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A PLACE, A HISTORY
The modest Hotel du Midi, whose name held the promise of sunshine, was erected
in 1869 in Glion, on the heights of Montreux. Bought a few years later by
Madeleine Müller, the daughter of the Langenthal porcelain manufacturer, the
hotel was enlarged, embellished and rechristened “Victoria”. Throughout its
history, it would have five proprietors and be transformed many times. It would
live through two wars, experience periods of marked recession and hover on the
verge of bankruptcy. Each of these stories today forms a stratum, be it visible
or not, which marks the character and contributes to the charm of the
“Victoria”.
Glion became a tourist resort after the poet Lord Byron had
stayed there and sensed the atmosphere that Jean-Jacques Rousseau had described
half a century earlier in his “New Eloïse”. Taking advantage of the flood of
tourists attracted by the region, the Victoria knew how to make itself
seductive. It added magnificent lounges and a veranda quickly renowned beyond
the Channel.
Decorated over the years with Art Nouveau and Vienna
“Sezession” ornaments, the Victoria was to find its Pygmalion in the person of
Toni Mittermair, who, through the acquisition of over 500 objects and
collector’s items, created the unique atmosphere of a hotel bearing witness to
the Belle Epoque art of living.
30 YEARS OF LOYAL SERVICE LAVISHED ON A HOTEL
Proprietor of the Victoria, Toni Mittermair was very instrumental in the
salvation of the establishment. Dedicated body and soul, working tirelessly, he
ensured the continuation of a dream and the transmission of a history. Today,
assisted by his wife Barbara, this passionate man devotes himself to the
management, decoration and improvement of the hotel with which he fell in love
some 30 years ago. The attention which, together, they attach to details, their
desire to satisfy each guest, their personality and their human warmth also
contribute to the pleasure afforded by a stay in this extraordinary place.
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