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00:00The history of the illustrious Beau Ravage Hotel is dotted with tragedy.
00:21More than a century ago, an empress died in this luxury establishment.
00:27She was staying incognito, signing the guestbook under a false name.
00:35Nevertheless, everyone knew who she was.
00:38Sissi, Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
00:46On September the 10th, 1898, she was stabbed in Geneva.
00:51Her murderer was an anarchist named Luigi Luciani.
01:02He smiled as he was led away by authorities.
01:05Sissi was brought back to the Beau Ravage, where she died in the arms of the hotel owner.
01:11This tragic event left its mark on our hotel's history.
01:29My grandmother Fanny, who was 24 then and newly married, welcomed the empress.
01:36Even in her lifetime, Sissi was already such a mythical figure, a legend.
01:42I imagine how emotional it must have been to go from hosting this extraordinary woman
01:51to being at her side in her final moments.
01:55Empress Elisabeth was no stranger to this tranquil Swiss city.
02:07Sissi loved spending time on the shores of Lake Geneva.
02:19It's an exceptional place.
02:22She loved hiking in the mountains, which was very unusual for a person of her rank.
02:28That fateful September day began like any other.
02:35A stroll, some shopping, nothing special.
02:38Just before she died, she reportedly asked,
02:41What happened to me?
02:46She came for just 24 hours.
02:48Baroness Julie von Rothschild had invited her to lunch.
02:52She'd been a guest at the Beau Ravage many times before, but this was just a short visit.
02:58She dropped off her luggage and hurried off to lunch.
03:01Then she shopped and ate some ice cream.
03:05She loved ice cream.
03:07Sissi's memory is kept alive in the halls she once walked.
03:17A showcase displays the Empress's bodice.
03:23The drops of blood have faded in the fabric with time.
03:28This tragic loss left an imprint on our hotel and the history was brought to light again in the post-war period,
03:43when Mariska made his legendary films about Sissi.
03:47My sisters and I all watched them, of course.
03:50We immersed ourselves in the story, knowing the ending took place in our house.
03:58It was quite traumatic for us as children to watch these films that the whole world was talking about
04:03with the knowledge that the end happened here, in our hotel.
04:08The Beau Ravage has been owned by the Meyer family for five generations.
04:19The hotels past and present are closely intertwined.
04:25This is a theatre.
04:30Sometimes the play is light-hearted, a comedy.
04:33Other times it's tragic, a drama.
04:35It's a place that's full of life.
04:38When the hotel was founded in the mid-19th century,
04:41there wasn't the same competition that exists today.
04:44My great-grandfather opened a house that respected the needs of an aristocratic clientele,
04:50a secluded kind of world.
04:52To see and be seen.
04:57That's what 19th century guests came to do here among their peers.
05:08The reception area is modern and vibrant, teeming with activity.
05:12This hotel may pay homage to its past, but it's not stuck in it.
05:27We want to be a family house, with soul.
05:30We all really enjoy working in a house with such a rich history.
05:35But we also must move into the future, with modern technology for example.
05:41Our guests' needs have evolved over the years, and we have to adapt to them.
05:47We also have to stay curious, and observe what the competition is doing.
05:56We also have to stay curious, and observe what the competition is doing.
06:00We also have to stay curious.
06:06Good courage. Good day.
06:08You too.
06:13Hidden from the guests is a labyrinth of rooms.
06:17Staff at the Beau Ravage work swiftly to produce the sophisticated touches the hotel is known for.
06:30They give the hotel a soul.
06:41The bouquets help to fill out the splendid rooms.
06:45Our guests really appreciate the flowers.
06:56With just under 100 rooms and suites,
06:58the Beau Ravage manages to offer a feeling of intimacy to guests.
07:02Since the very start, celebrities have been drawn to the hotel's charm.
07:17The stars are all different, but those who stay at the Beau Ravage embrace its values,
07:23and that means discretion.
