Montreux is a scenic lakeside town in the Swiss Rivera, located on the north east shore of Lake Geneva. It’s a low key destination, but there are plenty of things to do there. There’s the ancient Chateau de Chillon, a beautiful castle that sits right on Lake Geneva. And if you want to see one of the best views of Lake Geneva, you can take a cog train to the top of Rochers de Naye mountain. It’s also in the Lavaux wine region, known for producing great white wines from the Chasselas grape. We were driving through Montreux on our way to Zermatt, so we decided to stop for a visit.
We decided to book a room at the Hotel Le Coucou because it has good reviews and was supposed to have an excellent view of Lake Geneva. It’s about a 10 minute drive from the center of Montreux, up a windy road that goes high up in the mountains. The road is pretty narrow and has a lot of switchbacks and hairpin turns. It’s a fun drive if you’re into it. If not, it could be a little frightening due to the lack of guard rails most of the way up.
When we arrived at the hotel, we took a few minutes to look around outside. Hotel Le Coucou is a Swiss chalet that looks and feels like an old ski lodge.
The view around the hotel is amazing. This was our first day in Switzerland, and it was just what we imagined the Swiss countryside would look like. From the terrace in the back of the hotel, you can see far across Lake Geneva. The hotel is located on the slopes of Rochers de Naye, and you can see the high mountain peak from the front entrance.
After looking around outside for a bit, we checked into our room. The hotel has seven “exclusive Chalet Chic” rooms that are their premium offering. There are also six “economy Alpine” rooms. This was the beginning of our three week long Europe trip, and we wanted to watch our budget, so we booked one of the Alpine economy rooms. Ours was on the top floor of the north side of the hotel:
If you stay in one of the Alpine rooms, you have to share the restroom and shower with other guests on your floor. We were a little concerned about that at first, but it was fine. The bathrooms were always clean and we never had to wait to use them.
Our room looked out over a green valley with a few other homes dotting the landscape. It was a beautiful view.
After unpacking our luggage, we were getting hungry so we went downstairs to the restaurant. The hotel also has a popular restaurant and bar, and people drive up from Montreux just to eat there. The restaurant was pretty busy around 7:00 pm, so if you just want to go up there for dinner, I’d recommend making reservations in advance.
You can sit inside the restaurant or outside on the back patio. The patio has that amazing view of Lake Geneva.
Montreux is in the French speaking region of Switzerland, so the menus were in French. We asked the waitress what she recommended, and she suggested we try two traditional Swiss dishes.
I had La Fondue du Moment (Chèvre ou Brebis), Pain, Lègumes à tremper & Saladine, which is a goat cheese fondue with steamed potatoes, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, and bread. Mae had Les Pâtes du Coucou & Saladine, which is a cheesy pasta dish with bacon and onions. Both of the dishes were excellent. The cherry tomatoes dipped in goat cheese fondue were awesome.
All of the staff are friendly and will go out of their way to make your stay enjoyable. After dinner, I couldn’t find my cell phone charger and was out at the car looking for it. One of the attendants from the front desk saw me and asked if everything was okay. When I told him what I was searching for, he offered to let me borrow his. I was really impressed by his generosity.
The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast before starting our drive to Zermatt. The hotel provides a complimentary breakfast buffet to guests that includes salami, cheese, bread, and fruit:
We really enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Le Coucou. The staff was very friendly, and they treat you like family. Everything is very relaxed and casual. Not to mention the atmosphere of the chalet itself and the views of Lake Geneva and Rochers de Naye. Overall, it was an excellent experience and we would absolutely recommend staying there when you’re in Montreux.
