Need to know
Rooms
50, including 12 suites.
Check–Out
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
More details
Rates include a buffet breakfast of local cheeses and charcuterie, and fresh fruits from the hotel’s organic garden (with the option of ordering à la carte for an extra cost).
Also
The entire hotel is wheelchair-accessible, with several specially designed rooms for guests with mobility issues.
At the hotel
Ski-in ski-out terrace, kitchen garden, library, art gallery, sauna, electric bicycles to borrow, charged laundry service, and free WiFi. In rooms: TV, smart tablet, air-conditioning, minibar, local tea-making kit, Nespresso coffee machine with eco-friendly capsules, biodegradable slippers, and Swiss-made Alpeor bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Thanks to the hotel’s zig-zagging, glass-box structure, every room comes with sweeping views across La Vallée de Joux towards the towering pine trees of the Risoud Forest – a verdant outlook in the spring and summer months filled with wildflowers, and blanketed with snow come winter. Essentially, you won’t whittle down your room choice when it comes to vistas (because they’re all equally enchanting). Selecting by size, the two Signature Suites are the most spacious – with timber-clad living and dining rooms you’ll want to linger in, plus a wine cellar to raid.
Spa
In keeping with the hotel’s green creds, the spa (open daily from 8am to 10pm) is stocked with Swiss botanical beauty brand, Alpeor – which sources plant-based ingredients from the surrounding valleys and mountains for an all-natural approach. Alpeor-trained therapists expertly dish out ‘Eternal Snow’ facials, ‘Rich Mountains’ massages and Alpine wellness rituals from two sleek treatment rooms. Sip on a freshly brewed cup of spruce and pine tea in the relaxation room, which faces the Risoud Forest (where those pine needles were gathered), or soothe mountain-weary muscles in the sauna and hammam. During the icy winters, you can even transport yourself to tropical climes in the sensory shower, which has various chromotherapy settings and soundtracks. There’s also a swish fitness room equipped with Matrix machines, open for round-the-clock workouts overlooking the Jura Mountains.
Packing tips
You can brush up on your horological knowledge at the library during your stay (though it would be time well spent to look into Swiss watchmaking legends beforehand, such as Blancpain, Patek Philippe, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and of course Audemars Piguet).
Also
Those upside-down trees dangling from the lobby ceiling are actually blanched roots made from local wood, to create the illusion of being beneath the forest floor.
Pet‐friendly
Well-behaved dogs are welcome to stay in any room for an additional charge of CHF35 (a night, for each pet). See more pet-friendly hotels in Vallée de Joux.
Children
Welcome, but younger guests best learn the difference between tick-tock and TikTok to appreciate this sophisticated stay.
Sustainability efforts
With an aim of leaving a smaller environmental footprint on La Vallée de Joux than if you were to pitch a tent, Hôtel des Horlogers turns the ‘stand the test of time’ concept on its head – instead, its all-natural and entirely biodegradable structure has been designed to gradually break down and blend back into its surroundings. The low-energy buildings are certified by rigorous Swiss eco-label Minergie, adhering to around 100 energy-conscious check-points – such as the installation of 126 photovoltaic panels on its roof to efficiently provide electricity, and sourcing spring water straight from the valley to be bottled in Le Brassus. Other impressive initiatives at this plastic- and paper-free property (which go beyond the refillable bathroom dispensers, cornstarch straws and organic cleaning products) include in-room wooden pencils with a specially designed tip filled with thyme seeds for guests to take home and plant, and rewarding guests who forego turndown service with a free cocktail at the bar. The kitchen makes use of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs from the onsite garden, and exclusively works with regional farmers, fishermen and cheesemongers to reduce food miles and support the local supply chain. A similar approach is taken in the all-Swiss spa, where staff forage for flowers and plants in La Vallée de Joux to infuse throughout the botanical treatments.