Maximilian Alphons Von Pfyffer Von Altishofen was man with a vision, but without experience to run a hotel. Reason enough to pick the young and talented Cesar Ritz to run the show.
In fact the Grand Hotel national is too small to be a select member of THE MOST FAMOUS HOTELS IN THE WORLD. It has only 40 rooms left of what was 200 and more once upon a time.
But Switzerland’s legendary hotel has been saved and revived on a smaller state-of-the-art scale. And it has such a tradition and history, that the jury decided that it has a place among the other great historic hotels in the world.
After all it was here in the 1870s-1890 that legendary Swiss hotelier Cesar Ritz - for the first time as manager - staged his ideas of hotel business, accompanied by his congenial master chef Auguste Escoffier.
The hotel graces the promenade of Lucerne at the lake Vierwaldstätter See (Lake Lucern), right opposite of the new museum of art.
