Elegantly poised at the edge of Lake Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland
Throw open the French doors to your suite, breathe the fresh mountain air and gaze out over placid Lake Geneva and its famous Jet d’Eau, the magnificent 140-metre fountain. Our prominent hotel affords guests spectacular lakeside views, backed by snow-dusted Alpine peaks and the majestic Mont Blanc.
Set in the heart of the picturesque Swiss city of Geneva, the Hotel d'Angleterre combines the joys of a central location – the complimentary boat shuttle service leaves from just outside the hotel – with the relaxing atmosphere of a lakeside retreat. Make the most of all the Geneva has to offer from our enviable central location, returning to the luxurious surroundings of Hotel d'Angleterre after a lively day in the city.
At the age of 16, Hardy helped his father with the architectural drawings for a restoration of Woodsford Castle. The owner, architect James Hicks, was impressed by the younger Hardy's work, and took him on as an apprentice. In 1862, aged 22, Hardy moved to London to study and enrolled as a student at King's College. He worked for prominent architect Arthur Blomfield and won prizes from both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Architectural Association.
During this time he began writing, but his poems were rejected by a number of publishers. Poor health forced him to return to Dorset in 1867 and he began to write full time. After the 5th Earl’s marriage in 1872 he embarked on a major expansion of Melbury, including the addition of the Grand Library. Following its completion he set about an expansion of Summer Lodge which had been built as the Dower House for Melbury, by the 2nd Earl, in 1798. This addition of the Drawing Room and Master Suite was done in 1893 and it’s generally believed that following their earlier meetings, The 5th Earl, then resident of Summer Lodge, asked Hardy to design the extension. This new addition is architecturally rather different from the original part of the house and is notable for its high ceilings and particularly for the tall sash windows which allow its rooms to be flooded with natural light.
Hardy published his first novel, Desperate Remedies, in 1871 to universal disinterest. But the following year Under the Greenwood Tree brought Hardy popular acclaim for the first time. As with most of his fictional works, Greenwood Tree incorporated real places around Dorset into the plot, including the village school of Higher Bockhampton that Hardy had first attended as a child.
The success of Greenwood Tree brought Hardy a commission to write a serialized novel, A Pair of Blue Eyes, for Tinsley's Magazine. Once more, Hardy drew upon real life and the novel mirrors his own courtship of Emma. Hardy followed this with Far From the Madding Crowd, set in Puddletown (renamed Weatherby), near his birthplace. This novel finally netted Hardy the success that enabled him to give up his architectural practice and concentrate solely on writing.