Villa Honegg

 

A Travelogue by Lucas Raven

Art Nouveau-style Villa Honegg is Switzerland’s smallest superior five-star, occupying a sun terrace high on the Bürgenstock above Lake Lucerne. It offers secluded opulence across 23 rooms and suites, as well as Gault-Millau-standard dining and a heated outdoor infinity pool with life-changing views.

Here you can see where your dinner comes from: the butcher is across the meadow and his details are on the menu, produce are sourced locally to support the circle of communities in the region. Their in-house restaurant has been awarded 14 Gault Millau points and each dish is absolutely worthy of the recognition.

As I arrived at the warm lobby, I was received by the Villa’s guardian and beacon of light, General Manager – Marcel Hinderer. On my second day of exploring this rather enigmatic property, I got the chance to sit down with him and asked a few questions.

 

Villa Honegg General Manager Marcel Hinderer

 

Lucas Raven: What would be your most memorable moment at Villa Honegg?

Marcel Hinderer: It’s not one stand-out moment. It’s rather many daily stand-out moments which happen consistently. Villa Honegg attracts customers from all over the world with a wide range in terms of age group. It is an absolutely privilege to interact with all these lovely guests.

 

Lucas Raven: What made you decide to join Villa Honegg?

Marcel Hinderer: After spending the last 17 years in Asia Pacific (Australia, Malaysia, China) it was time to move back to Switzerland for family reasons. We wanted to give our teenage children some stability rather than continue to move every few years to another destination. With Villa Honegg I found the perfect challenge for me. I have worked in great 5 star hotels around the world. Beach Resorts, Airport Hotels, City Hotels, Jungle Resorts, I have done them all. But leading a unique Superior Boutique Hotel like Villa Honegg, has been a new challenge for me. I love to focus on guest service, and Villa Honegg gives me and our wonderful team the perfect platform to do exactly that, deliver brilliant, personalized  service in an amazing hotel.

 

Lucas Raven: What’s your favorite part of the property?

Marcel Hinderer: For me it’s our associates, our team. They are the ones to serve our guests and to deliver those special 5 star experiences. I am passionate about leading this team and to try and make them grow and improve day by day.

 

Lucas Raven: Where did you begin your hospitality journey?

Marcel Hinderer: I started by learning the basics of the hotel business. After graduating from High School I could have started at University like many of my friends. Instead, I decided to dive into a profession which seems to be tailor made for me, Hospitality. The best advice my father gave me was, you need to earn the respect of your colleagues later on. Not by only having a title, but by having done their job and gaining priceless knowledge. During my 3 year apprenticeship at Marriott in Stuttgart, Germany, I worked in all departments of a hotel. I cleaned 18 rooms a day, I served as a waiter, I did 5 am breakfast shifts in the kitchen etc. Later on I continued my education by graduating with a Hotel Diploma in Hotel Management but these beginning years definitely formed me as a person and as a leader.

 

Lucas Raven: Aside from Villa Honegg, where’s your favorite hotel in the world?

Marcel Hinderer: Hotel “Zum Engel”, our family owned hotel in Berghausen, Germany. A wonderful small hotel, a heritage building, in a very nice part of Germany. Please, go and check it out.

 

Lucas Raven: What is it about Lucerne that inspires you?

Marcel Hinderer: Lucerne offers the best of Switzerland, located in the heart of the country. You have the wonderful lake, the mountains and this beautiful old part of the city. It is no big surprise that Lucerne attracts so many customers from all over the world. No matter if in spring, summer, autumn or winter, Lucerne offers so much, 365 days a year.

 

Lucas Raven: How big is your team?

Marcel Hinderer: We have approx.60-70 associates in our team. It is pretty stable as we do not have much fluctuation between high and low season like other destinations.

 

 

Lucas Raven: Any Corporate Social Responsibility initiative that you are passionate about?

Marcel Hinderer: We are very engaged in our local community and support wherever we can. We have identified new SCR programs for this year where we want to focus on supporting the elderly who need help.

 

Lucas Raven: I saw on the menu how every dish is connected to the communities and farms within and around Lucerne, is this something Villa Honegg has always been involved in?

Marcel Hinderer: Yes, we get our products freshly from the local area. It is important to us if we know the local vendors, know where the products are coming from and where we can stand behind it, not only from a quality stand point, also ethically and morally. We even have our own honey from our bees and the herbs from our garden.

 

Lucas Raven: Your advise to the aspiring hoteliers out there:

Marcel Hinderer: Live your dream! In our business dreams can come true….if you work hard, focus and are able to stay flexible. For instance, it was always a dream for me to work and live one day in Australia. By working for a big chain like Marriott, I knew there would be opportunities to pursue that dream. It didn’t come by accident; it came as a result of a lot of hard work and many hours of work every day. You have to make scarifies if you want to climb to the top. In our job, working long hours, working weekends is the norm. If you are prepared for that, the opportunities are great and doors will open up for you in this wonderful profession.

 

 

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