The original Bellevue Palace was built by the financier Friedrich Osswald in 1865 immediately adjacent to the seat of the federal government, the Bundeshaus. His heirs had the hotel torn down and rebuilt it in 1910[2] in the neoclassical style. The new Bellevue Palace was reopened in 1913, and General Ulrich Wille made it Switzerland's military headquarters during World War I.[1] During World War II, the hotel became a focal point of the warring powers' diplomatic and intelligence activities in Switzerland, and its bar was a haunt of OSS station chief Allen Dulles.[3][2] One half of the restaurant came to be frequented by Allied guests and the other by patrons from Axis states.
After the war, the hotel's fortunes declined sharply.[2] To prevent the state hotel from being acquired by foreign buyers, the Swiss National Bank acquired it in 1976, and in 1994 made a gift of it to the Confederation, which retains 99.7% of the hotel's shares.[1] After it became apparent that the Bellevue Palace was in need of an overhaul, as it lacked amenities such as air conditioning,[1] it was closed in 2002 for a one-year renovation that cost CHF 40 million and cut the number of rooms from 230 to 130.[1] Following a spate of bad publicity over low staff wages,[1] the Confederation turned over the management to a chain of Swiss luxury hotels in 2007.[4]
Apart from ballrooms, restaurants, salons, bars and conference facilities, the Bellevue Palace features an array of suites, including an extensive "Presidential Suite" with a view of the Bernese Alps over the Aare.[1] The hotel's cuisine is rated at 16 Gault Millau points.[5]Frommer's Switzerland describes the Bellevue Palace as "the grand old dame of Bern" and "the most lavish and opulent choice in town", opining that "dining on the renowned Bellevue Terrace is one of the reasons to come to Bern."[7] The hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World association.
^Michael Novak (1988). Taking Glasnost seriously: toward an open Soviet Union. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. p. 15. ISBN0-8447-3642-2.
