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A grand hotel in Wengen
The London Standard
|March 13, 2025
Arriving at Wengen in Switzerland is a cinematic delight: the ultimate “Accidentally Wes Anderson” experience.
The car-free Alpine village can only be reached via a charming cog railway, named Wengernalpbahn, and on board you’ll be treated to the most magnificent, sweeping view of the Lauterbrunnen valley.
When many ski villages have lost their quaint magic to a rowdy après crowd, it’s not surprising that the French hotel group Beaumier decided to open its first five-star resort in Wengen, restoring two neighbouring Andersonian grand dames in the shadow of the Jungfrau as Grand Hotel Belvedere.
While Megève has Audrey Hepburn and Klosters has the royals, Wengen has a landscape so majestic it’s long been associated with mythical storytelling. JRR Tolkein stayed at the original Grand Hotel Belvedere, and it is thought that the valley inspired Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings.
This story is from the March 13, 2025 edition of The London Standard.
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