07:24They come to hide away, so their privacy is respected.
07:32The Beau Ravage is not a stage.
07:35It's a place to live, and it's protected.
07:38The luxury suites look out over Lake Geneva, with its landmark the Gedo, a fountain that pumps water 140 meters high.
07:58The Beau Ravage fits right into this enchanting landscape, with the lake and the Alps.
08:04Geneva is a crossroads.
08:05Geneva is a crossroads.
08:07The mountains cut us off, but the plains are open, as far as the eye can see.
08:15People have to travel to Geneva because the lake is an obstacle.
08:19If you want to travel from the north to the south, you have to cross the lake.
08:25You can only do that via Geneva.
08:29Heading south to Italy, or in the other direction over the St. Bernard Pass.
08:34Geneva is also a crossroads of thought, where great thinkers develop their theories, like Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
08:48This is also part of our history.
08:54It's reflected in the character of the people here.
08:57They welcome the whole world, learn a little bit from everyone, and yet remain themselves.
09:03Geneva, Genève, Genève, Genève.
09:18Say it however you like, it's considered the most cosmopolitan city in Switzerland.
09:23Located in the French-speaking part of the country, Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland after Zurich.
09:29Two characteristics of Geneva, discretion and consistency.
09:36The words of a 1960s observer sound almost timeless.
09:45The old town of Geneva, plain but rich.
09:49Secret millionaires live here.
09:51In Geneva, poverty is a vice, and a person who is bankrupt is a godless sinner, outcast, ostracized.
09:57The times may be changing, but not in Geneva.
10:03Geneva is where the French reformer Jean Calvin developed his beliefs.
10:08There are still echoes of the strict Protestant doctrine of Calvinism here today.
10:12This is a Calvinism that is not religious, but a Calvinism of thought, in the spirit of reform, law and justice.
10:26The people of Geneva can practice this because they live in a prosperous world.
10:31The city is not all that extravagant.
10:35Geneva is built on rigor and straightforwardness.
10:38We don't show off.
10:40We're discreet.
10:41We don't show off.
10:42We don't show off.
10:46Geneva, 150 years ago.
10:49Jack Meyer's great-grandparents left their homes in Germany.
10:53His great-grandmother came from Hanover.
10:56His great-grandfather from Swabia.
10:59Opening their own hotel in Geneva would be an adventure.
11:02When the hotel opened in 1865, there was no central heating, electricity or running water.
11:17Each room was equipped with a fireplace, and the staff carried wood upstairs and ashes back down again.
11:22It was a lot of work.
11:25This is a bill for heating material.
11:30Here we have 100 kilos of beech wood for heating and a ton of coke.
11:38Coke, at that time, was not what we call cocaine today.
11:44It was fuel, actually coal dust,
11:46which was formed into coal briquettes or blocks.
11:58Albertine and Jean-Jacques Meyer.
12:01The founder's enterprising spirit still permeates the hotel, serving as inspiration.
12:07Innovation was on the couple's minds from the start.
12:11Where was the largest dining room in the city?
12:13And the first elevator?
12:17The Beau Ravage, of course.
12:24The hotel's foyer from 1908 has a neoclassical look.
12:28The decor is elegant and lavish.
12:31The illustrious guests came in droves.
12:35Actress Zara Banar was a loyal guest for decades.
12:46The Maharaja of Patiala.
12:51Artist Jean Cocteau.
12:54And 007, that is, Roger Moore.
12:57Former French president, Charles de Gaulle, greeted by a young Jacques Meyer and his sisters.
13:01Princesses and princes, politicians and heads of state.
13:12The hotel guest book is filled with the signatures of stars.
13:17The American actor Burt Lancaster wrote,
13:19One spoon stolen.
13:22If walls could talk, each floor of the Beau Ravage would have stories to tell.
13:26Especially at the very top, where the hotel's most exclusive suite is tucked away.
13:31It was here that Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, changed the course of history.
