Since its opening on 13. April 1865, the Beau Rivage is one of the most important meeting places in a city that stands as a synonym for international relations: Geneva.
In 1863, when London Banker William Currie started building it, the Beau Rivage had only seventy rooms and, as its historian noted, only eleven windows on the front which overlooked the lake (read more under “History”).
Yes, this is the hotel where Empress Elisabeth of Austria died. To get over this story; she was killed outside of the hotel, while she stayed there.
The last journey of Empress Elisabeth of Austria started in Geneva.
The fact that the Empress of Austria had chosen this hotel and not any other hotel should be more important than anything else. The Beau Rivage was the hotel of choice of many aristocrats. It was the centre of world politics and the meeting point of entire delegations. The late Emperor of Austria, Charles, spent months there with his family, so did many other monarchs and rulers, either in exile or in power.
