With the acquisition of Credit Suisse UBS has once again become a hotel owner. The former Savoy Baur en Ville now operates under the flag of the luxury hotel group Mandarin Oriental and wants to set new standards in the heart of Zurich’s banking district, according to a report in finews.asia.
Exactly 185 years after it was founded, the Savoy Baur en Ville hotel officially reopened its doors on Wednesday evening. Not only is the interior now fully renovated and the crew reporting to Mark Bradford (image below), the five-star hotel on Zurich’s Paradeplatz, is now under the management of the Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.
So the city of Zurich now has a new touch of world-class luxury, as was evident during the official opening. The owner of the hotel complex since this year is the Swiss banking giant UBS, which «inherited» it as part of the state-mandated takeover of Credit Suisse (CS). The hotel played a significant role within the fold of Swiss Credit Institute (SKA, later Credit Suisse, CS).
Unplanned Takeover
UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti during his speech at the Mandarin Oriental Savoy (Image: finews.ch)
CS’ top managers used to come in and out for more or less discreet discussions, as permanent meeting rooms were reserved for them there. But the bank’s top brass were regularly seen dining in the various restaurants in the building, especially in Orsini. That was Swiss banking as the textbooks say it should be done.
It was not planned for UBS to regain ownership of a hotel, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said in his opening speech, in talking about the tumultuous events last spring when CS ended up under the UBS’ wing. «We’ll handle this jewel with care,» he promised, adding: «We’re proud to contribute to this success story.»
Bangkok School in Zurich
Mark Samuel Bradford, General Manager of the Mandarin Oriental Savoy (Image: MO)
UBS previously also had a five-star hotel in Zurich, which still competes with the Savoy Baur en Ville to this day. This is the Widder Hotel in the Zurich Augustinerquartier, on Rennweg. But the bank sold it to Swiss life insurer Swiss Life, based on this view that a hotel is not part of the core business of a bank.
Nowadays, The Living Circle group is in charge of managing the Widder Hotel and all the gastronomy establishments. This belongs to Ihag Holding of the Buehrle family and already operates the Storchen in Zurich, the Alex in Thalwil in the canton of Zurich, and the Castello del Sole in Ascona.
The new «Savoy Head» Mark Bradford said in his speech that the 39th space on the Monopoly board has always been his favorite as it is Paradeplatz. And he is all the more pleased now that Mandarin Oriental is opening a hotel right here.
«We've changed the wallpaper and the look, but there’s one thing we didn’t alter: the building’s soul,» says Bradford, who gained his most important professional experience at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, the most prestigious property of the group and under the leadership of the great hotel doyen Kurt Wachtveitl. Bradford is British, but grew up in Fribourg and has been in the service of Mandarin Oriental for 25 years.
New Rooftop Bar
«Our hotel is a Christmas miracle,» says Bradford, pointing out that the establishment was founded and opened exactly 185 years ago on December 24. It was frequented by the great and good. For instance, the legendary British writer Charles Dickens – author of the Christmas epic «A Christmas Carol» – lived there with 13 guests two years later.
Interior in the new luxury hotel overlooking the UBS (Image: finews.ch)
Under the new management of Mandarin Oriental, the renovated hotel now boasts, among other things, a spacious presidential suite overlooking Paradeplatz, from where the occupants have a bird’s eye view of the changes resulting from integration of CS into UBS. If a room in the hotel is too expensive, visitors can indulge themselves instead in the new rooftop bar, which also has a view in the same direction.
Milan-Style at Orsini
Restaurant Orsini (Image: MO)
Many bankers will be curious to see how the offerings at the top Italian restaurant Orsini will look, especially because, as mentioned at the beginning, the establishment is one of the most important meeting places in the industry. This will be under the supervision of Antonio Guida from now on. Although he hopes to be regularly in attendance there, he has two younger deputies: Dario Moresco and sous chef Gianmarco D’Alonzo.
Moresco has worked at top establishments like the Georges Blanc in Vonnas in Burgundy and the Heinz Beck in Rome, and has been a private chef for the wealthy elite in St. Moritz and Saint Tropez. The bets are on that Orsini has now set out to become the «best Italian» in the city of Limmat.
Number of Rooms Halved
View of UBS from a bathtub (Image: finews.ch)
The Baur en Ville was opened on December 24, 1838 by Johannes Baur, a master baker from Vorarlberg, as the first grand hotel in the city of Zurich. After renovations in 1857 and 1907, the hotel had 170 rooms when it reopened in June 1908.
Between 1975 and 1978, the hotel closed its doors to carry out another major makeover. The facade was dismantled with great care and then reconstructed to be historically accurate. Subsequently, it had 104 rooms and suites; from now on, there will only be 80 rooms and suites.
Collaborator: Claude Baumann