13:45The year was 1947, and the former First Lady stayed in the suite while drafting a major paper for the United Nations.
13:53We are here in a very special place, where people who have shaped the world have stayed as guests.
14:07All the heads of state, politicians and people who participated in the great Geneva Conferences.
14:14And, of course, Eleanor Roosevelt, an unforgettable personality for Geneva.
14:20She was in charge of a commission to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and she did it here.
14:31This is the fundamental document of the United Nations, like a guiding star.
14:36The city's hotels in the United Nations have a very special relationship.
14:50During state visits, hotels serve as the link between backroom politics and official announcements.
14:56It's the point between private conversations and world affairs.
15:00They're like a discreet, unofficial partner to the UN.
15:09The most momentous international conference of the post-war era turned the eyes of the world this summer
15:15toward the tranquil Swiss capital of Geneva.
15:18The gleaming Palace of Nations, the Big Four, America, England, France and Russia, met to seek an end to a decade of Cold War.
15:24Heading the Soviet delegation were Premier Bulganan and Communist Party Chief Khrushchev.
15:31Displaying Russia's planned policy of friendship, Khrushchev called Bulganan back for cameraman.
15:36Though nominally outranked by the Premier, Khrushchev appeared very much the boss.
15:40President Eisenhower, accompanied by Secretary of State Dulles, offered to exchange complete military information with the Russians in a dramatic personal appeal.
15:50But the plan was rejected by Bulganan and the President's wartime friend, General Zhukov, had left.
15:56Britain's Eden and French Premier Four supported the daring American proposal.
16:00It was in this hall of the United Nations that the so-called Big Four met.
16:08It was also here at the Geneva Conference in 1954 that a new chapter was set in motion for Vietnam.
16:15And it's where the Geneva Accords on Afghanistan were signed in 1988.
16:19The Palace of Nations in Geneva houses the European headquarters of the UN.
16:30How does the history of the United Nations overlap with the Hotel Beau Ravage?
16:39Hotel owner Jacques Meyer wants to know more about the US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt's stay in his family's hotel.
16:54He has an appointment with the head archivist of the United Nations Library.
17:00The committee to prepare the Declaration of Human Rights first met exclusively in New York.
17:20Then, in December 1947, the committee came to Geneva to approve the text, with Eleanor Roosevelt as its chairperson.
17:28That's right.
17:33Here we have the photograph that shows Eleanor Roosevelt holding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
17:41Who chose her as chair?
17:45U.S. President Harry Truman asked her to help formulate the Declaration of Human Rights.
17:52Some of the male delegates were not pleased at first.
17:57Why is that?
18:01Because she was a woman.
18:03She was an activist, right?
18:05Yes.
18:06There were many different committees.
18:10U.S. President Harry Truman gave her a job on a committee dealing with social issues.
18:15It was more of a representative job, a token gesture.
18:18But with the influx of refugees after World War II, social issues suddenly became pressing.
18:35Elanor Roosevelt took on the task with a lot of charisma, and she was appointed the chair of the Commission on Human Rights.
18:48Some commission members complained about the pace, but she was determined to finish within the given time.
19:04One delegate, I think from Indonesia, complained.
19:13He said, human rights are not respected by the Commission on Human Rights.
19:18Because she made the delegates work until 7pm.
19:21I'd like to know what happened at the Beau Rivage back then, because she stayed there whenever she visited.
19:32Surely there were private meetings in the hotels then as there are now.
19:37Yes, a lot happens at these informal meetings.
19:42This suite at the Beau Rivage is the perfect place for such private or even secret meetings.
19:53Guests can have their choice of several spacious rooms.
19:57But what happens when state guests arrive at the hotel who don't quite fit in with other top officials,
20:04and the protection of confidentiality is potentially compromised?
20:08That's where tact is crucial.
20:12A few years ago, I received the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
20:22At the same time, we had a delegation here from a country that was not necessarily supposed to be directly associated with the Secretary-General.
