hotel Parc des Eaux-Vives

The food and location were good, but the hotel is very old. They advertise a garden view room type, yet there isn’t actually a room with a garden view.

The hotel sits in a beautiful parc in Geneva. The rooms were clean, but very hot in summer without air conditioning, even with the Dyson fans. The washlet bathrooms were a plus, and the staff were polite and professional. The hotel restaurant and bar weren’t open throughout the day. Reception is only staffed until 7pm, so check-in happens at the Metropole hotel, five minutes away by car. Our key didn’t work, and we had to wait in the middle of the night for someone to bring the right one. The lift was also out of order when we arrived, so we had to carry our luggage up two floors.

The flexibility and service at Hotel Restaurant Parc des Eaux Vives made our laid-back civil wedding feel glamorous. We had the ceremony, cocktails, and dinner there in January 2024, all in one place, and the food and drinks were great. Our guests spoke both English and French, so we could choose individual meals for everyone and have the menus printed in the right languages. They let me bring my own florist, and a friend set up a small sound system. The indoor and outdoor photos turned out beautifully, with snow on the lawns and the lake in the background. We never felt rushed. Everyone asked how I planned such a lovely but simple wedding, and booking this place made a lot of it easy.

This little gem is in a wonderful spot in the middle of the park, overlooking beautiful Lake Geneva with the mountains behind it. The food was very good, and the desserts were even better. It’s a great place for a weekend lunch. I’ve worked as a destination wedding photographer all over the world, and this is one of my top 10 places to work.