High-end fashion brands expressing themselves via outrageously design-forward hotels is nothing new. From Bulgari Hotels in cities like London and Milan to the Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast, it seems like the trend of designer labels digging deeper into hospitality is only just really picking up. However, not until now has a luxury watchmaker attempted to play the same game. And that’s exactly what we have here, with the newly opened and genuinely impressive Audemars Piguet Hotel des Horlogers, completed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in the watchmaker’s headquarters of Le Brassus, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland.
Announced a few years ago, the Audemars Piguet Hotel des Horlogers has been revealed as a striking 50-room property where each guest is afforded unobstructed views of the sweeping valley, which is located in the Swiss Canton of Vaud just outside of Geneva. The location holds great historical significance for the Swiss watchmaking industry, but the setting was also chosen as it’s the same location as BIG’s other ambitious project for the historic watchmaker – the spiral-shaped Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet museum.
The hotel’s design was guided by the stringent Swiss Minergie-ECO certification, offering eco-friendly accommodation just right next to the aforementioned museum. The eye-catching zigzag form of Hotel des Horlogers’ guest rooms and suites were made to mirror the topography of the region, constructed as a series of ridges gently descending to the valley floor with major spaces connected internally by a passageway that runs the length of the building to connect all five floors.
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The brief BIG was given placed great emphasis on minimising energy consumption and waste. According to reports of those who have walked through the hotel already, hot water and heating are provided by a local heating network based on wood with 126 photovoltaic panels and aided by the recycling of any bio waste. Plastic-free is an obvious feature throughout the hotel, compromising everything from in-room amenities like biodegradable slippers to an on-site spa that offers 100% Swiss-made Alpeor products with eco-friendly bottles and formulas made using plants and flowers from the Vallée de Joux.
Local stone and wood have been used throughout the hotel to create a rather soft and natural-looking palette. The lobby is reportedly similar in style, blending local spruce surfaces and seamless concrete while drawing a bit of personality from overhanging bleached-white trees, an avant-garde reference to the nearby Risoud Forest. Common areas throughout the hotel include a library full of books dedicated to the history of watchmaking, which when combined with watchmaking tours for guests should fully immerse watch enthusiasts in the industry while they lap up the absolute luxury of Hotel des Horlogers.
For those who love to drink and dine, the hotel’s main social hub is a bar offering Swiss-made beers and spirits, distinguished by specific light fittings that have been installed to mirror the large rock formations that are peppered across the valley. Both of the hotel’s restaurants, Le Gogant and Le Table de Horlogers, are spearheaded by three-Michelin-starred French chef Emmanuel Renaut and hinge almost the entire menu on locally sourced ingredients.
Of course, those aforementioned watchmaking tours should be considered non-negotiable for guests looking to stay a few nights at the Audemars Piguet Hotel des Horlogers. You won’t just tour AP, but also nearby manufacturers such as Jaeger-LeCoultre – reiterating that this hotel is more about showcasing the entire region and its pioneers, rather than just one watchmaker.