20:31So the United Nations protocol asked me to let the Secretary-General in through the back entrance.
20:41Of course, I had the red carpet rolled out, between the dumpsters.
20:46I said to him, I'm sorry to receive you amid the dumpsters.
20:49But he just said, don't worry, it happens all the time in New York.
20:52About 12,000 UN meetings are held each year in Geneva.
21:07Imagine what that means in terms of the number of guests to the city.
21:11The UN plays an important economic role for Geneva.
21:14As ever, discretion, says hotelier Jacques Maia, is essential.
21:23Beside the Palace of Nations is a park that's close to the public for security reasons.
21:31The so-called Cartier-Nation, with its many international organizations, forms a city within the city.
21:38Geneva became an international city in 1920 with the establishment of the League of Nations.
21:53A new train station and airport were built.
21:56Various institutions and non-governmental organizations emerged, such as pacifist or feminist associations,
22:03which today form their own international ecosystem.
22:06It's sometimes like the people here are living on two different planets within one city.
22:12But in recent years, more effort has been made to integrate these organizations into the daily life of Geneva.
22:23The United Nations employs around 10,000 people in Geneva.
22:27But add in the NGOs and international organizations and that number increases at least three-fold.
22:32The hotels naturally benefit from this dynamic.
22:37In the cosmos of international politics and secret meetings, journalists prefer to meet their sources in hotels that are known for their discretion.
22:46They are safe places.
22:47They are safe places.
22:57Paola de Prastobias is one such journalist.
23:00Born in New York, she's an investigative reporter covering environmental issues, corruption and money laundering.
23:06She reports for CNN and Al Jazeera, among other publications.
23:09She reports for CNN and Al Jazeera, among other publications.
23:13The international fame of Geneva comes from, I guess, two elements that are sometimes in opposition with each other.
23:26On the one hand, you have, of course, the UN, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Association, the International Red Cross, of course, that's based here.
23:38On the other hand, you have the banking sector, which is also very well known internationally.
23:44The problem is, right now, with the stories of money laundering and corruption that have been linked so closely to the banking sector here,
24:01they have brought the limelight, international limelight, to themselves unwillingly.
24:09Such scandals have damaged Geneva's reputation.
24:18Can the city's good name be restored?
24:24I think Geneva is really trying to surpass some of the negative aspects of the city.
24:39of this image that it projects internationally.
24:44There's a certain hope that with this new international exchange of data,
24:50in what concerns the banking sector that Geneva is so well known for,
24:56that all these stories that have sullied its past will pass.
25:01I think it's trying, as much as possible, to maintain Geneva as an international centre of negotiation, of humanitarian issues.
25:13So that is where the hope lies, that these bricks can sort of latch together and that that would be how people see Geneva in the future.
25:30For decades, Geneva has attracted not only enterprising reporters and serious journalists, but also paparazzi from all over the world.
25:47Important meetings are taking place under the roof of the Beau Rivage all the time.
26:02For hoteliers Jacques Mayer, it's all about shielding and protecting, while simultaneously remaining absolutely invisible.
26:11When it comes to navigating political interests, financial ties and image problems, Mayer is a seasoned expert.
26:18The role of a hotelier is to remain totally neutral, and we are, after all, in a political environment that is neutral.
26:30But as far as the economy is concerned, it's different.
26:33We defend an open Geneva, a Geneva that can also play a social role.
26:39To do this, it needs prosperity.
26:41Obviously not at all costs, but the city needs to be prosperous.
26:48The Beau Rivage has also seen hard times.
26:52At the outbreak of the Second World War, the Swiss hotel plunged into crisis.
26:58Visitors stayed away.
27:00The pages of the guestbook remained blank.
27:05Switzerland was an isolated country, wedged between the blocks of the north and the south, the east and the west.
27:15It was on the border of the free zone, so people stopped visiting.
27:20And the Beau Rivage, like most hotels, closed down.
