Balcony view, with salad, Alpina Grand, Gstaad
Luxury hotels that offer windows that open have a big plus, and not only for Germans who lead the way in those who feel somewhat claustrophobic when you cannot get fresh air (how do we KNOW that air coming in via a property’s air conditioning system is pure, clean and unadulterated?). Owners, developers and architects should, says the gal, make sure that even if windows do not open properly it is still possible for travellers to control at least some air flow, direct from outside.
Yes, there are some exceptions. Not many would want opening windows in, say, Beijing, or even Shanghai at some periods of high pollution – or in the Gulf in the height of summer, or Singapore when it is particularly humid.
Just having travelled around Switzerland, however, I can testify that clean air is one of the many draws of this beautiful country. Of course mountains help. Nothing is nicer than opening one’s window and, ideally, going out on the balcony to take deep breaths of invigorating air. No wonder Switzerland and its many luxury hotels continue to be a magnet for luxury travellers. And not surprisingly many of them travel the country by train – a rail pass lets you use the entire national system, plus lake ferries, buses and postbuses. I will be back.
