Hotel Palafitte

I’d recommend the Palafitte. Except: when you do your booking, make sure you book directly with the hotel and not get redirected involuntarily to some shady booking site. The hotel will not honour changes and the site (when I called the USA) was extremely inflexible and wanted me to cancel and rebook last minute. And when booking make sure you pay attention to the can cancellation policy. Take a screenshot. I’ve ended up with one extra room und wasn’t allowed to cancel. All in all a great experience except the booking and cancellation (or the lack thereof) procedures.

What is priceless about this hotel is its location, otherwise I can only think of the German expression which so fittingly describes it as “In die Jahre gekommen”. Reception was good, otherwise service and food were rather disappointing and once even downright terrible. Pity.

Service was very friendly but not efficient. We had to call for service multiple times, house keeping was slow and restaurant staff, while again very friendly, not very observant. Overall, we love the location and idea of the Palafitte, but the property shows its age clearly and is no longer worth the very high price.

Food was good, but the service was not courteous at all. Wine list was not given. After ordering the food, the wine was not requested and the food was already served. Food was good, but the service was not courteous at all. Wine list was not given. After ordering the food, the wine was not requested and the food was already served. We had to wait over 30 minutes for the main course and when we made a note to the service staff there was not a single apology for the delay (neither from the chef de rang nor from the chef de service) completely ignorant and expensive if you pay attention to the service. The food was good but on the whole, the service was very disappointing.

The location is outstanding as the whole area is. The service on the other hand is definitely worse than 4 years ago.

Very nice retreat at the lake of Neuchatel. The lake rooms are splendid, even after 22 years. Very recommended

The direct access from the balcony to the lake via the ladder was the main reason for booking this room. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to use this ladder safely when wet. It poses a significant slipping hazard, making it difficult to return to the room. It's a pity that such a potentially great feature is not practical.

Hotel Palafitte is amazing. The hotel is really nice. The decor is fantastic. The rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable. Everything was perfect. The team was courteous, friendly and welcoming. The food and drinks here are great. Nice place to stay and dine.

Don't be fooled by the nondescript exterior when approaching from the road. It looks like a council swimming baths but once through the doors you are in a chic country club style restaurant. The dark clubhouse interior and fixtures give way to spacious dining area which has no obstructions and the reward is a spectacular view of the lake and mountains in the distance. When I visited the weather was a little overcast but the marine environment was bustling. The meal was a delightful mix of French cuisine and German precision (52 minute lunch menu??!) with local wines which complemented each course. The service was superb - efficient without being officious and servers were very knowledgeable on the ingredients and accompanying wines. (They were also very elegantly dressed and poised.) The food itself did not let down the general ambience of the restaurant. It was really tasty. A mix of French meat dishes and an Italian dessert with local Swiss wine choices.