27:23Private film footage from August and September 1939 shows troops in Paris and Normandy, the start of World War II.
27:38The camera also captured at Lake Geneva, seemingly untouched by the war, but the Swiss were not truly unscathed.
27:51That was a very difficult time.
27:55My parents, aunts, uncles, my grandparents lived outside the city and only occasionally came to air out the hotel, open the windows and check for any flooding.
28:08Of course, it was a time that shaped my parents and grandparents.
28:15But after that, a new generation came, businesses reopened and many new tourists came to discover Geneva.
28:24They wanted a new life, a different life.
28:26So Geneva picked up quickly after the war.
28:30I spent all my Thursdays in this place when I was a teenager, because my father received the wine deliveries on Thursdays.
28:58Wines from Bourgogne or Bordeaux.
29:01I used to help him open the crates.
29:05My job was to use a ruler and make sure that the bottles were aligned perfectly.
29:10Not even a two-millimeter difference was allowed.
29:20My father didn't allow the wine cellar manager to help himself directly from the wine racks.
29:25Each rack had a card with the name of the wine, the origin, the vintage, the quantity and the purchase price.
29:40But he wrote the purchase price backwards so that nobody else knew what he paid for them.
29:47To maintain an overview, he attached these cards.
29:55I spent my childhood cutting them out, which he then placed on the racks.
30:02There are the most valuable bottles. What is that one?
30:11Amosini, Amosini from 79.
30:15No, 79.
30:1779?
30:18From 1979.
30:23What beautiful bottles. Do you know the oldest bottle we have?
30:28It's not a wine, but a cognac.
30:32A cognac.
30:33From 1820. Napoleon just missed that one.
30:37We still have a few bottles of it.
30:39My parents bought it at an auction a long time ago.
30:42The good wines come with a long history that the previous head sommelier or even his predecessor contributed towards.
30:55It's like a temple of wine.
30:57The bottles lie here with their dust and history.
31:00The work of a sommelier is to continue the history, which goes hand in hand with that of the hotel.
31:13I bring my knowledge and the wines that I like or discover.
31:17But I will always respect the tradition of the Bordeaux and Bourgogneau wines at Beauvage.
31:25I hope these bottles will always remain here, for the sake of legacy and future sommeliers.
31:55Even in an establishment as carefully managed as the Beauvage, there are some things that a hotel owner simply cannot control or prevent.
32:24Like what happened here just over 30 years ago.
32:29This German journalist played a prominent role in the series of events.
32:37In October 1987, he discovered the former state premier of Sleischwig-Holstein, Uwe Barschel, dead in the bathtub.
32:49Sebastian Knauer photographed him.
32:56The image appeared in the magazine Stern, provoking something of a scandal in Germany.
33:04The Beauvage is an ideal place for interviews, even if the hotel's management doesn't always appreciate that political interviews are conducted on their premises.
33:22You can create a good atmosphere, especially in luxury hotels, where the guest feels comfortable and can open up.
33:31So how did the scandal happen?
33:37Sebastian Knauer had travelled from Hamburg to Geneva in the hope of conducting an interview with the former German state premier.
33:46Uwe Barschel had been accused of organising a smear campaign against a political opponent.
33:53The journalist was hoping to meet Barschel in the bar.
33:56Barschel didn't appear.
34:01So the journalist entered his room the next day, without permission.
34:08It was dimly lit.
34:13There was a single shoe in the hallway.
34:15There was a corridor that led to the bed.
34:18And there were other things lying about, such as pajamas, some sweets, a book by Jean-Paul Sartre, surprisingly enough, open to a certain story that deals with suicide.
34:30The documents I was interested in were lying there, as if prepared for a journalist's visit.
34:35I wasn't sure how I should document them, so I took the papers to my photographer.
34:40I had told him to wait outside the room and let me know when Mr. Barschel returns.
34:45He was supposed to keep a lookout and warn me.
34:49On my way out, I knocked on the bathroom door.
