Hôtel Royal

Built in 1909 at the height of Évian's fame as a spa town, the Hôtel Royal stands in parkland on the slopes above Lake Geneva, its long cream façade angled to catch the water and the mountains beyond. The name honoured Edward VII, for whom the hotel was conceived, and the interiors keep faith with that era: restored frescoes by Gustave Jaulmes, deep balconies and public rooms of genuine palace scale.

As the flagship of the Evian Resort, the Royal ties together assets few European hotels can match. The Evian Championship golf course, host of a women's major, lies within the resort; the spa draws on the town's mineral-water heritage with extensive thermal-inspired treatments; and nineteen acres of private park give families and walkers real space. Rooms are calm and contemporary in feel, most with lake-facing balconies that justify the climb above town.

Dining spans a gastronomic room, a light spa-minded table and family-friendly terraces, and the resort's kids' programming is unusually strong for a historic palace. Geneva is under an hour away, the Portes du Soleil ski area close in winter. The Royal is that rare thing: a grande dame that works as hard for families and golfers as for spa devotees.