If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (CHF289.98), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Time is not only of the essence when it comes to booking Hôtel des Horlogers, time (well spent) is the essence of this sustainably crafted capsule of comfort in Switzerland’s remote Vallée de Joux. Commissioned by Audemars Piguet just steps from the luxury Swiss watchmakers’ atelier (don’t get us started on its curve appeal), the zig-zagging property is also known as the ‘AP Hotel’ – coming high on horologist’s watch-lists for the Watch Valley workshops. And even if you don’t know your Blancpain from your Patek Philippe, the hotel’s Alpine-inspired rooms, forest-facing restaurant and sprawling Swiss spa are timeless in their appeal – so much so, you’ll be counting down the hours (minutes and seconds) until your next nature-immersed visit.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £263.46 (CHF301), including tax at 3.8 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional local city tax of CHF3.00 per person per night on check-out.
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.
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.
Forest views are guaranteed from every angle, but it’s worth inching closer to the Risoud greenery on the outdoor terrace.
Dress Code
Ditch the hiking books and salopettes: you’ll want to elevate your look to match the fine Alpine dining.
Hotel restaurant
Drawing inspiration (and many of its ingredients) from the Risoud Forest, Brasserie Le Gogant takes its name from the giant silver fir trees that fringe the surrounding valley. Diners look out across snow-dusted treetops through full-height windows, quite literally sampling the fruits of the forest foraged by the chefs earlier that day. The menu (accessed via smart tablets to save paper) changes with the seasons, but always showcases local meats, fish and cheeses, alongside homegrown vegetables. Provenance is paramount to three-Michelin-starred chef, Emmanuel Renaut, who personally handpicks the farmers and fishermen who supply the restaurant. The nature-focused dishes are reflected in the decor – you’ll be seated beneath oversized, custom-made lamps in the shape of woodland mushrooms and rocky contours to resemble the Jura Mountains. In the adjoining La Table des Horlogers, seasonal tasting menus are served in a 12-seater private dining room, where Renaut’s classical French training really comes to the fore.
Hotel bar
Bar des Horlogers is exclusively stocked with Swiss spirits, including fir-bud syrup from the nearby Risoud Distillery (which makes a wonderfully woody base for the signature Kir Sapin cocktail), and precision-engineered wines from Les Frères Dutruy in Canton de Vaud. Alpine snacks will keep mountaineers fuelled on Gruyère-stuffed croques monsieurs and knife-cut beef tartare, and you need not look far to plan your expeditions – the bar’s backdrop is a rope-threaded wall hanging that outlines the Dent de Vaulion, one of the nearby Jura peaks.
Last orders
Breakfast is from 7am to 10am (Monday to Friday), and 7am to 10.30am (weekends), lunch from noon to 2pm, and dinner from 7pm to 9.30pm.
Room service
Available round-the-clock; though cheese and charcuterie boards are your only in-room options between 9.30pm and 7am.
Cradled in the sloping embrace of La Vallée de Joux in Le Chenit, Hôtel des Horlogers lies just outside the village of Le Brassus, along the old watchmaking route stretching to Geneva.
Planes
The hotel is just under an hour’s drive from Geneva Airport, and 45 minutes if you’re coming by car from Lausanne. Zürich Airport is the major international hub, just under three hours’ drive from the hotel. Transfers in hybrid vehicles are available on request, starting from CHF210 (from Geneva, one-way).
Trains
Daily direct trains run from Paris, whizzing you from the Gare de Lyon to Vallorbe in three hours; it’s then 25 minutes by car to the hotel. The closest station is Le Brassus, which is also well connected to Geneva and Paris.
Automobiles
Support the hotel’s eco efforts by hiring an electric car; there are onsite charging stations in both the indoor and outdoor car parks with a free valet service (park outside for free, or inside for CHF25 a night).
Worth getting out of bed for
Heed Hôtel des Horlogers’ motto and ‘make time’ for the horological experiences on offer in Switzerland’s Watch Valley. Guided tours of the neighbouring Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet (you know, that spiralling architectural triumph) can sell out a year in advance, so you’ll need to plan your visit well ahead of time to explore the 300-plus collection of luxury watches. The interactive exhibitions at nearby Espace Horloger invite watch-lovers to time travel from the 15th century to the present day – where better to learn about Swiss craftsmanship than the first watchmaking museum in Vaud? The Gideon Collection – which features Gothic timepieces, planetary clocks, and illusionist mechanisms from across Europe – is particularly impressive. If you really want to get technical, you can join a two-day workshop held at Olivier Piguet’s Watchmaking Training Centre – get to grips with dismantling, reassembling, oiling and case-fitting your very own Calibre 16 watch to take home with you. La Vallée de Joux is home to several prestigious Swiss watchmaking factories, including the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre. Contemplate the passing of time on Saturday evenings at the AstroVal Astronomical Observatory, a tranquil stargazing spot in the pastures of Le Solliat above Lake Joux.
Horology aside, the Jura Mountains are a year-round adventure playground, with activities to fill every hour of the day. In the summer, there’s water-skiing, wake-boarding and sailing on Lake Joux; guided hikes and cycling tours around Alpine trails; and gourmet picnics and cheese tastings in the Risoud Forest. When the snow sets in, the valley transforms into one of Europe’s largest natural ice-skating rinks – with plenty of skiing, sledding, snowshoeing and ice-fishing to keep winter visitors from watching the clock.
Local restaurants
If you’re looking for a place on the lake, try the waterfront terrace at Les Esserts-de-Rive. Perch fillets are fished straight from Lake Joux, but it’s the wood-fired pizzas that draw the hungry hikers and bikers. The rustic restaurant at Bellevue Le Rocheray hosts regular raclette nights, and offers daily changing specials like homemade foie gras and seasonal salads.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this timeless Alpine retreat in Le Chenit and unpacked their custom watch straps and recycled cashmere knits, a full account of their back-to-nature break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Hôtel des Horlogers in Switzerland…
Time travel might just have been invented by Hôtel des Horlogers, in none other than Switzerland’s Watch Valley. So-called horological tourists now have reason to linger in Le Brassus, after picking up their precious timepiece from the Audemars Piguet atelier (or one of several luxury Swiss watchmaking brands headquartered nearby). The hotel’s Z-shaped exterior alludes to the winding mountain trail taken by watchmakers to Geneva (and also rather conveniently makes the perfect ski-in ski-out launch pad once powdered up with snow). And much like the meandering rooftop, a slower pace is encouraged here – thankfully, the legendary Swiss timekeeping has been relaxed – whether it’s a leisurely hike through the Risoud Forest, or a deep-tissue massage infused with freshly gathered herbs. And the hotel’s boutique concept means that the ‘quiet luxury’ crowd is not just going home with a haute new watch. Best night’s sleep you’ve ever had? The mattress can be delivered to your door. Everything you see can be sustainably sourced, so you can stretch out your stay well beyond check-out (save the blissful Alpine views; there’s no moving those Jura Mountains).