34:52I opened the door and saw in the bathroom mirror there was a lifeless body in the bathtub.
35:03It was clear to me then that something terrible had happened.
35:09A Steyn reporter found Barschel dead in his bathroom.
35:14Early reports suspect the politician shot himself.
35:18A journalist found him in the bathtub, his head above the water.
35:23Apart from his shoes, Barschel was fully clothed.
35:26That was 1987.
35:36And these things can happen.
35:38They can happen anywhere, anytime.
35:41Our role is to deal with this as a public place, where children are born, a place full of life.
35:48People are born here, married here, and they die here.
35:51That's life, and a hotel is about life.
35:56Following the German politician's death, journalists and photographers camped out for weeks in front of the hotel entrance.
36:10Inside the Beaurevage, Swiss and German criminal investigators tried to determine whether it was suicide, a murder, or a natural death.
36:22How did the hotel deal with the aftermath?
36:26With signature discretion.
36:28The room number 317 simply no longer exists.
36:37Here we go.
36:38Two menus with frogs, ravioli, salmon, lobster, sole, foie gras, and two orders of venison.
36:45Here we go.
36:46Here we go.
36:55Dominique Gauthier is the head chef at Beaurevage.
36:58Like his predecessor, he has a Michelin star.
37:01The restaurant de Le Chabautier opened 50 years ago to the outside world.
37:11Before then, it was exclusively for the hotel guests.
37:18The products come from the lake and the mountains, both seasonal and regional.
37:24When you're young, you chase after the stars.
37:36The Michelin star, that's just incredible for a chef.
37:41To be famous, genius.
37:44But as you get older, you realize that the most important thing is to please your guests, to be attentive.
37:51If you prioritize the customer, the stars will follow on their own.
37:58You'll learn that at the age of 50.
38:16For me, a table has to feel friendly. That's important.
38:22It has to look beautiful and inviting.
38:28You should feel at home.
38:30A table set like this invites you to sit down and have a meal.
38:40Appetizer for two.
38:44Frog legs in batter.
38:48Deep-fried, served with garlic milk foam, spinach sauce and fresh basil.
38:56It's a classic dish here.
38:58These are the frogs, a dish I developed a good 15 years ago.
39:01It's on the menu every day.
39:14Many guests come for the frogs.
39:17Are the burgers ready yet?
39:20We even have fast food.
39:23In a hotel, you have to do it all.
39:25The Beau Rivage opened more than 150 years ago.
39:37How does it preserve tradition, yet still keep up with the times?
39:43We're fortunate to have a very loyal clientele who have been coming here for many years.
39:55Of course, we strive to take care of these customers, as well as their children or even grandchildren, who want things done differently and all have differing demands.
40:07It's on us to adapt to this.
40:16The hotel manager, the florist, the head of reception, they all share the same philosophy.
40:22This house has a soul, because they give it one.
40:29Each generation has its own way of expressing itself, even if we all maintain the same fundamental values.
40:39My father, for example, was a man who enjoyed good food.
40:42He opened the house to gastronomy and to a modern world, which was a world of businessmen.
40:50When he took over the Beau Rivage, he catered to a new generation that came to Geneva for conferences and seminars.
40:57It had nothing to do with the fine society of the Belle Epoque.
41:03I also had to further develop the house.
41:05The more Geneva connects with the world, the more it secures its future.
41:11That's obvious.
41:14So how will the coming generations, the fifth or the sixth, change things, 40 years from now?
41:20That's what I'd like to know.
41:21At Beau Rivage, each generation has had a hand in writing the hotel's history.
41:36From big politics to celebrity encounters, the owners have navigated every twist and turn with signature Swiss discretion.
41:45And they're ready to greet what chapter comes next.
41:48We'll see you next time.
41:49We'll see you next time.
41:50We'll see you next time.
42:18We'll see you next time.
42:20Bye.
42:21Bye.
42:22Bye.
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