Kempinski Palace Engelberg

This hotel is Engelberg’s first 5-star deluxe hotel. The hotel actually consists of two parts, the historic part also called Belle Epoque and the new part with the most rooms/suites. I hope that more 5-star hotels will open their doors in Engelberg soon, so that the village gets even more traffic than it already has and so that more gems will arise in Engelberg. Engelberg is a village with a lot of charm and it is important that the more luxurious traveler discovers this village.

Arrival

The porter arrived quickly and took all the luggage directly to the room. We received a welcome drink of ice tea and ginger. The hall is very chic decorated. White / cream colored sofas, a beautiful reception and large beautiful bunches of flowers throughout the hall.

We are Black members of the chain and get a double upgrade subject to availability. This would have been possible however the lady in red told us that they had chosen to give us a single upgrade as we would stay in one of the most beautiful rooms of the hotel: Belle Epoque room. We are curious about the room and it is indeed one of the most beautiful rooms in the hotel.

The lady in red didn’t lie. The view is magnificent, the room is spacious and beautiful. The room has a view to the city, but above all you look directly at the Titlis mountain from the bed and the balcony. The side windows look at other mountains in the region.

Upon entering the room you enter a hall and then in the semicircular room, this gives extra charm to the room. Although we prefer the space of a suite, we are very impressed by the appearance and layout of the room.

Because it is a room, there is no separate living room and bedroom. There is a very large bed in the middle of the room with a sofa in front. A small desk that doubles as a dressing table because it has a flip open mirror. There is also a dresser in the room where the TV is located.

The room is nicely decorated. Light and atmospheric. The round lamp above the bed is an eye-catcher. The bathroom is modern with black tiles and a washbasin made of one large block of marble.

The shower is small. The rain shower hangs above the entire shower tray. This is a shame. For me, there was no need for a bath in the bathroom, then the shower area could be made larger. the shower area is too small in my opinon.

There is attention to detail, there are flowers on the bedside table, flowers in the bathroom and the hair dryer is from Dyson, in a very nice storage box.

The dog has also been thought of. At the reception, the dog was already given treats and in the room was a dog biscuit, provided with dog chocolate (edible for a dog). In addition, there was a basket and food bowls in the room. Attention is paid to both the guest and the four-legged friend.

As a welcome gift we received sausage and cheese from the area. Also some cookies and fruit.

One of the most beautiful elements of the room is the balcony. Since the room is on the corner, this room has a terrace all around. There are lovely chairs on the balcony so that you can relax in the sun in the afternoon. Two extra chairs for the balcony near the bathroom would not be a luxury, we moved our chairs here a few times to sit there and look more into the center. At night we kept our balcony doors open, wonderful to hear the sound of the village and yet taste the silence.

The cleaning ladies and gentlemen know their trade. Everything is very clean. The only downside with regard to the cleaning are the times they clean the room. Day cleaning comes in after 4.30 pm, we sent them away 2* because we just came back from a long hike and the turndown service comes at 6 pm. We had asked the reception if the turndown service could come after 8 pm, this was not taken into account sufficiently.

Breakfast is served in the Cattani restaurant. When the weather is nice, the tables are set outside on the terrace. The buffet is quite extensive. Everything you could wish for is there. In addition to the buffet, there are options to order eggs, waffles, pancakes and other savory snacks from the menu.

Sauna / Pool / Fitness

The spa is on the top floor (5th). The pool is an indoor infinity pool, so beautiful. Mountain views from the pool and from the sunbeds. Some relax beds face the pool and some look outwards. If you want, you can lie in the sun, but inside, behind the glass. The pool water is nice and warm.

The sauna is spacious and also chic / modern. 3 saunas: a steam room, Finnish Sauna and Vitamin room. All 3 saunas are very pleasant to stay in. In the center of the room is an ice maker. Ice falls here. The showers here are very large.

Near the sauna is a very large relaxation area with many chairs / sunbeds and a kind of fireplace. In the hall are two tables with water, tea, nuts and fruit. Very nice that people also think about the inner person.

The gym is functional. Everything needed is there. The equipment is from Technogym. It wasn’t crowded in the gym. We were at the hotel during Covid time so it wasn’t very busy.

There is one restaurant in the hotel. This is not much for a 5 star hotel. The hotel is in the middle of the village, so it is not a problem, I myself had expected a little more choice in the hotel. On our blog is the post of Cattani, this is the restaurant of Kempinski Palace Engelberg.

In addition to drinks, the bar also serves bar food. The service is good. The interior inside is very nice. You are here in the old part of the hotel. The fireplace is lit every evening. The 1930s atmosphere has been well thought out and implemented.

The terrace overlooks the park. The service is also good here.

A very pleasant hotel. Lovely ambiance, good vibe and very chic decor. The hotel is open all year round, I can imagine it’s great to celebrate Christmas and New Year here or to spend the winter sports holiday in Engelberg. Despite the fact that the hotel was recently opened (2021), the service was great. The people work well together as a team. The hotel is very easy to reach to and if you come by train, it stops almost in front of the door. Easy to reach from Lucerne.

• Ambience: Nice central location, very nice appearance. 9.9
• Room: We had one of the nicest rooms in the hotel. Have seen other rooms and these looked nice too. 9.8
• Price: 9.7
• Service: Good service, not always constant. 9.7
• Cleaning: everything is very clean, but due to the strange times when cleaning is done, the score is lower: 9.8
• Overall impression: 9.8