Montreux sits on the edge of Lake Geneva and is the gateway to the Vaud Alps. Once a year the town is converted into a music lovers’ paradise with a huge jazz festival and Tralala Hotel is all about that celebration of music. Read on for our full Tralala Hotel review.
This post may contain sponsored content or affiliate links that help support the blog. All opinions are our own.
Tralala Hotel Location
Tralala Hotel is located up the hill from the lakeside and can be reached with a steep climb up some pretty backstreets or a more gradual main road that runs from behind the train station. Its about 10 minutes from the station and 15 from the lake. The high vantage point gives a nice view out towards the lake and hills beyond. Our room had a balcony and we loved the view!
Speaking of our room…
Our Room
We were staying on the second floor in a lovely bright room. Now I am not cool enough to know who the picture was outside our room but I still loved the art! Plenty of light came in from the big glass door and lit up the white walls. On the wall was a picture of yet more musicians and opposite, a mirror with a thick dark frame. It matched the dark entrance to the room and was a fab contrast to the clean white sheets of the bed. Each side of the bed had a lamp on which was good but I had to unplug mine to use the wall plug. We each had our own duvet, something we found all over Switzerland, and a big, square pillow. I don’t really like these super soft, larger pillows but they seemed to be everywhere so I just went with it.
In one corner was a small hanging rail (hidden behind the red curtain in the photo) which was high enough to try and straighten out one of my silly maxi dresses. In the other, we had a desk with a TV and a safe. We made use of the safe but ignored the TV in favour of my iPad when we enjoyed our room picnic dinner on the second night. We brought in a chair from the balcony so we could both sit and share the table.
The Bathroom
Our bathroom was compact but functional with plenty of towels and a decent hairdryer. There was a nice shower with both a rainfall head and a handheld smaller head. I particularly loved the toiletries we were provided with. The sweet tobacco scent was luscious and very unisex so great for everyone. I slathered myself in the body lotion and the rest was added to my washbag when we left.
Our Balcony
Outside we had the most lovely balcony. It was a real shame that the weather was a bit iffy for ost of our stay in Montreux because we would have loved to have sat out here for dinner. When we arrived on the Sunday afternoon, the cafe opposite had live music and it was wonderful to listen to the guitar and gaze down to the water. There was one plastic lounger-type chair and one regular chair so we would have had to swap for sunbathing but seeing as t was mostly raining, this wasn’t an issue.
Dining
The restaurant was giving serious French bistro vibes with red hues, warm wood and quirky decor. Looking around you will see some gorgeous old jazz posters and musical instruments galore. There was a raised stage in the corner with just enough room for a singer/songwriter or solo performer to give a great show. Downstairs, the toilets were labelled with more huge wall art and a trail across to the relevant doors. So cool!
A Welcome Drink
We were very hot and clammy from the uphill walk with our backpacks when we arrived at the reception. This made the offer of a welcome drink especially welcome. We head upstairs and dropped our bags before coming back down and asking shyly for an Aperol Spritz. Well, we thought the cheeky request might be too much but it was absolutely fine and we soon had two bright orange glasses of summer to sip. As we sat, another couple checked in and happily slurped down a glass of wine and a bottle of beer. What a lovely touch that you don’t often see in a city hotel.
Breakfast
When we originally went down to breakfast, it seemed like there wasn’t much for breakfast but it just wasn’t laid out in a long line. There was actually a great selection. It was a continental breakfast with perfectly buttery, flaky croissants as my star of the show. The fridge had some of the area’s famous cheeses and uber creamy yoghurts, if you love dairy, you will adore these yoghurts! There was one particular cheese that had a delicious pong but it wasn’t the soft cheese as you’d expect. I’m not sure what it was but I do know that it was delicious! The only hot offerings were a self-serve situation. You could pop some bread into a toaster or an egg into a little egg cooker thing. I was perfectly content with my cold selection so didn’t bother. On the bar was a fruit bowl, some delicious homemade cake and some whole fruits that we took with us for a snack later in the day. Drinks-wise you could have a coffee from a cappuccino machine or orange juice. So, orange juice and orange for the afternoon, that’s more vitamin C than I remember to have at home!
Final Thoughts for this Tralala Hotel Review
Montreux is often seen as a slightly dull town, which we refute. The Tralala Hotel with its exuberant decor and French-Swiss vibes must buck the trend because it was so cool. Our huge room, delicious breakfast and thoughtful welcome drink speak of a property which has bags of personality. It would most assuredly be our choice if we were to return, especially for the music festival!
Rosie xx