Nina will tell you that she found this charming luxury 4-star hotel, located on Lake Lucerne. Well, she did drive there, so, I suppose that from an existential point of view you could say that she “found” it; but it was I who discovered it during my extensive and meticulous internet research. And, truth be told, I navigated us to the Schloss Hotel, in the heart of the pastoral village of Merlischachen (otherwise, I might be writing this from Italy!).

The Schloss Hotel complex celebrates Prince Joseph Seeholzer’s vision of luxury living and dining in a castle (schloss is German for castle). In 1969, the prince converted his original 17^th Century farmhouse into a restaurant-inn, the Swiss Chalet, a gourmet restaurant with charming guest rooms upstairs. He followed in 1980 with construction of two hotels, the Schloss Hotel and Château Golden Gate. At the same time he converted the barn adjoining the original farmhouse into a large

eating and meeting facility, Astrid Hall , with additional bridal suite (e.g., the Storchenzimmer) and a cool bar, the Queen’s Club. In 1991 he built the Jagdschloss Château Golden Gate (hunting castle), up the hill and in 2006 added a 3^rd floor to the Schloss Hotel with themed luxury rooms like the Moulin Rouge Suite, Egyptian Suite, Cowbell Suite, and Jaguar Suite (Yes! You sleep in a real 1964 MK 10!), among others.

Nina parked the rental car in the parking lot and we made our way into the lobby of the rustic castle-style Schloss Hotel. The lobby opened into an expansive hall with large beamed ceilings and rustic walls, decorated with portraits of “chivalrous individuals” and medieval weaponry (e.g., Swiss halberds or pole axes, goedendags or spiked clubs, and bills).

Nina proceeded to charm the staff with her signature smile and broken German and we got our key. We made our way to our room on the second floor, past antiques of farming tools, knight’s full trappings, and large wooden doors with small armor shields as door markers.

Our door opened into a spacious and elegantly rustic room that faced the lake. The Swiss Alps rose majestically beyond, drawing the eye into a picture-perfect view. In keeping with the country castle theme, the room was draped in rich burgundy and wood and consisted of a comfortable bed, small “parlor” with desk and table and elegant chairs, wooden-latticed windows and French door that opened to a balcony overlooking the hotel gardens and small beach of Lake Lucerne. The bathroom was designed in a modern practical Euro-style that suited Nina’s taste for urban-travelling comfort.

Guests of the hotel complex get a complimentary buffet breakfast in the Schnapsbrennerei Bränte (the old distillery of the original 17^th Century farmhouse, where they used to make schnapps). As with the rest of the converted farmhouse, the Prince preserved the quaint charm of the interior by using the original wooden walls, beamed ceilings and bottle-bottom windows, like that found in Chilon Castle on Lake Geneva. Every morning a full buffet of cereals, yogurts,

boiled eggs, fresh croissants, butterzopf and pastries, along with quality cold meats and cheeses, and fruits and juices was spread out for the taking. Every morning Nina and I ordered café crème and feasted like royalty. En guete!

The restaurant upstairs from the distillery, offers fine dining with a rich and varied menu of delightful hors d’oeuvres, main dishes and desserts and a wine list with over 35 pages to choose from. Jörg Bächler, the residence manager, took us on a tour of the hotel complex and the first place Nina wanted to go was the wine cellar. Jörg obliged—after he showed us the rest of the complex, which included the adjoining Astrid Hall and Queen’s Club: an old barn that had been converted into a reception hall for weddings, and business and other group meals. The building houses several meeting/eating areas like the Küferstube, Bacchus Stübli, Foyer, and Astrid-Hall. Capable of seating 120 guests, the hall provides an elegant and

rich venue for receptions, followed by rollicking good fun upstairs in the cozy piano bar, the Queen’s Club, open nightly until 2 am. The prince dedicated Astrid Hall to the Queen of Belgium, who had tragically died in 1935 in a car accident a few miles away, near the town of Küssnacht. The walls are lined with old photos and memorabilia, timeless images and intriguing documents of pre-second World War Europe.

