La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich – the lake hotel rebuilt as a yacht club

On the eastern shore of Lake Zurich, in the leafy Seefeld quarter a ten-minute walk from Bahnhofstrasse, a hotel built in 1909 has been rebuilt as an imaginary yacht club moored on dry land. Owner Michel Reybier handed the century-old Eden au Lac to designer Philippe Starck, who stripped the building back to brick, marble and solid wood before refitting it as La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich, a 40-room five-star address with striped awnings, lion-head sculptures and cabin-like rooms facing the water. It markets itself as Zürich's only five-star hotel directly on the waterfront. Inside, the ground-floor Eden Kitchen & Bar, run by Italian chef Marco Ortolani, holds one MICHELIN star, while the rooftop Japanese-Peruvian restaurant La Muña, six floors up, carries a MICHELIN Plate. The MICHELIN Guide awards the hotel itself Two MICHELIN Keys. The result trades gilt for brick, marble and sailors'-cabin detailing — luxury that reads like a well-kept boat rather than a grand palace.

01The house

The hotel's transformation came under the impetus of La Réserve and the vision of excellence upheld by its owner, Michel Reybier, who commissioned Philippe Starck to rework the building that has stood on this stretch of lakefront since 1909. The result stands proud, serene and calm, reminiscent of the decades that have passed since the hotel first opened on the lakeshore. Starck deconstructed Eden au Lac to rebuild it for tomorrow, redesigning the 40 rooms and suites, restaurant and bar for a timeless experience true to La Réserve's values of excellence, authenticity and simplicity.

His approach was almost archaeological: brick walls, basement marble and solid wood floors were uncovered from beneath decades of plaster and wallpaper, then furnished as an imagined lakeside yacht club — red wood recalling boat hulls, bronze Venetian gondola oar-rests, resin-cast shells, and oars propped about as though left behind after a regatta. The striped awnings, balconies and lion-head sculptures on the original facade were kept as witnesses to the building's early-20th-century holiday spirit.

02Rooms and suites

The hotel offers 40 rooms and suites in eight categories, ranging from 27 to 79 sqm, each on the upper floors overlooking the lake and designed by Starck like an onshore sailor's cabin. Expect nautical-inspired Jatoba wood, papyrus-like wallpaper, striking sinks and exposed brick throughout; only a quarter of the rooms come without a lake view.

Insider tip

Request a lake-view room; book Eden Kitchen & Bar ahead; swim at the Badi Utoquai opposite the hotel.

At the top of the range, the Eden Suite runs to roughly 105 m², with champagne, wine and a Sprüngli sweets box among its welcome touches, while the two-bedroom Eden Suite and two-bedroom Lake View Suite give families and groups their own sitting rooms and a private corner of the hotel.

03Where to eat

On the ground floor, glass walls open onto the water and light plays across natural leather sofas and tables, tinted by a multicoloured stained-glass window created by the artist Ara Starck. Here, Italian executive chef Marco Ortolani, who has previously worked at La Trattoria Enrico Bartolini in Tuscany, with Alain Ducasse in London, and in kitchens across Italy, Argentina and Hong Kong, runs the open kitchen that has been awarded 1 MICHELIN star. The menu runs from macaroni with truffles and salmon in a yuzu-teriyaki marinade to the original Zürcher Geschnätzeltes, cooked in full view of the dining room.

Reached by the lobby's glass lift, La Muña occupies the sixth floor, overlooking the city from its tree-lined roof terrace, in what was once the building's attic beneath its dome. The dining room keeps the original brickwork and timber frame, lit through stained glass also made by Ara Starck, with a sculpture of skiffs and kayaks mounted overhead. The Japanese-Peruvian, Nikkei-style menu of ceviche, sashimi and sushi is built for sharing under large parasols, with panoramic views over the lake and the Alps; the restaurant holds a MICHELIN Plate.

04The bar

A smoking lounge with what the hotel calls a 'treasure cellar' sits alongside the Eden Cigar Lounge, an after-dinner ritual once common to grand lake hotels. In summer the Rooftop Bar opens above La Muña for drinks and snacks with a 360-degree view over Zurich's rooftops, while the ground-floor Eden Bar keeps pace with the kitchen below it long after the last course has gone out.

05Spa and wellbeing

There is no spa pool inside the building; instead, guests have complimentary access to the Fitnesspark Stadelhofen five minutes away, with its fitness floor, group classes and sauna area, plus a Rossano Ferretti Hair Spa on site for cut and colour. The lake does the rest of the work: guests can take a private turn on a silent electric Otter water-bike, paddle a stand-up board from the shore opposite, or walk into the public Badi Utoquai bathing station across the street, whose water is of drinking quality.

06The neighbourhood

The Opera House and city centre are within walking distance, and Bahnhofstrasse's shopping lies a ten-minute walk from the hotel's genteel stretch of Seebad Utoquai. This is Seefeld: leafy and residential, closer to joggers and sailing clubs than tour groups, with the lake itself serving as the neighbourhood's long front garden.

07Making the most of a stay

Ask for a lake-facing room on an upper floor — only a quarter of the hotel lacks the view — and book Eden Kitchen & Bar well ahead given its MICHELIN star. A sunset outing by motorboat with a picnic on board makes use of the hotel's own stretch of water, and a morning swim at the Badi opposite is as close as Zurich gets to a private beach.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.