The first half of the 19th century saw the first grand hotels being built in Chamonix. From 1850 to 1914 the village began to change progressively and establishments offering high quality services were raised. Hotel Couttet’s buildings bear exceptional witness to the manner in which voyagers and tourists were catered for in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Now closed, Hotel Couttet has preserved its original architecture, which, with its park, can be seen from the street Rue du Lyret.
Between 1900 and 1914 three palaces were built in Chamonix: the Savoye, Chamonix Palace and Cachat’s Majestic. The architecture of these three properties broke completely with the local style, bearing a close resemblance to that of the hotels built in Evian, Deauville, La Baule …

VILLA BEAUSÉJOUR

The hotel overlooks Villa Beauséjour, visible on the right-hand side of the lane as you walk up towards the hotel. Edward Whymper (British mountaineer 1840-1911) was a guest at the villa in 1896.

The villa, built in the nineteenth century, belonged to the Folliguet family and was run at that time as a hotel-guesthouse.

HOTEL BEAUSÉJOUR AND RICHEMOND

The hotel was to open for the 1914 season but WW1 decided otherwise and the hotel remained closed for some time.

The Folliguet family, amongst the oldest in Chamonix, has run Hotel Richemond since 1914. Geneviève Folliguet and Jean Sarraz-Bournet married in 1945 and the hotel continues to be run by the latter and his children.

Hotel Richemond is a convivial hotel offering all the charms of Chamonix’s most fascinating era.