Jörg led us through the kitchen on our way to the wine cellar. There, we met Master Chef Werner Meier, who has been (along with his team of fifteen cooks) creating exquisite Swiss-countrified gourmet French cuisine at the Swiss Chalet since 1982. We watched, entranced, as a few of the cooks created a gourmet meal, before descending down the stairs to the wine cellar. At the entrance, inscribed on a large crate for all to see was their motto: “Weintrinker sehen gut aus, sind intelligent, sexy und gesund!” (Drinkers of wine look good, are intelligent, sexy and healthy!). Good motto, I thought, as Nina nodded her approval to me.

Racks full of bottles of red and white wines from all over the world lined the cellar walls. We wandered through the cellar, kept at a high humidity and a cool and constant temperature to ensure that the wines age and store well. As my eyes swept the dark room, I recalled that their wine list runs over thirty-five pages, and includes a wide range of varieties and types from the most popular wine, the Prince’s own Schlossweine (Cuvée du Châtelain), a Merlot Reserva from Chile (at FCH 49.80) to a 1999 Bordeaux Blanc (the Château d’Yquem), le Roi des Sauternes (at FCH 358.50).

Testing the iron barred gates guarding each wine rack, Nina asked if they were meant to keep the wine in or the people out. Jörg winked at me and suggested that if they sent food down the dumbwaiter, Nina could happily live here indefinitely.

To experience the entire complex, Jörg put us up in The 4-star Chateau Golden Gate- Jagdschloss (hunter’s castle),

situated up the hill from the other two buildings, and overlooking the village, Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps in the distance. The hotel celebrates the tradition of European hunting and is decorated with hunting trophies and portraits of hunters in various Swiss hunting garb, along with the signature armor; beams and heavy doors of an old castle. We were greeted at the door by a knight’s full armor then continued into a rustic lobby with hanging candle-lamps, long solid-wood meeting table, fireplace, and bottom-bottle windows (also known as crown glass or Butzenfenster). Our room on the third floor was large, bright and comfortable. Nina opened the sliding door to the Juliette balcony that overlooked the lake. The soothing tinkling of cow bells rose up to greet us as Swiss cows foraged in the villagers’ back yards below. This was definitely Switzerland and, yes, every cow has a bell.

One evening, we went to the rooftop terrace of the Jagtschloss and watched the sun set over Lake Lucerne as we feasted on a picnic supper of Butterzopf, Brie and sprouts, cold Cervelat (Swiss cooked sausage), Kartoffelsalat and a

bottle of Pinot Gris (Malvoisie) from Valais. Nina brought Swiss chocolate for dessert. We ate, sipped wine and listened to the cheerful music of cow bells on the hills behind us as the deepening sky unveiled the blushing secrets of the snow-covered mountains.

The Schloss Hotel and its associated hotel buildings are situated on Luzernerstrasse 204, in the heart of the quiet village of Merlischachen. Amenities of both 4-star buildings include: pet friendly rooms, free wireless internet in rooms and public areas, buffet breakfast, conference rooms, solarium, indoor swimming pool with sauna & gym, and close proximity to a train station. One of the hotel’s most endearing features was the exquisite charm of its location in the tiny farming village of Merlischachen. Every night I fell asleep to the soothing murmur of cow bells. Merlischachen is a short drive from the bustling Luzern with convenient public transit (e.g., a train leaves Merlischachen every hour for Luzern).

You can book a room at the Schloss Hotel, the Swiss Chalet, or The Château Golden Gate (Jagdschloss) up on the hill at:

Luzernerstrasse 204
6402 Merlischachen, Switzerland
Tel. no. +41 (0)41 854 54 54

info@schloss-hotel.ch

http://www.schloss-hotel.ch/Frames/Welcome.htm

Photos by Nina Munteanu & Schloss Hotel

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