History
The Hôtel Masson in Veytaux-Chillon, built by Jean François Masson in 1829, is considered one of the oldest inns in Montreux and is thus an important example of early hotel history on the shores of Lake Geneva. The typical vintner's house with wine cellar had a press house beside it. In the second half of the 19th century, the initially modest inn was renovated and expanded several times.
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In 1861, three decades before electric lights became common, an imposing interior light well and staircase were added on the back. In the late 1870s the owner of the second generation, newly in charge, beautified the hotel by adding new balconies and verandas as were popular at the time. The building was surrounded by large vineyards into the 1930s; today's large garden with the orchard retains a touch of the original setting. Until the early 20th century the hotel was still owned by the Masson family; Elise Masson and her husband Charles Albert Rolli, who ran the hotel from 1873 to 1906, played a particularly strong role in its history. The hotel then changed owners several times, until in 1947 it was finally acquired by René Jaquier, the father of the current hôtelière. Despite the two World Wars and the related crises of Swiss tourism, the hotel has always remained opened. The current owners resisted the government-subsidized wave of renewal of the post-war years, always keeping the hotel in authentic condition. In this way, they have been able to preserve the hotel's historic splendor, including its creaking parquet floors and the original period furniture. In 1999, the Icomos jury gave the Hôtel Masson a special award for the exemplary preservation of the original structure". The hotel has been a member of Swiss Historic Hotels since 2005.
