In Geneva, stay where the "internationals" stay
by Lucy Komisar
I recently attended a journalists' conference at the Geneva International
Conference Center. It's in the north part of town which is home to the
United Nations with its couple of dozen related headquarters, including
UNICEF, the Commission on Human Rights, and the World Trade Organization,
and a raft of other international centers. Visitors from around the world
pass through in large numbers to attend meetings at the UN and the other
outfits.
Geneva is a relatively small city and the international sector is pretty
important. So the "internationals" make up a substantial part of the
neighborhood's hotel clientele. They are repeat visitors, not one-time
tourists, and their favorite hotels have been carefully vetted. Here are two
that were recommended by the conference organizers. They were good choices.
 The Hotel-des-Nations and
the Hotel Eden are both family-run hotels. They offer good value, charm, and
prices cheaper than hotels in the tourist center, which is an easy half-hour
bus or tram ride away.
Hotel-les-Nations is on the rue du Grand-Pré, between the international
organizations and the central train station. After a short ride, airport bus
5 let me off a few blocks away. Going by bus downtown to the other side of
the Rhône River would take about 25 minutes, letting me off near the walk up
the hill to the Old Town.
 The bedroom was big enough
and had a comfortable desk. "It's family style, you feel at home," explained
hotel director Caroline Leib. That's just what is wanted by people who come
for a few days or a few weeks to work or attend meetings at the places that
surround the hotel. She said, "The European Community is just next door, the
UN is a ten minute walk, we have all the missions to the UN in this area."
 I liked the
mini-kitchen, where I could stash cold drinks and fruit and make morning tea
before I went downstairs. The mini-kitchen is de rigeur, because this is a
business hotel during the week albeit a place for tourists on the week-end.
It's comfortable, and a 4-star hotel, but it's not top-tier expensive. Here,
as throughout Geneva, the hotels routinely lack free internet access: you
buy a Swiss telecom card by the hour or the day.
 On the ground floor, I
enjoyed the attractive restaurant which features the breakfast buffet. I
liked the complimentary copies of the International Herald Tribune which I
read while I sipped my tea and devoured a delicious croissant along with
seasonal fruit. I noticed the curious collection of glass fishes that were
an art object at one window. It turned out to be just one of a collection of
art and artifacts displayed throughout the hotel.
 Owner Philippe Guenat in
1980 started travelling the world to learn the hotel business and, along the
way, collected objects from the places he visited. When he returned to
Geneva and bought this hotel ten years ago, he brought his unusual private
collection, including old and antique clocks, door knockers, irons, hat and
shoe moulds and bed warmers, which you can see affixed to the walls of the
seven floor landings.
In the entrance hall is a bird cage carved from wood from Chiang Mai,
Thailand. Above the elevator is the coat of arms of the Guenat's family,
which in 1337 was given the title "Burghers of Geneva." It gave them the
right to sit in parliament.
 One day I ventured around
to the back of the building to see the unusual "La Poya des Nations," a
traditional painting from central Switzerland of cows in a mountain pasture
walking up (or down) the hill. It was painted by Swiss artist Dany
Delaperouze in 2006 and is considered the biggest "Poya" in the world. The
cows are represented by cartons of milk. Guenat says he is there, "driving
the wagon on the path of destiny." I guess my "destiny" brought me there!
THE EDEN
 To the east, and near
Lake Geneva (in French Lac Léman), I found Hotel Eden, another very charming
lodging frequented by the internationals.
Built in 1936, it was then called The Wilson, in honor of the U.S.
president behind the creation of the League of Nations. The headquarters of
the League was going to be set on a square nearby, but then the Second World
War broke out and that was the end of the building and the square.
 The hotel's first owner
was the architect, and it is cozy and a bit art deco. During war it was
turned into apartments, and afterward it became a hotel called the Eden --
maybe a symbolic hope for the future.
As at Hotel-les-Nations, most of the Eden's clients are diplomats and
officials, businesspeople, participants at conferences at the UN and other
world organizations – a mix of Americans, Europeans, and Asians.
 I liked the cheery,
elegant salon where I invited several people I needed to see. We were able
to sit and chat calmly, undisturbed, as if in my living room, with
refreshments from the free coffee and tea service. The wine bar a few steps
away opens at 5pm.
The large painting on the wall is of Albina du Boisrouvrey, of the family
that owns the hotel. Now 69, she was a model, actress and freelance
journalist and then in 1969 set up a production company that produced eleven
films. I suspect that her taste and judgment suffuse the hotel.
Madame du Boisrouvrey is a grandchild of the Bolivian
King of Tin,
Simón Patiño, one of the world's wealthiest men when she was born.
She sold a $31.2-million jewelry collection, a $20-million art collection,
and $50 million of her family real-estate business to finance a philanthropy
to fight poverty and AIDS. Through over 100 programs around the world, it
supports families and communities that care for orphans and other children
left vulnerable by the AIDS scourge.
 I found the dining room
as charming as the salon. During breakfast I looked with enjoyment through
the windows at Mon Repos park (also called Park Barton). I decided I needed
to get closer to the green outdoors. So, I walked outside and took an easy
promenade north along Rue de Lausanne as far as the Geneva Conservatory and
Botanical Gardens.
 On the way back, I
strolled along the lakeside, gazing at the famous Jet d'Eau fountain, one of
the city's most famous landmarks and one of the largest fountains in the
world. I came out of the park on a path than ran past the trendy La Perle du
Lac restaurant. People were having leisurely sunny Sunday lunches on the
terrace. I exited at the rue de Lausanne just south of the hotel.
 In the afternoon, from my
balcony, I could see the green park and the blue lake and mountains in the
distance as I relaxed with a glass of Swiss wine.
The hotel is about two miles from the city center, a half hour bus ride
from a stop just down the street.
Geneva provides visitors with free local transport cards. You get a Free
Transportation ticket from a machine at the airport, right where you get
your luggage and before passing customs. It's good for two hours. Once in
the hotel, you get a new ticket for the length of your stay. It's good for
buses, trams and boats across Lake Geneva.
If you go:
Geneva has an international airport and a very convenient train station
in the middle of town.
Geneva bus and tram timetables and route planner in English.
http://tpg.hafas.de/hafas/tp/query.exe/en?
Geneva Tourism Office.
www.geneva-tourism.ch
 Hotel-les-Nations ****
62, rue du Grand-Pré
CH-1202 Geneva
41(0 )22 748-0808
Fax 41 (0)22
734-3884
www.hotel-les-nations.com
info@hotel-les-nations.com
 Hotel Eden ***
135,
rue de Lausanne
CH-1202 Geneva
41 (0)22 716-3700
Fax 41 (0)22
731-5260
www.eden.ch
eden@eden.ch
Photos by Lucy Komisar
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